7 key investing lessons investors can learn from Sir John Templeton (2024)

Investing is a tricky game, particularly for the rookies. Those who are just starting out are recommended to learn from thedoyens of investing. One such legend is Sir John Templeton who was a British investor and philanthropist.

In 1954, he created the Templeton Growth Fund, which gave an average return of over 15 per cent per year for 38 years.

Although he gave numerousinvesting lessons, we share seven lessons here.

Seven key investing lessons given by John Templeton

1.Investing is not gambling: He recommended against day trading and batted for long term investing. He said investing should not be done like gambling in a casino. If investors are influenced every time the market moves a few points here and there, the market will be your casino. And in gambling, most gamblers lose, and lose often.

ALSO READ: How to become rich: Top investing tips for millennials and Genz to make money

The most relaxed investors are the ones who are better informed.

2.Investing in value stocks not market trends: He used to advocate for investing in individual stocks and not in market trends. This means the market is a combination of stocks but one invests in the individual stocks which may buck the market trend. So, there could be stocks that rise in the bear market and the ones that fall in the bull run.

3.Remain open minded: Templeton used to say that investors should be open minded about the type of investment one makes. There could be times when one should buyblue-chip stocksand there are occasions when it is appropriate to buy cyclical stocks or corporate bonds.

Also, there could be times when it is advisable to preserve cash because it enables you to leverage the investment opportunity.

4.Buy low: Although it appears simple in theory, it is difficult to practise. It is not easy to outperform the market when you do what everybody else is doing. So, one should buy when everyone else is selling and sound optimistic. Instead, what most investors do is the opposite.

They buy only when there is a positive outlook on the stock by experts. This is not rational advice because in that case, your behaviour wouldn’t be much different from the rest of the investors.

5.Diversify: Regardless of how careful investors are, the future of the economy and that of the company are highly unpredictable. There could be unanticipated factors such as strike by labour, government-imposed recall of products and even a natural disaster that could cause massive damage to the organisation.

So, it is advisable to diversify across industries, geographies and risk factors. Either way, you can’t eliminate the risk but can minimise, or at least manage it.

6.Do your homework: It is vital to do your homework before you invest. He said that investors should remember that they are either buying assets or earnings.

A stock price should reflect the earnings posted by the company or assets it owns. For instance, when you want the company to grow in future, you are valuing the stock on its future earnings. And when you want it to be acquired at a premium valuation, you are buying the assets.

Accordingly, one should make the investing choice.

7.Learn from your mistakes: He said that the only way to avoid mistakes is not to invest, which is the biggest mistake of all. It’s alright to make mistakes but one should not get too discouraged by them.

One should turn each mistake into alearning experience. One should assess what went wrong, and avoid the same in future.

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Published: 26 Feb 2024, 02:00 PM IST

7 key investing lessons investors can learn from Sir John Templeton (2024)

FAQs

What was John Templeton's investment strategy? ›

He took the strategy of “buy low, sell high” to an extreme, picking nations, industries, and companies hitting rock-bottom, what he called “points of maximum pessimism.” When war began in Europe in 1939, he borrowed money to buy 100 shares each in 104 companies selling at one dollar per share or less, including 34 ...

What is Templeton famous for? ›

In 1954, he established the Templeton Growth Fund, which pioneered the use of globally diversified mutual funds. Money magazine would hail him as “arguably the greatest global stock picker of the century.” Just as remarkable as Templeton's financial career was his dedication to progress and philanthropy.

Was John Templeton a billionaire? ›

Investment career

This stratagem helped make him a wealthy man. Templeton became a billionaire by pioneering the use of globally diversified mutual funds. His Templeton Growth Fund, Ltd. (investment fund), established in 1954, was among the first American firms to invest in Japan starting in the mid-1960s.

Why was John Templeton knighted? ›

In 1987, John Templeton was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his philanthropic efforts, including his endowment of Templeton College, Oxford.

What are the principles of investing according to John Bogle? ›

His work has had a profound impact on the way individuals invest, emphasizing low costs and long-term passive investing. His investing approach focused on simplicity, diversification, long-term thinking, and expecting short-term market fluctuations to be erased by consistent secular trends.

What is Franklin Templeton's investment philosophy? ›

At Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Group, we bring fundamental and quantitative approaches together, reflecting our core belief that we believe that successful active fixed income investing requires the marrying of fundamental and quantitative management.

What is Templeton's religion? ›

Templeton Religion Trust (TRT) is a global charitable trust chartered by Sir John Templeton in 1984 with headquarters in Nassau, The Bahamas. TRT has been active since 2012 and supports projects as well as storytelling related to projects seeking to enrich the conversation about religion.

What is the purpose of the Templeton Prize? ›

He created the Templeton Prize because he wanted to recognize discoveries that yielded new insights about religion and he set the award amount above that of the Nobel Prizes in order to recognize the importance of what he called “progress in religion.” His understanding of progress in religion evolved during his ...

How much do you need to invest with Franklin Templeton? ›

You can contribute a minimum of $25 automatically from your checking or savings account. Download the Automatic Investment Plan Form to start now.

Why did John Templeton move to the Bahamas? ›

Templeton attributed his success in part to his diligent research and in part to his relocation to the Bahamas in 1968, where he felt insulated from the groupthink on Wall Street. (There he also adopted British citizenship and avoided what he likely felt were punitive U.S. taxes.)

Who was the first dollar billionaire? ›

The American oil magnate John D. Rockefeller became the world's first confirmed U.S. dollar billionaire in 1916. As of 2018, there are over 2,200 U.S. dollar billionaires worldwide, with a combined wealth of over US$9.1 trillion, up from US$7.67 trillion in 2017.

Who was the first dollar billionaire in the world? ›

The world got its first billionaire by measurable dollars in 1916 when John D Rockefeller achieved the status. Mr Rockefeller used his keen business sense to establish Standard Oil Company, a move that made him one of the wealthiest men in the world.

How big is John Templeton Foundation? ›

John Templeton Foundation
Formation1987
Revenue (2016)$30.2 million
Expenses (2016)$182.2 million
Endowment$3.9 billion
Websitetempleton.org
6 more rows

Where is John Templeton buried? ›

Sir John Templeton's Timeline
1912Birth of Sir John Templeton Winchester, Tennessee, United States
????Burial of Sir John Templeton Lakeview Memorial Garden &Mausoleum, Nassau, New Providence District, Bahamas
2 more rows
May 23, 2018

Who has received the Templeton Prize? ›

Templeton Prize
yearnamecountry*
2019Marcelo GleiserBrazil
2020Francis CollinsUnited States
2021Jane GoodallUnited Kingdom
2022Frank WilczekUnited States
51 more rows
Apr 10, 2024

What is Dave Ramsey's investment strategy? ›

Ramsey's recommendation is to invest 100% of your portfolio in stocks, with no allocation to bonds or other fixed-income investments. He believes that over the long term, stocks will outperform other asset classes, and that a well-diversified stock portfolio is the best way to build wealth.

What sort of investment strategy did bogel create? ›

One of Bogle's pioneering achievements was low-cost investing in mutual funds by creating no-load funds. Index investing utilizes a passive investment strategy that requires a manager to only ensure that the fund's holdings match those of the benchmark index.

What investment strategy does Warren Buffett use? ›

Buffett uses compound interest, dividend reinvestment, and the power of constantly reinvesting the operating cash flow generated by Berkshire's businesses to his advantage. How powerful is this? Berkshire has averaged a 20.1% annualized return since Buffett took over in 1964, compared with 10.5% for the S&P 500.

What is the strategy of Franklin Templeton DynaTech? ›

Franklin DynaTech is a diversified growth strategy which has focused on investing in innovation since 1968. The investment team researches, investigates, explores, studies and scrutinizes what the manager believes are leaders in innovation, looking for the best potential investments.

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