Oaktree’s Marks says ‘uninvestable’ China offers bargains

“I’ve made my whole career buying assets that other people consider uninvestable and when you do that, you have a chance of getting a bargain,” Marks said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Comments about China being uninvestable are “music to my ears,” he said.  

Marks said Chinese authorities are trying to calibrate the right amount of stimulus to spur growth in the economy without relying on it excessively. A growth rate of about 5% is still well above most of the rest of the world, even if lower than past decades, Marks said. 

Those words echoed his comments earlier this month about how China’s economy is in a period of transition. While the U.S. economy is doing well and better than many other countries, asset values there are a “little high,” compared with bargain prices in China, he said Wednesday. 

China still has “great potential to come into its own” and while investors have concerns about the current situation it’s “bargain priced,” he said. 

“Clearly China is on the pile of things that people feel ill about,” he added. “And it’s on that pile that you find the bargains. That doesn’t mean that you should buy everything on the pile, but that’s where you look for the castoffs and the bargains.”

While U.S. stocks are on the “high side” relative to history, and that demands a somewhat more defensive approach, Marks wasn’t overly bearish on US assets.   

“I don’t think things are crazy high now and I don’t think it’s time to get out,” he said.   

Marks co-founded Oaktree in 1995 with Bruce Karsh and five other partners from TCW Group Inc. The Los Angeles-based distressed-debt investment firm had $205 billion in assets under management as of September. It invests in credit, private equity, real assets and listed equities.