Howard Marks helped found Oaktree Capital Management in 1995 with a group of individuals who worked at TCW Group. Prior to helping form and taking the lead at Oaktree in 1995, Howard Marks worked for ten years at the TCW Group, Inc. overseeing distressed debt, high yield bonds and convertible securities investments. Oaktree is a Los Angeles based investment firm that specializes in alternative investments and maintains an emphasis on distressed debt, corporate debt and convertible securities. The company manages roughly $78 billion in investment capital for various pension funds, foundations and endowments. The primary focus of the firm is on companies that are less known by major investors and other funds, and are generally considered contrarian investments.