Mark Mobius

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Dr. Joseph Mark Mobius (born August 17, 1936) is a global investor and emerging markets fund manager, and is considered to be one of the leaders in the industry[1] as he has been involved in these markets for over 40 years.[2]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Joseph Benhard Mark Mobius was born to German and Puerto-Rican parents in Hempstead, New York. He earned his Bachelors in Fine Arts and MSc in Communications from Boston University, and received a Ph.D in economics from MIT in 1964. [1] His other qualifications include a degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of New Mexico.

He joined Templeton in 1987 as president of the Templeton Emerging Markets Fund (NYSEEMF), a closed end mutual fund, and there integrated his knowledge of new international markets with Sir John Templeton's disciplined, long term approach to investing.[3] This was the first emerging market equity fund available to US investors,[4] and Mobius' one key condition to take on this challenge was that Templeton must open its first emerging market office, which it did in Hong Kong.[4]

His current duties include managing US$37 billion in more than 35 closed-end and open-end Franklin Templeton mutual funds worldwide including 13 offices overseas.[2]

Before joining Templeton, Mobius worked at international securities firm Vickers-da-Costa, and later was president of International Investment Trust Company in Taipei, Taiwan. He once ran an independent consulting company that marketed among other things, Snoopy cartoon merchandise and Avon Cosmetics.

[edit] Industry Recognition

Because of his in-depth knowledge of emerging markets, Mobius has been a key figure in developing international policy for emerging markets. In 1999, he was selected to serve on the World Bank's Global Corporate Governance Forum as a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group and as co-chair of the Investor Responsibility Taskforce.[5] He has also been featured as a speaker [6] for the World Bank in 1999 and has given seminars for many other groups, including for the Asian Development Bank in 2002[7] and as a motivational speaker for the London Speaker Bureau[8].

As a recognized industry expert, Mobius appears frequently on financial industry television shows and networks, including BLOOMBERG, CNBC, MSNBC, and CNN, and has given/written thousands of interviews and opinion pieces over the years. A comprehensive listing would not be appropriate for this article, but Google has compiled many thousands of hits depending on the search terms used: "mark mobius" interview, "mark mobius" notes, and "mark mobius" talkfor further reading. This is included in this article just to show how prolific and influential he has been for over 40 years in the industry.

Mobius has earned numerous accolades from the investment industry.[2] Among them are:

  • One of "Top 100 Most Powerful and Influential People" by Asiamoney magazine. 2006.
  • "Emerging Markets Equity Manager of the Year 2001" by International Money Marketing, 2001.
  • "Ten Top Money Managers of the 20th Century" by the Carson Group, 1999.
  • "Number One Global Emerging Market Fund" by Reuters, 1998.
  • "1994 First in Business Money Manager of the Year" by CNBC, 1994.
  • "Closed-End Fund Manager of the Year" by Morningstar, 1993.
  • "Investment Trust Manager of the Year 1992" by Sunday Telegraph, 1992.

Mobius has also been given various humorous nicknames over the years, including the "Pied Piper of emerging markets"[9], the "dean of emerging markets"[10], a world "globetrotter"[11][12], and the Yul Brynner of Wall Street[13][14] due to his signature bald head look.

[edit] Selected Publications

[edit] References

  1. ^ Business Week Mark Mobius: Global Pioneer. 1998.
  2. ^ a b c Franklin Templeton UK Mark Mobious: Manager Biography
  3. ^ Franklin Templeton History of Franklin Resources, Inc.
  4. ^ a b Emerging Markets Magazine, October 2007.
  5. ^ World Bank Press Release. September 27, 1999.
  6. ^ World Bank 1999 Program of Seminars Beyond the Crisis: The Outlook for Private Capital Flows to Emerging Markets. September 1999.
  7. ^ Asian Development Bank Mobius' Curriculum Vitae. 2002.
  8. ^ London Speaker Bureau Profile on Mark Mobius.
  9. ^ Business Times Investment guru with the world on his shoulders. September 1998.
  10. ^ CFO Magazine The Global 100: Gadflies. June 28, 2002.
  11. ^ Canada National Post Silly Theme Funds. April, 2007.
  12. ^ The Motley Fool International Superstar Stocks: Why Invest Overseas?. November 15, 2005.
  13. ^ Federation of East European Family History Societies "Moebius". November 25, 1999.
  14. ^ Pimco Funds Investment Outlook. April 1999.

[edit] External links