Mark Mobius - Another financial crisis around the corner

A new financial crisis is looming for the global economy, according to Mark Mobius, who oversees more than $50 billion as executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management’s emerging markets group.

“There is definitely going to be another financial crisis around the corner because we haven’t solved any of the things that caused the previous crisis,” Mobius stated on Tuesday in Tokyo at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.

Mobius pointed to the fact that derivatives are still not regulated, and their growth has risen substantially in recent years. Furthermore, policymakers have not properly addressed the “too big to fail” problem regarding the size of financial institutions.

In 2006, Mobius was named one of the “Top 100 Most Powerful and Influential People,” by Asiamoney, which stated that he “boasts one of the highest profiles of any investor in the region and is regarded by many in the financial industry as one of the most successful emerging markets investors over the last 20 years.”

When asked how individuals should protect themselves from the risks of another financial crisis, Mr. Mobius urged investors to remain heavily diversified. As for signs of impending doom, Mobius told investors to keep a close eye on the fixed income markets, particularly long bonds and credit spreads.

He also identified gold as one of the potential safe haven areas.