Howard Marks is praised for his ability to make complex ideas simple and clear in his writing. Marks, who believes in the role of luck in his success as an investor, shares his approach to sharing his investing secrets through clear memos. He emphasizes the importance of clarity and simplicity in communication, using common language, connection with readers, extensive editing and the use of visual aids like graphs and pictures to simplify complex ideas.
Marks also highlights the importance of deeply understanding the ideas of other writers, such as Taleb, Galbraith, Ellis, and Milken, and the power of studying a worthy idea in depth. He believes that the depth of both production and consumption is crucial to gaining valuable insights.
He credits his college experience at Wharton for inspiring his love for writing and language and shares anecdotes about his early days in investing and the importance of forming a life philosophy based on eclectic ideas. Throughout his career, Marks has been influenced by investment philosophers like Peter Bernstein and has emphasized the importance of understanding risk in investing. He encourages writers to make their work interesting and thought-provoking, offering new perspectives and challenging readers, and emphasizes the importance of recording and memorializing valuable insights gained from experiences and education.
He emphasizes the significance of reconciling seemingly incongruent ideas, such as the qualitative education he received at Wharton and the quantitative education he received at the University of Chicago. Marks explains that these intellectual puzzles are what drive his writing and investment approach, as he seeks to connect the theories learned in school with the realities of practice. He attributes his success in writing memos that went viral to his unique perspective gained from being exposed to both qualitative and quantitative approaches at a time when few others were.
