259. Indiana Jones of emerging markets leaves the world
Yesterday morning, a friend from Kyiv informed me that Peter Duncan passed away on Sunday. This morning, Ashok Jainani messaged me to say that Mark Mobius had died at 89. When will I hear some good news from my friends?
But that’s not their fault. All good people are leaving because the world is slowly becoming unlivable. It will be back-to-back obituary writing, which I hate.
Mark Mobius was born a U.S. citizen and also qualified for German citizenship by descent, but he renounced his U.S. citizenship and lived as a German citizen.
His beliefs about emerging markets, a relatively recent term, influenced a generation of fund managers and drew billions of dollars to markets once considered peripheral.
He joined Franklin Templeton in 1987 after being invited by John Templeton to lead the Templeton Emerging Markets Group, and later served as its executive chairman.
At Franklin Templeton, he founded and led the research team spanning 18 global emerging markets offices, overseeing more than $50 billion in emerging markets
portfolios.
In 2018, Mark co-founded Mobius Capital Partners with his former colleagues, Carlos von Hardenberg and Greg Konieczny.
That same year, I requested an interview with him. Within hours, he responded via email, asking for the questions and saying he would reply.
He belonged to an older generation that always replied to and acknowledged letters and emails, unlike the newer, often arrogant individuals across various fields.
On my suggestion, Mr. William J. Dean had a chance meeting with him in New York and noted that Mark’s thesis topic was ‘communication satellites’, which amused him.
Impressed by Trump’s first term, Mark, along with many investors and fund managers, preferred Donald Trump's victory in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. He described a Biden-Harris win as "disastrous" for the stock market and the economy.
Mark criticized China's capital controls, emphasizing the removal of capital outflow restrictions.
In his wonderful book, which reads more like a travelogue, ‘The Little Book of Emerging Markets’, he writes that if you want to understand a market, start with its people. It's not a 'Get-Rich-Quick' book but a practical handbook on opportunities in emerging markets, filled with platitudes and self-centered anecdotes, making it highly readable.
He showed that practical, on-site observation was more important than abstract theories. He remembered opportunities arising from factory visits in Brazil, discussions with privatization officials in Poland, and chats with shopkeepers in the Philippines. Mark frequently traveled to uncover overlooked economic opportunities and claimed to have visited at least 112 countries.
His extensive knowledge reassured Western investors concerned about political risks, currency fluctuations, and unclear governance. Mobius must be remembered by all Asian countries, as well as by the third-world countries, for his yeoman services.
Despite his lifelong attachment to markets, Mark was essentially a man of the fine arts, having gained experience across a wide range of fields, including teaching, working at a talent agency, and marketing Snoopy products in Asia.
Until his last days, Mark was a very active man, with an opinion on everything related to the equity market, investing, and geopolitical issues.
What made him Indiana Jones was his risk-taking and strong belief in his convictions. He was the first to explore the emerging markets, which were new to foreign investment fund managers.
Back then, no one was willing to unlock new, sometimes hazardous, jurisdictions. Mark relished the challenge.
Mark has written many books. His ‘Passport to Profits’ is well known for his commentary on volatility, in which he writes that volatility is not an enemy to fear but a sign that opportunity is close at hand.
It was the first practical book that discussed in detail the wisdom of holding international funds and stocks as a hedge against local stock market reversals. It shows the average person how to devise a global investment strategy and the pros and cons of buying individual stocks or mutual funds.
I am sure even Mark, up and above, will be a busy soul, searching and researching something new, some uncharted road to travel, and will start sharing his results with the friendly as well as unfriendly souls.
Well, if something really exists, well up and above. Personally, I don't believe.
For those unfamiliar with the term, Indiana Jones is a popular American film series about the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional archaeology professor. The series was created by George Lucas, starting with Raiders of the Lost Ark, and three more films were directed by Steven Spielberg.