Passport to Profits: Biz Books to Go

August 2, 1999
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.