On the Back Cover
Praise for The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
"A low-cost index fund is the most sensible equity investment for the greatmajority of investors. My mentor, Ben Graham, took this position manyyears ago, and everything I have seen since convinces me of its truth.In this book, Jack Bogle tells you why."
--Warren E. Buffett, Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
"John Bogle is living a useful life, and this book is a useful contribution to hisfellow citizens. It is dangerous for investors to believe a lot of nonsense, and the nonsense destroyers are particularly helpful when, like Bogle, they never tire in their animosity toward folly."
--Charles T. Munger, Vice Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
"Whether you know it or not, Wall Street wants to steal your future.If you want to stop them, drop everything, read this marvelous little book, and take it to heart; your children, and their children's children, will thank you."
--William Bernstein, investment adviser and author, The Four Pillars of Investing
Front Cover Glimpse
Investing is all about common sense. Owning a diversified portfolio of stocks and holding it for the long term is a winner's game. Trying to beat the stock market is theoretically a zero-sum game (for every winner, there must be a loser), and after the substantial costs of investing are deducted, it becomes a loser's game. Common sense tells us--and history confirms--that the simplest and most efficient investment strategy is to buy and hold all of the nation's publicly held businesses at very low cost. The classic index fund that owns this market portfolio is the only investment that guarantees you with your fair share of stock market returns.
To learn how to make index investing work for you, there's no better mentor than legendary mutual fund industry veteran John C. Bogle. Over the course of his long career, Bogle--founder of the Vanguard Group and creator of the world's first index mutual fund--has relied primarily on index investing to help Vanguard's clients build substantial wealth. Now, with The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, he wants to help you do the same.
Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing will show you how to incorporate this proven investment strategy into your portfolio. It will also change the very way you think about investing. Successful investing is not easy--it requires discipline and patience. But it is simple, for it's all about common sense.
With The Little Book of Common Sense Investing as your guide, you'll discover how to make investing a winner's game:
- Why business reality--dividend yields and earnings growth--is more important than market expectations
- How to overcome the powerful impact of investment costs, taxes, and inflation
- How the magic of compounding returns is overwhelmed by the tyranny of compounding costs
- What expert investors and brilliant academics--from Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham to Paul Samuelson and Burton Malkiel--have to say about index investing
- And much more
You'll also find warnings about investment fads and fashions, including the recent stampede into exchange traded funds and the rise of indexing gimmickry. The real formula for investment success is to own the entire market, while significantly minimizing the costs of financial intermediation. That's what index investing is all about. And that's what this book is all about.
