The worst of the subprime crisis may not be over

“If we avoid the losers, the winners take care of themselves,” says Howard Marks, chairman of Oaktree Capital Management, describing the firm’s motto. Marks is categorical that an investment management firm needs to stand for something other than amassing assets, thus Oaktree’s focus is on avoiding risk while targeting markets which provide opportunities for high returns.

Marks says that the firm chooses not to employ an economist because macro-forecasting is not critical to the 18 distinct investment strategies it employs.

Oaktree positions itself as a multi-strategy ...