Salute to Sir John Marks Templeton (Nov 29, 1912 - July 8, 2008)

Sir John Marks Templeton (November 29, 1912 – July 8, 2008) was an American-born British stock investor, businessman and philanthropist.

Sir John Templeton was an investor and mutual fund pioneer who dedicated much of his fortune to religion and science. Templeton was born in the town of Winchester, Tennessee. He attended Yale University, pledged the Zeta Psi Fraternity and was selected for membership in the Elihu society. He graduated with a degree in economics in 1934 as a top scholar in his class. He was a Rhodes Scholar to Balliol College, University of Oxford where he first met his life-long friend, Michelangelo Antonioni the Italian film director. He graduated with a M.A. degree in law. He was a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter-holder. He received AIMR's first award for professional excellence in 1991.

Templeton became a billionaire by pioneering the use of globally diversified mutual funds. His Templeton Growth, Ltd. (investment fund), established in 1954, was among the first who invested in Japan in the middle of the 1960s. In 2006 he was listed in a 7-way tie for 129th place on the Sunday Times Rich List. He rejected technical analysis for stock trading, preferring instead to use fundamental analysis. Money magazine in 1999 called him "arguably the greatest global stock picker of the century”. He renounced his U.S. citizenship in 1968, thus avoiding U.S. income taxes. He had dual naturalized Bahamian and British citizenship and lived in the Bahamas.

Templeton attributed much of his success to his ability to maintain an elevated mood, avoid anxiety and stay disciplined. Uninterested in consumerism, he drove his own car, never flew first class and lived year-round in his peaceful ocean-side home in the Bahamas.

When asked about living and working in the Bahamas during his management of the Templeton Group, Templeton replied, "I've found my results for investment clients were far better here than when I had my office in 30 Rockefeller Plaza. When you're in Manhattan, it's much more difficult to go opposite the crowd.

On July 8, 2008, Templeton died at Doctors Hospital in Nassau, Bahamas of pneumonia at 12:20 local time. He was 95.

Important Quotations By John Templeton:

"Rejecting technical analysis as a method for investing, Templeton says, "You must be a fundamentalist to be really successful in the market."

"Invest at the point of maximum pessimism."

"If you want to have a better performance than the crowd, you must do things differently from the crowd."


extracted from: wikipedia.org