00:00Mark Mobius, just a legend within that space. What can you tell us about the impact that he had
00:05on emerging markets, the way that Wall Street sees emerging markets, and what legacy he has?
00:11Yeah, really sad headlines coming out of Singapore today. He was the pioneer of the
00:16emerging market investing in the 90s. If you think about today, we have hundreds, if not
00:21thousands, of active and passive funds dedicated to emerging markets overall, individual emerging
00:26market stocks. We did nothing like, had nothing like that back in the 90s. Back in the days, there
00:31were a lot of financial crisis there. If you think about the 1997 Thailand devaluation of the Thai bot,
00:38the 1998 financial crisis in Russia, where other people fled the region, had no interest in investing
00:46in that part of the world. He saw individual opportunities. So his biggest legacy and his
00:51biggest contribution is he really introduced that part of the world to American investors.
00:57Not, you know, it's a very well-known part of the world right now. It was not the case back
01:01in the
01:0190s. So he was the first person, if we think about this, to put emerging markets on a global radar.
01:08Yeah, it was kind of fascinating. As you say, you know, he started one of the first mutual funds
01:12dedicated to developing markets. And that fund, you know, and it's interesting, closed-end fund,
01:20open-end funds. My first job in this world was doing a mutual fund show. And he was someone we
01:26would highlight or have on as a guest when we were talking global or international. But that fund has
01:30actually done really well throughout its tenure.
01:34It has outperformed the MSCI emerging markets benchmark. It has outperformed every other benchmark
01:38you can think about over the course of the decades. The reason why is Mark Mobius was very active.
01:44He would hop on his plane, go to the most remote parts of the world, in China, in Russia, in
01:50Eastern
01:50Europe, in Latin America. He would go to every part of the world.
01:54Kick the tires.
01:55Yeah, he would absolutely, he would visit every factory, every department store of a publicly traded
02:00company that he would want to invest in. And that's why he carefully selected those opportunities.
02:05We think about India. We think about Latin America and Argentina. We think about China. So, you know,
02:11he did criticize that part of the world. But, you know, he found some gems.
02:15Can I just say, he was also so distinct in terms of how he looked. And what's interesting is,
02:21I don't think I knew this, that he was born on Long Island.
02:25Yes, he was. He was born to Puerto Rican and German parents. So he had this, you know,
02:30an international background. He was also a citizen of Germany. So that's, you know,
02:35that made him like a very big international figure.
02:38He learned Japanese culture and the Japanese language in Kyoto. It triggered his desire to
02:42live and work in Asia, a PhD in political science from MIT. He took a job with international research
02:47associates. He worked for years at Franklin Resources and then launched his own firm.
02:55Right. Correct. But his biggest legacy is from Franklin Templeton, where he was the main person
03:01behind the benchmark Franklin Templeton Emerging Market Investment Trust. So he oversaw that fund
03:07until 2015. And that's how he became super famous. And that's how he made emerging markets investing
03:14famous through that fund. At the same time, I should say, he criticized emerging markets when that was
03:19due. You know, he was very critical of capital controls in China. He was critical of some of the policies
03:25in Argentina. You know, he was, he selected individual opportunities in India. So it's not that he bought
03:31emerging markets across the board, but his contribution is just outstanding.
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