What I'm Reading This Summer

As executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, I spend some 250+ days a year traveling and sometimes visit more countries in one month than many people do in a lifetime. This summer I’ve been touring Europe, and my recent travels have taken me to Romania, Sweden, Belgium, France, Spain, Germany, the United Kingdom and Luxembourg. The overriding impression I have found as I’ve visited with investors in the region is one of great uncertainty. People are nervous about what financial picture will be revealed in the coming months. However, there is also great excitement about what the future holds, particularly in regard to the tremendous impact the Internet, smartphones and other technological advancements are having on society in all its aspects: business, entertainment, social relationships and religion, to name a few.

All those hours in transit offer me time to read, reflect—and thanks to modern technology—catch up on emails and work inflight. My favorite sources of news to keep abreast of global market developments include the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg (I enjoy listening to the podcasts while working out), Al Jazeera and Thomson Reuters. It’s very interesting to see the differences in the way the media in different countries portray the same news or market events, and it’s equally interesting to actually witness those same events in the various countries with one’s own eyes. I have definitely seen some disconnect in the way the media have portrayed an incident or conditions in a particular country versus what my team and I have seen for ourselves. That’s why we have 18 offices around the world—so we can obtain different views from different people on the ground.

New investors have often asked me which books I recommend to help develop their investment knowledge. The Battle for Investment Survival by Bernard Baruch, a seasoned investor with broad experience, is one I think is worth seeking out. Baruch was born in San Francisco in 1899 and his book has great historical significance, as he lived through many key events in stock market history. Many of his messages still resonate today.

My mentor, the late Sir John Templeton, recognized as one of the greatest investors of all time, also penned several books I would recommend. I particularly encourage you to read his 16 Rules of Investment Success, which our team emulates and believes still hold true today.

Of course, I would also recommend my own books! My most recent is The Little Book of Emerging Markets: How to Make Money in the World’s Fastest-Growing Markets, which I think is a great primer on the key aspects of investing in emerging markets and the possible ways an investor can take advantage of the potential we see in these markets. I’ve also penned a number of other books on investing, which I’ll leave for you to explore. If you would like something truly unique, you can pick up Manga Mark Mobius – An Illustrated Biography of the Father of Emerging Markets Funds, which presents my emerging-market adventures and investment approach using an entertaining comic book format.

I also enjoy reading books for pleasure, and since summer reading season is upon us, I thought I’d share what’s in my briefcase—and airline seat-back pocket. This summer I’ve been reading Tomorrowland, The Brain’s Way of Healing, Sister Aimee: The Life of Aimee Semple McPherson, The Fourth Revolution: The Global Race to Reinvent the State and  Greekonomics: The Euro Crisis and Why Politicians Don’t Get It. The latter is particularly timely right now given the situation in Greece. It offers a broad overview of the region’s longstanding issues with particular attention paid to Greece from the author, who was born there. It’s an eclectic collection; I think it’s good to expand one’s horizons and ways of thinking about issues. Even if you don’t necessarily agree with the author, in my experience you’ll always learn something new.

What are you reading this summer?

Mark Mobius’s comments, opinions and analyses are for informational purposes only and should not be considered individual investment advice or recommendations to invest in any security or to adopt any investment strategy. Because market and economic conditions are subject to rapid change, comments, opinions and analyses are rendered as of the date of the posting and may change without notice. The material is not intended as a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any country, region, market, industry, investment or strategy.

Important Legal Information

All investments involve risks, including the possible loss of principal. Investments in foreign securities involve special risks including currency fluctuations, economic instability and political developments. Investments in emerging markets, of which frontier markets are a subset, involve heightened risks related to the same factors, in addition to those associated with these markets’ smaller size, lesser liquidity and lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks to support securities markets. Because these frameworks are typically even less developed in frontier markets, as well as various factors including the increased potential for extreme price volatility, illiquidity, trade barriers and exchange controls, the risks associated with emerging markets are magnified in frontier markets. Stock prices fluctuate, sometimes rapidly and dramatically, due to factors affecting individual companies, particular industries or sectors, or general market conditions.