Mark Mobius, a pioneer investor in emerging markets and among the most nattily dressed men, has died at 89.

Mobius spent more than five decades in ferreting out deep value buys in equity markets as diverse as Russia, Venezuela, the Middle East and, of course Asia. Till recently Mobius was Executive Chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group whose assets under management surged to $50 billion from $100 million over three decades. Mobius was a perma-bull on Indian equities.

He taught the world the grandeur of emerging markets over the past five decades. Supremely fit and forever bald Mobius traversed the globe in his private plane, hopping from one country to another.

Mobius was a hands-on analyst spending as much time on factory floors as he did flying 300 days a year in his private Gulfstream jet buying quality stocks in 1995-96’s Asian Financial Crisis, Russia’s implosion in 1998, the dot.com bust of 2004, the global financial meltdown of 2008 and all subsequent dips.

He came to India during economic liberalisation phase of 1991-92 and fell in love with an expanding economy and its booming stock markets. Many of his Indian hypotheses on value investing were proved right when governments pushed back regulation and liberalised aggressively.

Mobius managed the nation’s first value-oriented equity scheme – Templeton India Growth Fund – which beat nearly all its competitors during the technology sector led bust of 2000. Not many know that before Mobius became an investor, he worked in Chennai as a part of United Nations’ Development Program on leather.

His knowledge on Chennai, then Madras, exceeded locals.

IN THE FITNESS OF THINGS!

Mobius, a PhD in Economics and Political Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was a fitness freak. His personal gulfstream had a fully equipped gym which was put to good use in developing a six-pack as much as his investing chops.

A fund manager who worked very closely with him in the 1990s decade recalled Mobius would pick a hotel based on the quality of its gym rather than the luxurious facilities of the suite!

Mobius was among the most well-dressed men in the world of markets, if not the best. His tone-on-tone suits, matching ties and shoes were as well known as his stock picks. Add to that hit fitness routine and what you have is a long term ‘compounder of money and health.”

Mobius was a natural magnet of attraction in any gathering of investors. He stood out with his bald pate, an extremely well-fitted and tailored suit and stock ideas that left even the most seasoned investors agape.

Mobius was an extremely telegenic investor. His recent visit across India became a mini social media event as brightly dressed Mark travelled the length and breadth of Asia’s third largest economy in everything from a tuk-tuk, rickshaw, train and automobile!

Mobius shared his practical wisdom widely, writing 13 books on macro and micro investing. Some of them are all-time classics as he himself was!