About
Sir John Templeton was a legendary investor, mutual fund pioneer, and philanthropist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest global value investors of the 20th century. Here's who he is:
John Templeton was born in 1912 in Winchester, Tennessee, and graduated from Yale University before attending Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He began his investment career in 1937 and made his first contrarian move in 1939, borrowing money to buy 100 shares of every stock trading below $1 on major exchanges at the outbreak of World War II—a bet that paid off handsomely.
In 1954, he founded the Templeton Growth Fund, one of the first mutual funds to invest globally when most Americans only bought domestic stocks. His pioneering approach to international investing and his ability to find value in overlooked markets made him extraordinarily successful, with his funds delivering exceptional returns over four decades.
Templeton was known for his extreme contrarian philosophy, captured in his famous maxim: "The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell." He searched the world for the most undervalued stocks, often buying in countries and sectors that other investors were fleeing. His investment approach combined rigorous fundamental analysis with a global perspective, deep spiritual faith, and extraordinary patience. He was willing to buy assets that others considered worthless, from Japanese stocks in the 1960s to South Korean equities in the 1980s, always focusing on where he could get the most value for each dollar invested.
Beyond investing, Templeton was a devoted philanthropist and spiritual seeker who believed that scientific research could illuminate life's biggest questions. He renounced his U.S. citizenship in 1968 and became a Bahamian citizen, eventually being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1987 for his philanthropic work. He established the Templeton Prize (which awards more money than the Nobel Prize) to honor progress in religion and spirituality, and founded the John Templeton Foundation to support research at the intersection of science and religion. He sold his investment management company to Franklin Resources in 1992 for $440 million and devoted his later years to philanthropy until his death in 2008 at age 95. His legacy combines investment brilliance with deep humanitarian values and spiritual inquiry.
John Templeton's Best Quotes
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"The four most dangerous words in investing are: 'This time it's different.'"
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"Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die on euphoria."
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"The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell."
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"To buy when others are despondently selling and to sell when others are avidly buying requires the greatest fortitude and pays the greatest reward."
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"If you want to have a better performance than the crowd, you must do things differently from the crowd."
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"The only way to avoid mistakes is not to invest—which is the biggest mistake of all."
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"Invest at the point of maximum pessimism."
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"An investor who has all the answers doesn't even understand the questions."
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"The stock market is a voting machine in the short run, but it's a weighing machine in the long run."
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"Diversify your investments by geography and asset class. The only investors who shouldn't diversify are those who are right 100% of the time."
Obras escritas
Templeton Plan: 21 Steps to Personal Success and Real Happiness (1987)
This book combines Templeton's investment wisdom with his spiritual philosophy and principles for living a meaningful life. Rather than being purely about finance, it presents a holistic approach to success that emphasizes character development, generosity, hard work, and faith. The book outlines practical steps for achieving both material prosperity and spiritual fulfillment, reflecting Templeton's belief that financial success and moral living are complementary. His integration of investment principles with life philosophy made this book unique in the personal finance genre.
Discovering the Laws of Life (1994)
This book presents 200 timeless principles for successful living drawn from Templeton's study of world religions, philosophy, and his own life experience. While not exclusively about investing, it reveals the character traits and thinking patterns that made Templeton successful: patience, humility, continuous learning, and contrarian thinking. The principles cover topics from gratitude and forgiveness to diligence and thrift, showing how Templeton's investment success was rooted in deeper life values. The book has been used in schools and character education programs worldwide.
Worldwide Laws of Life: 200 Eternal Spiritual Principles (1997)
An expanded version of his earlier work, this book compiles universal principles that Templeton believed transcended cultural and religious boundaries. It includes wisdom from various spiritual traditions and demonstrates how these principles apply to investing, business, and daily life. Templeton's emphasis on humility ("How little we know, how eager to learn") and gratitude are recurring themes that informed his investment approach. The book shows how his spiritual seeking and investment philosophy were deeply intertwined.
Templeton Fund Annual Reports and Investor Letters
Throughout his active management years, Templeton wrote detailed annual reports and letters to Templeton Fund shareholders explaining his global investment strategy and specific country allocations. These reports from the 1960s through 1980s documented his pioneering investments in Japan, his moves into emerging markets, and his explanations of why he was buying assets others feared. His letters combined market analysis with moral exhortations about thrift, patience, and long-term thinking. They serve as historical documents showing how global value investing evolved and how Templeton identified opportunities decades ahead of others.
"The Templeton Touch" by William Proctor (Authorized Biography, 1983)
While written by William Proctor, this authorized biography extensively quotes Templeton and presents his investment philosophy in his own words. The book details his contrarian 1939 investment, his expansion into global markets, and his value investing methodology. It includes numerous case studies of his investments and explains his research process, portfolio construction, and decision-making framework. The book captures Templeton's personality and shows how his character traits translated into investment success.
Investing the Templeton Way: The Market-Beating Strategies of Value Investing's Legendary Bargain Hunter (2008)
Written by Lauren Templeton and Scott Phillips (John Templeton's great-niece and her co-author), this book distills Templeton's investment principles using his actual trades and portfolio decisions. Published the year of his death, it provides detailed analysis of his bargain-hunting methodology, his approach to global diversification, and his contrarian timing. The book includes specific examples of his investments in Japan, South Korea, and other markets, showing how he evaluated opportunities and maintained discipline through market cycles.
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