Mark Mobius

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]

Biography

Joseph Benhard Mark Mobius was born to German and Puerto-Rican parents in Hempstead, New York. He earned his B.A. and M.S. in Communications from Boston University, and received a Ph.D in economics from MIT in 1964.^[3] He also studied at the University of Wisconsin, University of New Mexico, and Kyoto University in Japan. He joined Templeton in 1987 as president of the Templeton Emerging Markets Fund (NYSE: EMF), 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.^[4] This was the first emerging market equity fund available to US investors,^[5] 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.^[5]

His current duties include managing over 50 closed-end and open-end mutual funds worldwide including 17 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.

Born a U.S. citizen, Mobius was also entitled to German citizenship by descent. He renounced his U.S. citizenship and is now a German.^[6]

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.^[7] He has also been featured as a speaker ^[8] for the World Bank in 1999 and has given seminars for many other groups, including for the Asian Development Bank in 2002^[9] and as a motivational speaker for the London Speaker Bureau.^[10]

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.

In addition, 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",^[11] the "dean of emerging markets",^[12] a world "globetrotter",^[13][14] and the Yul Brynner of Wall Street^[15] due to his signature bald head look.

Mobius is also a regular monthly columnist for the Asia Tatler group of magazines , wherein he authors a column on "Wealth"^[16]

A comic book on the life of Mark Mobius was published in 2007: "Mark Mobius - An Illustrated Biography of the Father of Emerging Markets Funds" is currently translated into six languages (English, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, Thai and Japanese) and available in numerous countries. ^[17]

Selected publications

• Debt Markets (Mark Mobius Financial Insights), 2008. ISBN 0-470-82147-7
• Risk Management (Mark Mobius Financial Insights), 2008. ISBN 0-470-82149-3
• Derivatives (Mark Mobius Financial Insights), 2008. ISBN 0-470-82146-9
• Foreign Exchange and Money Markets (Mark Mobius Masterclass), 2007. ISBN 0-470-82145-0
• Technical Analysis: An Introduction To The Core Concepts, 2007. ISBN 0-470-82148-5
• Mutual Funds: An Introduction To The Core Concepts, 2007. ISBN 0-470-82143-4
• Equities: An Introduction To The Core Concepts, 2006. ISBN 0-470-82144-2
• Passport to Profits, 1999. ISBN 0-446-52251-1
• Mobius on Emerging Markets, 1996. ISBN 0-273-62284-6
• The Investor's Guide to Emerging Markets, 1994. ISBN 0-273-60327-2
• Trading With China, 1973. ISBN 0-668-02908-0

References

1. ^ Business Week Mark Mobius: Global Pioneer. 1998.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Franklin Templeton UK Mark Mobious: Manager Biography
3. ^ http://alum.mit.edu
4. ^ Franklin Templeton History of Franklin Resources, Inc.
5. ^ ^{a b} Emerging Markets Magazine, October 2007.
6. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/12/us/some-of-rich-find-a-passport-lost-is-a-fortune-gained.html
7. ^ World Bank Press Release. September 27, 1999.
8. ^ World Bank 1999 Program of Seminars Beyond the Crisis: The Outlook for Private Capital Flows to Emerging Markets. September 1999.
9. ^ Asian Development Bank Mobius' Curriculum Vitae. 2002.
10. ^ London Speaker Bureau Profile on Mark Mobius.
11. ^ Business Times Investment guru with the world on his shoulders. September 1998.
12. ^ CFO Magazine The Global 100: Gadflies. June 28, 2002.
13. ^ Canada National Post Silly Theme Funds. April, 2007.
14. ^ The Motley Fool International Superstar Stocks: Why Invest Overseas?. November 15, 2005.
15. ^ Federation of East European Family History Societies "Moebius". Investment Outlook. April 1999.
16. ^ www.asiatatler.com
17. ^ www.mobiuscomic.com

External links

• Notes from Mark Mobius Templeton Blog 2009
• PSB In-depth interview Philosophy of emerging markets. May 2001.
• Franklin Templeton Global Perspectives. Overview on Emerging Markets, March 2008
• BBC interview Investing in emerging markets, June 2008
• Investors Chronicle interview Mark Mobius tips Turkey, S. Africa, July 2008
• Podcast: Mark Mobius Ten top investment tips, June 2009

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Name	Mobius, Mark
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Date of birth	August 17, 1936
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