Rough day today with no shortage of rumors swirling around Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Then news broke that IndyMac became the second-biggest federally insured financial company to be seized by US regulators after a run by depositors left the California mortgage lender short on cash. Sounds like a great time -- amid the Bear market -- to hunker down, tune out the noise and perhaps read more about a truly great man who'd remain calm in these stormy seas.
- Rob Carrick writes in The Globe and Mail about the fate of the Templeton Growth Fund, the flagship vehicle of the Templeton family of funds dating back to 1954. The fund had fine results through 1987, when Sir John gave up daily management, and continued doing well under Mark Holowesko's direction (who gave up managing the fund in 2001). Templeton sold his funds to Franklin Resources in 1992. Carrick writes: "The glory days for Templeton Growth are long over and the decline is worth noting because it coincides with the rise of the fund industry as big business. Running funds today is all about gathering assets, not making money for investors." So true. Aside from Mark Mobius, how many Templeton managers date back to Sir John's time? Many have retired, no doubt, and others have surely gone on to different pastures.
- Rick at the Value Discipline blog posts his own consideration of Templeton's life and work. He lists Templeton's 22 maxims that Sir John said were his enabling principles. And writes: "I believe there is a valuable lesson in Templeton's life, the importance of keeping your perspective. The distance from his home at Lyford Cay to the floor of any global stock exchange was measured in psychological light years, not unlike the distance from Buffett's Kiewit Plaza office to those exchanges." Good stuff.
- The Financial Times editorial on Templeton is well done, then turns excellent by ending with this kicker: "Being quotable is good, but being humble is better. As Sir John commented: 'An investor who has all the answers doesn’t even understand the questions.'"
- Stephane Fitch writes in Forbes to reflect on her visit with Templeton in Lyford Cay in 2001. Not long after the September 11th terrorist attacks and bursting of the tech bubble. She recounts her time with him, and ends with detailing his investment advice at the time -- most prominently his masterstroke of buying Canadian strips.
- Another Forbes article, this one with Templeton in 2004. He said consumers had taken on too much credit card and mortgage debt. This stands out: "When I was young, in the three years after 1929, a high proportion of people lost their homes in foreclosure," he says. "It's likely to happen again. It's not abnormal. It's cyclical, and it will put pressure on all prices."
Have a great weekend and rest up. Sounds like we may be in for some interesting times ahead.
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