Threads of history: SIP, Founding Father of America and Mother Teresa (Episode 3)

Did you know that your monthly SIP has a connection to an 18th-century Dutch businessman; a founding father of America; and to Mother Teresa?

We rewind to 1772–1773 when Britain was the epicentre of a financial crisis that swiftly engulfed Scotland & the Dutch Republic. Called the first modern banking crisis by the Bank of England, this period was marked by an unprecedented hunger for capital in new colonies.

The explosive growth of credit and banking led to several speculative ventures, eventually leading to unprecedented disaster.

The dominoes started toppling in June 1772 when the speculator Alexander Fordyce's gamble on East India Company stock backfired spectacularly, losing over £300,000.

This left his partners drowning in a sea of debt, sparking a panic that saw the collapse of 8 London banks and ~20 across Europe within a fortnight.

The newspapers of the day were filled with grim stories of merchants resorting to suicide in despair

By December of that year, the ripples of the crisis reached Amsterdam, causing a brief but acute liquidity crunch.

The fallout was swift and severe, crippling the East India Trading Company, the West Indies, and North American colonists alike.

Amidst this wreckage in the Dutch Republic, a man called Adriaan van Ketwich created a unique investment tool.

It allowed ordinary people to invest their money together in big ventures. His trust, named "Eendragt Maakt Magt," literally meant unity creates strength.

👆 Truly revolutionary for its time!
Cut to almost a century later.

The Scottish American Investment Trust was established in 1873. Some experts would later call the "most obvious progenitor" of the mutual fund. This would forever change the world of investing.

Fast forward to the roaring 20s, America when the Massachusetts Investors Trust was established. The seeds sown by Adriaan van Ketwich and the Scottish American Investment Trust gave birth to the first modern mutual fund as we know it.

It became the first modern open-ended mutual fund. And incredibly, it is still in operation today 👀

Moving ahead, we land in 1947, when Wall Street broker Rupert H. Johnson founded an investment company. He named it after one of America's founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin - the scientist, inventor, writer, statesman, philosopher and more

Franklin was known for his sage advice on money & saving, the virtues Johnson wanted his company to stand for.

Johnson's company grew remarkably and in 1992, he acquired Templeton, Galbraith & Hansberger Ltd to create Franklin Templeton Investments.

The Founder of Templeton, Galbraith & Hansberger Ltd. was Sir John Templeton, another Mutual Fund pioneer, known for finding investment opportunities worldwide, often in places others ignored.

Perhaps inspired by Alfred Nobel, Sir Templeton founded the Templeton Prize to recognise achievements that transcend traditional boundaries of religion and science to address profound spiritual questions. Who was its first winner?

Yes, Mother Teresa in 1973.

So what does this have to do with your SIPs, you ask?

Well, in 1993, Franklin Templeton AMC was the first to introduce the Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) in India, making it easier for a lot of us to start investing with small amounts 💰

Fascinating, isn't it?



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