Legendary emerging-market investor Mark Mobius died Wednesday at the age of 89.

Mobius popularized investing in emerging markets via Templeton Developing Markets. He was a great storyteller who wove investing and travel stories together to make the emerging markets seem fun and exciting. Mobius ran the fund from 1987, when he was hired by Sir John Templeton himself, until 2016.

Before artificial intelligence and the dot-com boom, there was emerging-market fever. In the early 1990s, the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the advent of the North American Free Trade Agreement made investors and companies enthusiastic about the growth potential of new markets.

Mobius’ Yule Brenner-like appearance made him instantly recognizable to investors around the world.

“Mark wasn’t just the Father of Emerging Markets,” said Franklin Resources CEO Jenny Johnson in a LinkedIn post. “To my family and me, he was a dear friend. Some of my most treasured memories happened outside the office: celebrating Carnival together in Brazil, exploring Amsterdam, and the times my parents joined him on their travels. Those moments showed me who Mark really was. His warmth, his endless curiosity, that wonderful sense of adventure he brought to everything.

“His professional legacy is extraordinary, of course. Mark opened the world’s eyes to emerging markets and inspired generations of investors to think more globally, more boldly, and with greater imagination about what’s possible. He changed how we invest and how we see opportunity across the world.”

Morningstar Managing Director Don Phillips said: “He was a true road warrior and a real pioneer, constantly traveling and knocking on new doors. He was the first outside investor in numerous companies and even in some countries. His road wasn’t paved. Few companies greeted him with slick presentations and reliable financials. He had to really do his digging to uncover credible opportunities, but because he was navigating such uncharted waters, he often found exceptional opportunities.

“It’s unthinkable of someone today replicating what he did. The investment business is just so much more advanced and global than it was when he was opening up new markets. I’d argue that he did more than any other manager of his era to professionalize and globalize investing. And his wit and charm and great results encouraged countless financial advisors and their clients to expand their horizons and join him on the journey.”

Lots of managers still travel, but the investment industry is unlikely to see someone like Mobius again. Phillips said the peripatetic manager, who was a frequent speaker at the US Morningstar Investment Conference, once appeared at the event a few weeks after he had been in Chicago on other business. “To be in the same city twice gave him the opportunity to be fitted for some suits on the first trip and pick them up on the second, which is what he did,” Phillips said. “How’s that for a nomadic lifestyle?”