• Mobius has 30 years of experience as a leader at Templeton Emerging Markets
• In 2018 Mobius founded his own fund “Mobius Capital Partners”
As a renowned investor, Mark Mobius has visited more than 110 countries and logged over a million miles. He has invested in more than 5,000 companies, managed more than $40 billion in assets and written 12 books. His success was so impressive that his remarkable career was even recognized in an illustrated biography, the comic book “Mark Mobius”.
how it all started
The communications and economist with degrees from Boston University and the world-renowned MIT was born Joseph Bernhard Mark Mobius in Hempstead, New York. Already during his studies he was very interested in other countries – he pursued this interest with university stays abroad at the University of New Mexico and the Kyoto University in Japan.
The further course of his career was also marked by this: “I flew so often for work that I would have earned several First Class frequent flyer flights to the moon,” he is quoted on his website. He flew so much because of his numerous investments in emerging markets, which also made him one of the best-known investors in the world. His career as an investor in emerging markets began comparatively late in 1987 when he was commissioned by the renowned value investor Sir John Templeton to lead the Templeton Emerging Markets Fund, one of the world’s first emerging market funds. He had previously worked in a variety of other industries – including a talent agency, teaching communications, and marketing – and even started his own securities research firm, eventually joining international securities firm Vickers-da-Costa and to be appointed President of the first and largest investment company in Taiwan, Mega International Investment Trust Company in Taipei.
His specialty: investing in emerging markets!
In its early days at Templeton Emerging Markets, Mobius invested the fund’s $100 million in just six markets. Over the next 30 years, however, he gained valuable knowledge on his business trips, so that by the time he left the company, the fund portfolio had grown to more than $40 billion in around 70 countries. His prediction of the 2009 bull market was indicative of his expert knowledge. Mark Mobius’ career was also so successful because the economic conditions in many emerging markets changed during his years at Templeton Emerging Markets: With the introduction of free-market structures, they standardized their economic policies and became more sophisticated in dealing with currency and economics.
After stepping down from his senior position at Templeton Emerging Markets, Mobius founded his own fund, Mobius Capital Partners, in 2018 with Carlos von Hardenberg and Greg Konieczny, both also former Templeton employees. At Mobius Capital Partners, the focus is on emerging and frontier markets, where the fund concentrates on dynamic medium-sized companies. Through a fundamental and extensive research process, robust business models are identified that appear undervalued and incorrectly valued for the fund.
Mobius Capital Partners: Focus on ESG funds
The special focus is on environmental, social and governance standards (ESG). In emerging and frontier markets, these standards are often lower than in other countries, giving the funds an opportunity to create value through active exposure. In this way, Mobius Capital Partners wants to promote operational improvements, higher ESG standards and lower business risks. The investment philosophy is also based on an active participation approach to the investments. By entering into partnerships with companies, value is to be created to drive improvements in corporate governance and operational performance. According to Mobius, this ultimately leads to lower business risks.
Mobius Capital Partners pursues a strategic investment philosophy based on a highly concentrated portfolio. As of the end of January 2023, the portfolio is made up of more than 50 percent technology stocks and more than 20 percent healthcare investments, with the remainder made up of stocks in the consumer staples, communications and industrials sectors. The cash portion accounts for 10 percent. In terms of geographical distribution, companies from Taiwan account for the largest share with more than 25 percent, followed by South Korea with more than 12 percent, China with more than 12 percent and India with more than 10 percent. Brazil, Turkey, Kenya, Vietnam and South Africa each account for less than 6 percent of the portfolio. Since its launch in 2018, the fund has achieved a performance of more than 20 percent, with a maximum drawdown of around -37 percent.
Awards and Recognitions
A recognized expert in his field, Mobius has been recognized for his work and expertise with numerous industry awards – including Global Investor Magazine’s Life Time Achievement Award in Asset Management (2017). He was also recognized as one of Bloomberg Markets Magazine’s 50 Most Influential People (2011) and one of Asiamoney’s Top 100 Most Powerful and Influential People (2006).
His work has also earned him recognition from the World Bank, which appointed him to the Global Corporate Governance Forum in 1999 as a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group and co-chair of the Investor Responsibility Task Force.
Editorial office finanzen.net
Image sources: Franklin Templeton Investments, Axel Griesch for Finanz Verlag