Howard Marks is one of the world's best and wisest investors in my opinion. He has told investors that "this is a good time to invest".
Who is Howard Marks? He is the co-founder and co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management which specialises in alternative asset management.
He regularly shares his thoughts via memos on the website.
In a recent message to clients, as reported by the AFR, he said that "Even though there's no way to say the bottom is at hand, the conditions that make bargains available certainly are materialising. Given the price drops and selling we've seen so far, I believe this is a good time to invest, although, of course, it may prove not to have been the best time.
"No one can argue that you should spend all your money today, but equally, no-one can argue that you shouldn't spend any.
"Is there really an argument for not investing at all? In my opinion, the fact that we're not necessarily at the bottom isn't such an argument."
True market capitulations and the market bottom only happens when there's no optimism at all, according to Mr Marks. However, he pointed to the fact that the market has rallied several times over the past month.
Oaktree itself has already been showing caution in recent times with expectations of being rewarded during a dislocation.
Whilst the coronavirus has caused severe problems for several countries so far, and a terrible death toll, there are signs that Asian countries and Italy are getting the outbreak under control, compared to a few weeks ago.
Investors seem to be taking the same mentality, perhaps sensing the worst isn't that far off. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up another 2.6% today and it's up 12.75% since the low on Monday.
Various shares have jumped today. The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is up another 27.3%. The EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price is up 20%. The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price is up 18.6%.
