Forget Bitcoin And Gold, Says Investment Guru Howard Marks — High-Yield Bonds Offer Better Haven In Post-Easy Money Era

Howard Marks, the co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, has expressed his skepticism about the intrinsic value of both Bitcoin BTC/USD and gold. He has also suggested a safer investment option in the current market environment.

What Happened: As reported by Bloomberg on Thursday, in a recent interview with Merryn Somerset Webb on the Merryn Talks Money podcast, Marks compared Bitcoin and gold, stating that both assets lack intrinsic value.

“Gold is a little more tried and true, but it also lacks any kind of analytical raison d’etre,” Marks said,

Oaktree Capital Management, established in 1995 as a distressed debt specialist, currently manages approximately $180 billion in assets.

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Marks believes that the investment environment has undergone a “sea change” and that a return to the world of 0% interest rates is unlikely in the foreseeable future. Instead of Bitcoin or gold, Marks suggests that investors consider a high-yield bond fund.

“Fixed income securities offer substantial yields today, and the return or yield on a fixed income security is virtually, by definition, safer,” he said.

Why It Matters: Marks’ views on the investment environment are consistent with his previous warnings about the potential dangers of a return to a low-interest-rate environment. In a memo earlier this month, Marks cautioned against the detrimental investment behavior that could be fostered by a return to the low-interest rate environment seen between the Great Financial Crisis and the pandemic outbreak.

He attributed this to the Federal Reserve’s ‘activist’ approach, which involves pumping liquidity to avert potential problems. Despite expectations of the Federal Reserve slashing interest rates again, Marks warned against expecting near-zero rates, underlining the problems that arose from the easy-money era before the pandemic.

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