Credit: Sir John Templeton is one of history's most famous investors. Known for his contrarian nature, Templeton liked to buy stocks trading at deeply discounted prices, a trait personified by his great World War II trade.
In 1939, Templeton made a large $10,000 bet on stocks trading on the New York Stock Exchange by buying every stock trading under $1 (104 equities). Near the end of the war, he sold the stocks for around $40,000.
Throughout the rest of his career, Templeton founded a number of mutual funds and asset managers, the largest of which was the Templeton Funds Group, which he sold in 1992.
Godfather of international value
If Benjamin Graham is the godfather of value investing in the U.S., Templeton can be called the godfather of international value investing. His mantra was to search for companies around the world that offered low prices and an excellent long-term outlook. He only investigated stocks that were completely neglected; all others were not considered to be worth studying. The Templeton Growth Fund, launched in 1954, achieved annualized returns of 15% a year until Templeton retired in 1992.
Despite Templeton's prominence as an investor, however, his returns are often overlooked as famous value investors such as Warren Buffett ( Trades , Portfolio ) and Charlie Munger (Trades, Portfolio) steal the spotlight. To follow are some of Templeton's most informative and well-known investment quotes. They will hopefully give some insight into the investment philosophy of this often overlooked investor.
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This article first appeared on GuruFocus .
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
