The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for The Thoughtful Investor
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The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for The Thoughtful Investor Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Howard Marks (Author), John FitzGibbon (Narrator), Audible Studios (Publisher)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 3,217 ratings
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Howard Marks, the chairman and cofounder of Oaktree Capital Management, is renowned for his insightful assessments of market opportunity and risk. After four decades spent ascending to the top of the investment management profession, he is today sought out by the world's leading value investors, and his client memos brim with insightful commentary and a time-tested, fundamental philosophy. Now for the first time, all listeners can benefit from Marks's wisdom, concentrated into a single volume that speaks to both the amateur and seasoned investor.

Informed by a lifetime of experience and study, The Most Important Thing explains the keys to successful investment and the pitfalls that can destroy capital or ruin a career. Using passages from his memos to illustrate his ideas, Marks teaches by example, detailing the development of an investment philosophy that fully acknowledges the complexities of investing and the perils of the financial world. Brilliantly applying insight to today's volatile markets, Marks offers a volume that is part memoir, part creed, with a number of broad takeaways. Marks expounds on such concepts as "second-level thinking", the price/value relationship, patient opportunism, and defensive investing. Frankly and honestly assessing his own decisions - and occasional missteps - he provides valuable lessons for critical thinking, risk assessment, and investment strategy.

Encouraging investors to be "contrarian", Marks wisely judges market cycles and achieves returns through aggressive yet measured action. Which element is the most essential? Successful investing requires thoughtful attention to many separate aspects, and each of Marks's subjects proves to be the most important thing.

Previous page
  1. Listening Length
    7 hours and 9 minutes
  2. Author
    Howard Marks
  3. Narrator
    John FitzGibbon
  4. Audible release date
    August 22, 2012
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Audible Studios
  7. ASIN
    B0090VTBGO
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 7 hours and 9 minutes
Author Howard Marks
Narrator John FitzGibbon
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date August 22, 2012
Publisher Audible Studios
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B0090VTBGO
Best Sellers Rank #9,563 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#10 in Investing Analysis & Strategy
#31 in Business Decision Making & Problem Solving
#81 in Decision-Making & Problem Solving

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
3,217 global ratings
This book is a rare Gem! Even Warren Buffett agrees. I’m transfixed, life changer. Foundational.
5 Stars
This book is a rare Gem! Even Warren Buffett agrees. I’m transfixed, life changer. Foundational.
To all value investors, here is that rare Gem, something everyone should read as 2021 begins! The clarity and the wisdom that it presents is amazing. When I read Warren Buffets recommendation for this book I knew it was going to be an extremely valuable read, and I wasn’t disappointed. Howard Marks is the real deal. This book is for anyone who attempts to put the odds of risk in their favor as much as possible, and as much as can be done knowing the uncertainty of looking into the future. Book is written with such rational reason and balance, not with hype or get rich undertones. Some reviews say that it is repetitive, I strongly disagree! Anyone who invests, or is in business, HAS to have a strong sense of WHO HE IS. Everyone must have cornerstones to their business strategy and his cornerstones are so foundational, that he so generously shares with us, you can follow his thinking, I'm sure its the exact same as he evaluates any given investment.These precious principles are exactly where he starts his evaluations. This should be an absolute corner stone of anyone’s investment foundational thinking.Also this wisdom is FULLY transferable into my profession which is commercial real estate. I like to tell people that my business is risk evaluation when they ask what I do. In effect, My business amounts to nothing more than risk evaluation. The similarities are astounding.
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Top reviews from the United States

Sean B
5.0 out of 5 stars Game-changer
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2024
Verified Purchase
Concise but dense with knowledge, Howard Marks is as savvy as they come. Definitely recommend this read for all investors.
One person found this helpful
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Richard M. Rockwood
5.0 out of 5 stars An investment classic
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2011
Verified Purchase
Mr. Marks states that when he was attending client meetings over the years he noticed a pattern. He would say in one meeting that that such and such was the most important thing about investing and in later meetings he found himself referencing other items that he titled the most important thing to understand. Upon reflection about this pattern he decided to write a memo in July of 2003 that covered all these critical areas in his investing philosophy.

This new book expands upon the ideas he covered in that original memo. Topics that are covered include: market efficiency, value, risk, investment cycles, contrarianism, finding bargains, patient opportunism, circle of competence, luck, avoiding pitfalls, etc... In short all the topics that a focus investor needs to understand and be able to place, and use, in their own mental models.

What does Mr. Marks want his readers to gain from his book? Here are his own words from the introduction of the book:

"I didn't set out to write a manual for investing. Rather, this book is a statement of my own investment philosophy. I consider it my creed, and in the course of my investment career it has served like a religion. These are the things I believe in, the guideposts that keep me on track. The messages I deliver are the ones I consider the most lasting. I'm confident their relevance will extend beyond today.

You won't find a how-to book here. There's no surefire recipe for investment success. No step-by-step instructions. No valuation formulas containing mathematical constants or fixed ratios - in fact, very few numbers. Just a way to think that might help you make good decisions and, perhaps more important, avoid the pitfalls that ensnare so many.

It's not my goal to simplify investing. In fact, the thing I most want to make clear is just how complex it is. Those who try to simplify investing do their audience a great disservice. I'm going to stick to general thoughts on return, risk and process..."

Mr. Marks has succeeded in his goals in a brilliant manner. There is, quite simply, an incredible amount of wisdom between the covers of his book and an investor is doing them a disservice if they don't read, and re-read, this book. I will be placing it on my shelf right next to the great investments classics of Security Analysis, The Intelligent Investor, the Berkshire Hathaway annual reports, and Margin of Safety. Quite simply I can't recommend it highly enough.
76 people found this helpful
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pedrog
4.0 out of 5 stars Good, not great
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2016
Verified Purchase
Howard Marks is a value investing genius, with an astounding track record of ~20% p.a. returns for 25+ years. Therefore, I'm happy to read anything he is willing to share. In this book, he shares deeply toughtful insights, but in a somewhat dry, unengaging and repetitive text. Overall a must read, but don't expect an excellent literary experience.

Although Marks shares his high level investment philosofy, he never shares enough to allow someone to understand exactly how he implements it in practice. How much safety margin? Which level of diversification? How to attribute probabilities to extreme events? Some nitty-gritty and real life examples would have transformed this book from a gospel to a more vivid and practical read.

This could be accomplished while simultaneosly reducing the lenght of the book. It often feels verbose, with the same ideas repeated in different sections and paraphrased in multiple similar ways. Additionally, his habit of citing his own past writings is unnecessary and baloons the reading time without delivering much value to the reader.
73 people found this helpful
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Ed Cleaves
5.0 out of 5 stars Similar to Psychology of Money
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2023
Verified Purchase
I was half expecting this book to be a technical description of Value Investing, with plenty of references to Warren Buffet and Benjamin Graham. Although the book started that way; I found that Howard shared many insights about investor psychology. This book is a wonderful guide on how to combine value investing with an understanding of market cycles and investor behaviour. For anyone who has read and enjoyed “The Psychology of Money”, you should definitely read “The Most Important Thing” as well.
8 people found this helpful
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Allan sarkisian
5.0 out of 5 stars great read!
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2023
Verified Purchase
Had a strong interest in learning about Marks’ perspective on investing… he raises numerous thought-provoking ideas that are applicable to all facets of life (not just investing)!
2 people found this helpful
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Dave - Leader/mentor/entrepreneur
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for all investors
Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2023
Verified Purchase
Author is an original thinker who managed one of the larger funds on wall street. He doesn’t just parrot the same talking points as all the other classically trained investors/money managers/etc.
Author is a wise and patient contrarian.
I re-read the books highlights every year!
3 people found this helpful
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Jay M
5.0 out of 5 stars Investors must read!
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2023
Verified Purchase
Amazing book, packed with wisdom from the GOAT Howard!
3 people found this helpful
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Vladimir Maksimovic
4.0 out of 5 stars My take-away from this book
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2023
Verified Purchase
"Leverage introduces risk of ruin."

This quote stuck with me.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Michael Kurkdjian
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent common sense investing book a lot of information on how to get better
Reviewed in Canada on February 21, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is a very underrated book. There is excellent advice on almost every page. The author Howard Marks has also received annotations by other great investors throughout the book that emphasize the points and give different perspectives. The content of the book can be applied to any kind of investment not just stocks, bonds, but anything to do with investing our funds for the future. Truly wish I had read this book years ago. I will definitely read it a second time.
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Vishal Shah
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and Thought Provoking
Reviewed in India on January 19, 2024
Verified Purchase
It’s one of the most brilliant books that I have read on investing and human psychology. Mark provides various insights into what is required of becoming a successful long term investor.
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Robert ‘Bob’ Macespera
5.0 out of 5 stars A superb lesson on investing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is a superb, and short, book that, to this eyes, is the best book on stocks investing since the canonical "The Intelligent Investor" was published three-quarters of a century ago (in 1948). I will defy those who may think this is an exaggeration, to name a book on stock trades so accurate, so simple, so easy to read and so practical like this one. Based heavily (and quoting often) Warren Buffett's letters to shareholders, Howard Marks explains his experience, and success, through the main points on investment. However, the author stays blissfully away from platitudes and hollow comments: no shortcut-to-get-rich here, no false promises. Far from it, Mr Marks lists constantly what's needed to succeed in the stock markets: loads of common sense, patience, discipline and a sound investment strategy based on the investor's ultimate goals. Only Warren Buffett managed to say it shorter: "buy good stocks cheap".
And at only 177 pages this "Most Important Thing" is an example that consistent messages (possibly must) be delivered in a short fashion - 95% of what's written about the stocks markets nowadays is a copy-and-paste or a bromide; most is showy and inflated with formulas only a few can understand. Mr Marks effortlessly makes all that literature futile by getting down to the point in every chapter and by not bloating the book with not even one mathematical formula. Those starting in the mysteries of buying and selling shares do have here a wonderful introduction and sound advice at a rate of, at least, one per page. Those out there with investment experience, will still learn something new, without a doubt.
As a coda, I'll recommend three other books that, after Graham's Intelligent Investor and Marks'Most Important Thing, do supply with priceless lessons on shares investment (this is just a short comment, I've reviewed these books individually too):
Peter Lynch: "One up on Wall Street". A lont-time successful fund manager, Mr Lynch is perhaps the most enthusiastic of writers on shares, and manages to transmit this enthusiasm without losing a bit of accuracy. This book is a bit dated. Published in 1989 the "big" companies were then General Elecric, Ford and the big tobacco and these firms are used for the many examples the book contains, but its lessons are as good and useful for the third second half of the XX century as they are now.
John Bogle: "The little book of Common Sense investing". Very short, but packed with sound advice. Also a very successful fund manager, Mr Bogle wrote a pamphlet on staying away from fashions and "trends" - his theory is that following a stock index for decades may sound dull, but it is a guarantee of profit. With very good entries on dividends too.
Philip Fisher: "Common stocks and Uncommon Profits". Even older than the previous two, this minor classic was published in 1960 (one of Mr Fisher's favorite stocks was Motorola, then a transistors maker). It is written in the elegantly sober style of the mid-century and it is full of investment wisdom. As with the previous other two books, it offers no miracle and it states often that investment is a long-term activity.
3 people found this helpful
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Sandro0808
5.0 out of 5 stars keine Bettlektüre
Reviewed in Germany on May 7, 2022
Verified Purchase
es liest sich nicht so flüssig wie ein Roman. Kann man auch nicht erwarten. Dennoch sehr schön strukturiert, man muss vorher kein Experte sein, nachher ist man's. Bestimmt. Die Kernaussagen werden noch mal prägnant zusammengefasst. Ich werde dieses Buch immer wieder in die Hand nehmen. Je nach Bedarf.
3 people found this helpful
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dbroch
5.0 out of 5 stars Réflexion originale
Reviewed in France on May 3, 2022
Verified Purchase
Très bon livre qui aborde des thèmes relativement inédit pour un investisseur : la psychologie détaillée du risque, le cycle du marché, l'impossibilité de mathématiser l'investissement, la fonction de la valeur intrinsèque comme repère etc.
Fait partie de toute réflexion sérieuse sur l'investissement en bourse.
2 people found this helpful
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