Time is ripe to snap up bargains, says debt investor Howard Marks. The time is right to snap up “bargains” in the financial markets following the widespread sell-off, according to Howard Marks, one of the world’s most formidable distressed debt investors. “Today I am starting to behave aggressively,” the founder and co-chair of Oaktree Capital, said in an interview. The main gauge used to measure junk US corporate debt has registered a loss of just under 13 per cent this year, its largest since the financial crisis in 2008, according to Ice Data Services. Financial markets have sold off as the Federal Reserve has begun to sharply raise interest rates, piling pressure on treasurers across the globe. Borrowing costs have shot higher, with yields on highly rated corporate debt in the US averaging 4.72 per cent this week, double the level at the end of 2021. For riskier groups rated junk by the major credit rating agencies, yields are now above 8.5 per cent, up from 4.32 per cent.