They grow up so fast.

Howard Marks Oaktree Capital Management Co-Chair

Jeffrey Gundlach and his team now manage more money than the very company that funded them at birth less than seven years ago.

Howard Marks, co-chair of Oaktree Capital Management, publicly confirmed yesterday that last month DoubleLine Capital [profile] passed Oaktree's AUM. DoubleLine is approaching $100 billion in AUM.

Marks and Gundlach both joined TCW three decades ago. Marks left in the mid-90s and co-founded Oaktree. When Gundlach and TCW infamously parted ways at the end of 2009, Gundlach created DoubleLine and Oaktree invested in the startup. Oaktree holds a 20-percent stake in DoubleLine.

"We have a very happy cooperation. It has made all of us better," Marks said when introducing Gundlach at the 21st annual Sohn Investment Conference at Lincoln Center in New York City. "It doesn't hurt that that $20-million investment back in '09 is now valued by the analysts at about $1B."

"Investing in DoubleLine and Jeff was the best idea that I ever had," Marks added.

Oh, and when Gundlach himself took the stage moments later, the speakers played the opening bars to the Guns N Roses classic "Sweet Child O Mine". 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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