John Clifton Bogle (1929–2019,) also known as Jack Bogle, was an American investor, businessman, and philanthropist. He was the founder of Vanguard, the second largest fund company in the world, and the pioneer of the low-cost index mutual fund.
Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Bogle began his career in the mutual fund industry in 1951 at Wellington Management Company. He founded Vanguard in 1974 to offer ordinary retail investors a mutual fund ownership structure, low fees, and passive funds. He also sold funds directly to investors, and in so doing, eliminated sales charges and load fees.
Bogle came across research by the leading economist Paul Samuelson that argued that most professional investors don’t beat the market consistently in the long run, and therefore were not worth the fees they charged their clients. In response, Bogle created the world’s first index fund, the low-cost Vanguard Index 500 Fund. Aiming to reproduce the S&P 500 index, the fund allows investors to passively track the stock market as a whole by buying a little of every major American business that was a constituent of the index and not trying to make clever picks.
The low-cost Vanguard Index 500 Fund did not attract investors initially. However, Bogle kept his faith and investors caught on. Over the course of 25 years at the helm of Vanguard, until his retirement in 1999, Bogle focused the efforts of Vanguard on offering cost-conscious investment choices to the masses.
Upon his passing, Tim Buckley, Vanguard’s CEO, declared, “Jack Bogle made an impact on not only the entire investment industry, but more importantly, on the lives of countless individuals saving for their futures or their children’s futures. He was a tremendously intelligent, driven, and talented visionary whose ideas completely changed the way we invest. We are honored to continue his legacy of giving every investor ‘a fair shake.'”
Bogle authored numerous books, including the best-selling Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor (1993), Common Sense on Mutual Funds (1999,) Character Counts: The Creation and Building of The Vanguard Group (2002,) and Battle for the Soul of Capitalism (2005.)
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Rely on the ordinary virtues that intelligent, balanced human beings have relied on for centuries: common sense, thrift, realistic expectations, patience, and perseverance.
—John C. Bogle
An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. Learning is to the Studious, and Riches to the Careful. If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him.
—John C. Bogle
The first step is to measure what can be easily measured. This is okay as far as it goes. The second step is to disregard that which cannot be measured, or give it an arbitrary quantitative value. This is artificial and misleading. The third step is to presume that what cannot be measured really is not very important. This is blindness. The fourth step is to say that what cannot be measured does not really exist. This is suicide.
—John C. Bogle
So please don’t forget that considering the probabilities of future returns only begins the decision-making process. Decisions have consequences. If the consequences of being badly wrong about future returns would imperil your financial future, be conservative.
—John C. Bogle
Gunning for average is your best shot at finishing above average.
—John C. Bogle
The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan. Stick to the good plan.
—John C. Bogle
When there are multiple solutions to a problem, choose the simplest one.
—John C. Bogle