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The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor resources

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Introduction For the last twenty years I’ve been writing occasional memos to my clients— fi rst at Trust Company of the West and then at Oaktree Capital Manage- ment, the company I cofounded in 1995. I use the memos to set forth my investment philosophy, explain the workings of fi nance and provide my take on recent events. Th ose memos form the core of this book, and you will fi nd passages from many of them in the pages that follow, for I believe their lessons apply as well today as they did when they were written. For inclusion here I’ve made some minor changes, primarily to make their mes- sage clearer. What, exactly, is “the most important thing”? In July 2003, I wrote a memo with that title that pulled together the elements I felt were essential for in- vestment success. Here’s how it began: “As I meet with clients and prospects, I repeatedly hear myself say, ‘Th e most important thing is X.’ And then ten minutes later it’s, ‘Th e most important thing is Y.’ And then Z, and so on.” All told, the memo ended up discussing eigh teen “most important things.” Since that original memo, I’ve made a few adjustments in the things I consider “the most important,” but the fundamental notion is unchanged: they’re all important. Successful investing requires thoughtful attention to many separate aspects, all at the same time. Omit any one and the result is likely to be less than satisfactory. Th at is why I have built this book around

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