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John Templeton
John Templeton was born into a poor Tennessee family. Shortly before the war, he joined a brokerage in New York. His first investment coup was to turn $10,000 borrowed from his boss into $40,000 over 4 years. His strategy was to buy all the 104 US stocks that were selling for less than $1 at the outbreak of the war.
Shortly afterwards, he launched his own investment advisory firm. At the age of 56, he sold this and started again with a single fund - Templeton Growth - based in Nassau in the Bahamas. This became the top performer among all US funds over the following twenty years. High on the list of reasons for its success was Templeton's ability to spot opportunities abroad before the crowd, e.g. Japan in the early Sixties, Canadian property in the Seventies.
Now retired, Templeton continues to live in Nassau and take an active interest in investment. As a committed Christian, he believes his financial success and philanthropic achievements have been closely linked to his own spiritual development.
From 1954-2000, the Templeton Growth Fund averaged gains of around 15% a year. Since Templeton's value-based methods have led him to buy large numbers of stocks, individual successes have been less important than overall averages. Perhaps his most remarkable move was to invest heavily in Japan in 1962. It went on to become the world's most dynamic market in the years up to 1990.
Profile of John Templeton
Biography
John Templeton was born into a poor Tennessee family. Shortly before the war, he joined a brokerage in New York. His first investment coup was to turn $10,000 borrowed from his boss into $40,000 over 4 years. His strategy was to buy all the 104 US stocks that were selling for less than $1 at the outbreak of the war.Shortly afterwards, he launched his own investment advisory firm. At the age of 56, he sold this and started again with a single fund - Templeton Growth - based in Nassau in the Bahamas. This became the top performer among all US funds over the following twenty years. High on the list of reasons for its success was Templeton's ability to spot opportunities abroad before the crowd, e.g. Japan in the early Sixties, Canadian property in the Seventies.
Now retired, Templeton continues to live in Nassau and take an active interest in investment. As a committed Christian, he believes his financial success and philanthropic achievements have been closely linked to his own spiritual development.
From 1954-2000, the Templeton Growth Fund averaged gains of around 15% a year. Since Templeton's value-based methods have led him to buy large numbers of stocks, individual successes have been less important than overall averages. Perhaps his most remarkable move was to invest heavily in Japan in 1962. It went on to become the world's most dynamic market in the years up to 1990.
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