Passport to Profits: Why the Next Investment Windfalls Will Be Found Abroad and How to Grab Your Share

Dubbed "the king of emerging market funds" by The Wall Street Journal, Mark Mobius is a master at picking international stocks. He knows that the secret to successful investing overseas is to discover profitable (or soon-to-be profitable) companies in the most unlikely places. In this entertaining insider's guide, Mobius shows readers how to locate foreign industries with the greatest growth potential, how to determine the best times to buy and sell, and how to spot the companies that are about to hit it big.

How is one to describe a book that recommends on one page that investors in emerging markets subscribe to a slate of newsletters that cost up to $10,000 per year each, while claiming on another page that investors need only a good map? Perhaps as a brilliant mess. Mobius is recognized as a talented investor whose Templeton Funds enjoyed a 20% annual gain from 1987 to 1997, but this book is sloppy. If it reads like a collage of rough notes, however, that rawness may give readers a better idea of how Mobius thinks than a cooler, more polished work would have. Whether speculating in high-risk emerging markets or picking moderate-risk domestic mutual funds, investors can learn much from him, but more about attitude than specifics. Mobius is intuitive, not systematic as he takes readers on his never-ending tour of those corners of the world just settled enough to invest in but still chaotic enough to offer exceptional opportunities (e.g., Vladivostok, Brasilia, Lagos). Like a hard-boiled noir hero, Mobius has optimism without illusion and empathy without softness. He dissects tragedy with clarity and a world-weary shrug; describes foolishness with cool detachment; and evaluates high-risk opportunities with a gambler's wary eye. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Mobius, who has run the Templeton Emerging Markets Fund for more than a decade, travels extensively to do research on countries and individual companies. Here he shares his investment philosophy, using concrete examples of his research in Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. He prefers hands-on research and talking to managers over economic models, so many of his strategies are impractical for smaller individual investors who cannot arrange such meetings cost-effectively. He makes a convincing argument for investing in a well-managed emerging markets fund, demonstrating the potential values to be found in these markets as well as the potential losses involved in assuming the risk. The book is light in tone, finding humor even in some dire situations, and reads as much like a travel adventure as an investment guide. Mobius's knowledge of emerging markets should prove valuable to investors. For public and academic libraries.AA.J. Sobczak, Covina, CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.