Mark Mobius
Encyclopedia
Dr. Joseph Mark Mobius is a global investor
and emerging markets fund manager, and is considered to be one of the leaders in the industry as he has been involved in these markets for over 40 years.
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. 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 , 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. This was the first emerging market equity fund available to US
investors, 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.
His current duties include managing over 50 closed-end and open-end
mutual fund
s worldwide including 17 offices overseas.
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.
, 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. He has also been featured as a speaker for the World Bank in 1999 and has given seminars for many other groups, including for the Asian Development Bank
in 2002 and as a motivational speaker for the London Speaker Bureau.
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. Among them are:
Mobius has also been given various humorous nicknames over the years, including the "Pied Piper of emerging markets", the "dean of emerging markets", a world "globetrotter", and the Yul Brynner
of Wall Street
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"
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.
Investor
An investor is a party that makes an investment into one or more categories of assets --- equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, derivatives such as put and call options, etc...
and emerging markets fund manager, and is considered to be one of the leaders in the industry as he has been involved in these markets for over 40 years.
Biography
Joseph Benhard Mark Mobius was born to GermanGermans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
and Puerto-Rican parents in Hempstead
Hempstead (village), New York
Hempstead is a village located in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 53,891 at the 2010 census.Hofstra University is located on the border between Hempstead and Uniondale.-Foundation:...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He earned his B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and M.S.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in Communications from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, and received a Ph.D
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
from MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1964. He also studied at the University of Wisconsin, University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
, and Kyoto University
Kyoto University
, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
in Japan.
He joined Templeton
Franklin Templeton Investments
Franklin Resources Inc. is a holding company which, together with its subsidiaries, is referred to as Franklin Templeton Investments; it is an investment firm originally founded in New York in 1947 as Franklin Distributors, Inc. It is listed on the NYSE under the ticker BEN, in honor of Benjamin...
in 1987 as president of the Templeton Emerging Markets Fund , a closed end mutual fund
Closed-end fund
A closed-end fund is a collective investment scheme with a limited number of shares. It is called a closed-end fund because new shares are rarely issued once the fund has launched, and because shares are not normally redeemable for cash or securities until the fund liquidates.Typically an...
, and there integrated his knowledge of new international markets with Sir John Templeton
John Templeton
Sir John Marks Templeton was an American-born British stock investor, businessman and philanthropist.-Biography:...
's disciplined, long term approach to investing. This was the first emerging market equity fund available to US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
investors, 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.
His current duties include managing over 50 closed-end and open-end
Open-end fund
An open-end fund is a collective investment scheme which can issue and redeem shares at any time. An investor will generally purchase shares in the fund directly from the fund itself rather than from the existing shareholders...
mutual fund
Mutual fund
A mutual fund is a professionally managed type of collective investment scheme that pools money from many investors to buy stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, and/or other securities.- Overview :...
s worldwide including 17 offices overseas.
Before joining Templeton, Mobius worked at international securities firm Vickers-da-Costa, and later was president of International Investment Trust Company in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. 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.
Industry Recognition
Because of his in-depth knowledge of emerging marketsDeveloping country
A developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries...
, Mobius has been a key figure in developing international policy for emerging markets. In 1999, he was selected to serve on the World Bank
World Bank Group
The World Bank Group is a family of five international organizations that makes leveraged loans, generally to poor countries.The Bank came into formal existence on 27 December 1945 following international ratification of the Bretton Woods agreements, which emerged from the United Nations Monetary...
's Global Corporate Governance Forum as a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group and as co-chair of the Investor Responsibility Taskforce. He has also been featured as a speaker for the World Bank in 1999 and has given seminars for many other groups, including for the Asian Development Bank
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
in 2002 and as a motivational speaker for the London Speaker Bureau.
As a recognized industry expert, Mobius appears frequently on financial industry television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows and networks, including Bloomberg
Bloomberg Television
Bloomberg Television is a 24-hour global network broadcasting business and financial news. It is distributed globally, reaching over 200 million homes worldwide. It is owned and operated by Bloomberg L.P...
, CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, and CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, and has given/written thousands of interviews and opinion pieces over the years.
In addition, Mobius has earned numerous accolades from the investment industry. Among them are:
- One of "Top 100 Most Powerful and Influential People" by AsiamoneyAsiamoneyAsiamoney is a financial publication established in 1989. It is a division of global media group Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, itself majority owned by the London-based Daily Mail and General Trust Group....
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 ReutersReutersReuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, 1998. - "1994 First in Business Money Manager of the Year" by CNBCCNBCCNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, 1994. - "Closed-End Fund Manager of the Year" by MorningstarMorningstar, Inc.Morningstar, Inc. is an independent investment research company based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.-Businesses:Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of products and services for...
, 1993. - "Investment Trust Manager of the Year 1992" by Sunday TelegraphSunday TelegraphThe Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
, 1992.
Mobius has also been given various humorous nicknames over the years, including the "Pied Piper of emerging markets", the "dean of emerging markets", a world "globetrotter", and the Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
of Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
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"
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.
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
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