Twitter IPO Driven By Emotional Buying, Says Howard Marks

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During an interview with Bloomberg, Howard Marks, chairman of Oaktree Capital Group LLC (NYSE:OAK), opined that the stock price of Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) rose during its initial public offering (IPO) because it was driven by emotional buying.

Twitter IPO Driven By Emotional Buying, Says Howard Marks

He emphasized that he tried to be professional after 45 years in the business of investing, and he was wondering why people are buying the stock.

Why people are buying Twitter stocks?

Marks believed that people are buying Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) because they are betting that it would go up, but they have no idea how stocks are valued, what makes it go up, and what makes a company worth money. He said, “They just buy it because they think it’s a punt. They think if I buy it, it will probably go up, but they have no idea, why or how.”

He added that the Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) will be “one piece of evidence that the race to the bottom has resumed” wherein people are unafraid and engage in an aggressive behavior moving into the risk curb.

In terms of the economy of the United States, Marks said that his expectation is modest. However, he believed that if there is a surprise, the economy will become stronger. He described the U.S. economy, and other economies of the world like a kick-start motorcycle, and he hoped that it catches. He said, “Maybe the U.S. economy is catching” and “gains momentum.” He projected that it might get to the point where businesses are expanding.

Oaktree Capital’s clients fund allocation

Meanwhile, Marks also explained that the clients of Oaktree Capital Group LLC (NYSE:OAK) allocate their funds and they asked the investment management firm to do a specific job for them. He said, “If we are hired to do a specific job, nobody says, ‘here’s the money, do what you think is smart’.” According to him, his firm selects what to raise money for, and this year the funds they were able to raise were primarily for real estate investing and credit strategies such as corporate debt.

He also said that Oaktree Capital had been investing in Asia since 1997, and the firm is beginning to invest in emerging markets stress debt. He said the investment management firm tried to invest in private equity six years ago, but the result was not great.

Marks said when you think about Oaktree Capital Group LLC (NYSE:OAK), it is synonymous with the words credit, value, and opportunistic. When asked about investing in China, he said, “I think China private equity, you probably need equity, growth, strategic. That’s a different set of attributes.” He said the firm has not decided yet if it will give investing in China another try.

On the other hand, Marks said he perceived increased confidence in Japan’s economy and he is optimistic about it.

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