Billionaire Howard Marks slashes portfolio
Billionaire Howard Marks’ Oaktree Capital Management has been cutting its portfolio since the start of the year, from 170 stocks to just 76 in nine months.
Marks is an American investor, author, and co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, a global investment firm.
He is known for his investment memos, which are widely read by investors and analysts. Marks is a proponent of value investing and emphasizes the importance of risk management. He is also a strong advocate for shareholder rights.
Marks was born in New York City in 1946. He attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
After graduating from business school, Marks worked as a research analyst at TCW Group. In 1995, he co-founded Oaktree Capital Management.
Oaktree is a global investment firm that invests in high-yield bonds and convertible securities and is the world’s largest investor in distressed securities.
The firm has been very successful, and funds led by Marks have produced long-term returns of 19% per year. His personal net worth is $2.2 billion.
Through his work at Oaktree, Marks has become one of the most respected investors in the world.
Oaktree Capital Management’s portfolio
In the third quarter of 2023, Oaktree had a portfolio of around 76 stocks valued at $5.67 billion.
While this is still a large portfolio compared to other super-investors like Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway or Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management, it is a significant decrease from its Q1 2023 portfolio, which held about 170 stocks and was valued at $7.29 billion.
The portfolio is very active. In Q3 2023, the firm bought five new stocks, sold over 40 and reduced its stake in around 20 companies.
Notably, Oaktree added almost 15% to its stake in South African miner AngloGold Ashanti, which now comprises 1.51% of the firm’s portfolio with a value of $85.78 million.
In Q3 2023, the firm also made a change to its top three holdings. Previously, these three companies were Torm Plc, Chesapeake Energy and Star Bulk Carriers Corp.
Now, the firm’s top three holdings are Torm Plc, Chesapeake Energy and Garrett Motion, a Swiss manufacturing company.
Below is an overview of Oaktree’s top 20 holdings in Q2 2023 –
| Stock | Percentage of Portfolio | Activity | Value |
| TRMD – Torm Plc | 25.80% | No change | $1,461,612,000 |
| CHK – Chesapeake Energy | 10.66% | Reduce 4.76% | $603,616,000 |
| GTX – Garrett Motion Inc. | 6.13% | No change | $347,373,000 |
| STR – Sitio Royalties Corp A | 5.53% | No change | $313,159,000 |
| SBLK – Star Bulk Carriers Corp. | 5.47% | Reduce 38.36% | $309,781,000 |
| VST – Vistra Corp. | 5.27% | Reduce 47.06% | $298,620,000 |
| RWAY – Runway Growth Finance Corp | 4.76% | No change | $269,921,000 |
| NMIH – NMI Holdings | 2.34% | No change | $132,741,000 |
| VALE – Vale SA | 2.06% | Add 11.71% | $116,505,000 |
| INFN – Infinera Corp. | 1.86% | No change | $105,233,000 |
| FCX – Freeport-McMoran Inc. | 1.78% | Add 2.99% | $100,918,000 |
| PBR – Petroleo Brasileiro | 1.64% | Reduce 21.05% | $93,101,000 |
| CX – Cemex | 1.61% | Reduce 3.45% | $90,929,000 |
| BBD – Banco Bradesco | 1.60% | Add 3.01% | $90,465,000 |
| VIST – Vista Oil & Gas, S.A.B. de C.V. | 1.55% | No change | $87,665,000 |
| AU – AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. | 1.51% | Add 14.81% | $85,775,000 |
| CBL – CBL & Associates Pptys Inc. | 1.48% | No change | $83,584,000 |
| STKL – SunOpta Inc. | 1.23% | No change | $69,847,000 |
| INFY – Infosys Ltd. | 1.15% | Add 2.91% | $65,173,000 |
| FTAI – FTAI Aviation Ltd. | 1.14% | Reduce 10.90% | $64,400,000 |
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