December 4, 2013
John Bogle has argueably done more to help the average investor than anyone in the world over the last 38 years. Who is he and why?
John Bogle has argueably done more to help the average investor than anyone in the world over the last 38 years. Who is he and why?
He teaches about investing, has written a book about investing, and is the founder of Vanguard.
Katherine is right, but John deserves a bit more credit. Let’s take a look.
John Bogle started the first publicly traded index fund in 1975 and many folks in the financial industry called it Bogle’s Folly. They sneered at him, they laughed at him, and ultimately they got trounced by him. Mr. Bogle set up the Vanguard Group to be owned by its investors and that ultimately defined how different Vanguard would be from everyone else. Today it is the largest mutual fund family in the world. Pretty good for a folly!
The average investor owes Mr. Bogle a debt of gratitude as he has forced others to reduce their fees and commissions as they try to compete. They are failing and he continues to succeed as does Vanguard. Long live John Bogle!