Sir John Templeton, founder of the highly successful Templeton Growth Fund, has died aged 95.
One of the world's most successful investors died on Tuesday, aged 95. Sir John Templeton was the founder of the highly profitable Templeton Growth Fund, and his simple and common-sense approach to investment, and to life, has influenced many.
I first heard of him many years ago, while reading a magazine article several hours into a long-haul flight. The article mentioned that, despite his great wealth, he chose not to fly first class. Feeling a tad grumpy and cramped in economy class, that fact impressed me at the time.
Coincidentally, I was flying back from Japan, where Templeton made a considerable fortune in the 1960s and '70s. He recognised that shares in that country were illogically cheap, and ventured into that market when others weren't even considering it.
This demonstrated two key pillars of his approach: his search for unloved and neglected bargain stocks, and his willingness to cast his net very widely to find them. He was a pioneer of emerging markets.
His philosophy of contrarianism will resound with many investors:
“Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria. The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell.”
He is also quoted as saying:
“The best time to invest is when you have money. This is because history suggests it's not timing which matters, but time.”
At first glance, these statements might appear contradictory, but his message was to invest when you can, and pick the most unpopular sectors when you do -- there are always undervalued pariahs to be found if you search widely enough.
While this philosophy will appeal to many Fools, it's worth noting that his first big success, investing at the start of World War II, was done with money borrowed from his boss.
In later years he dedicated himself more to philanthropy, and in particular to building bridges between science and spirituality. In that area too, he applied the same philosophy of open-mindedness, this time casting his net widely in search of truth rather than bargains. A committed Presbyterian, his Foundation and prizes have benefited people of many faiths.
You can read more about Sir John Templeton and his remarkable life here and here.
