The House that Bogle Built: How John Bogle and Vanguard Reinvented the Mutual Fund Industry

The House that Bogle Built: How John Bogle and Vanguard Reinvented the Mutual Fund Industry
Author: Lewis Braham
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2011-04-29
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0071751157

"One of the best financial books of 2011." National Post John Bogle’s journey from financial-industry pioneer to one of its toughest critics Arguably the greatest shareholder advocate in the history of Wall Steet, John Bogle not only created the first index mutual fund but has become the primary voice for change in an industry plagued by excess and complacency. Bogle stumbled upon mutual funds by accident in 1949 as a college student at Princeton. In his junior year, he read a Fortune article about the burgeoning fund industry that sparked his interest, and he wrote his now famous senior thesis about it. What began as an intellectual pursuit would turn into Bogle’s life mission. The House That Bogle Built chronicles the years of Bogle’s development from college whiz kid into a titan of the mutual fund industry and shareholder advocate—highlighting his creation of the Vanguard Group and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund and his frequent battles to shake up the status quo. It takes you through the two decades he spent running Vanguard, until his forced retirement in 1999, and discloses what he thinks about the fund industry today. Bogle has always stood out for his extraordinary talents in math, analysis, management, and investing. But his most noteworthy trait is his most basic: his humanism in an industry not exactly famous for placing people over profit. It’s Bogle’s dedication to clients’ interests above all else that has earned him the reputation as the “conscience” of the investing industry. In his ninth decade of life, Bogle is remarkably candid about the role he plays at Vanguard today—and about his opinion of Jack Brennan, his successor. “How do you keep Vanguard a place where judgment has at least a fighting chance to triumph over process?” he asks. Skeptical but never defeatist, Bogle maintains a retired-but-active status at the company, keeping a close watch over those now at the helm of Vanguard. The House That Bogle Built reveals one of the investing world’s most fascinating and complex figures. A dogged advocate of shareholder democracy, he was a self-confessed “dictator” at Vanguard. A brilliant mathematician, he is more interested in people than numbers. Fiercely competitive, he bemoans the cut-throat approach that drives his industry of choice. Always, though, Bogle places the good of the client before anything else—a practice that has become steadily rarer in his business. The House That Bogle Built provides an insightful look at the past, present, and future of one of today’s largest industries, through the eyes of one of its most influential pioneer.

Character Counts

Character Counts
Author: John C. Bogle
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
Total Pages: 333
Release: 2002
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780071391153

This text tells how Bogle built Vanguard and transformed the investing world. It also distills the principles upon which the company stands, as well as the key milestones of the company. Started in 1974, Vanguard has emerged as one of the world's most important financial institutions.

Stay the Course

Stay the Course
Author: John C. Bogle
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 339
Release: 2018-11-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1119404320

A journey through the Index Revolution from the man who started it all Stay the Course is the story the Vanguard Group as told by its founder, legendary investor John C. Bogle. This engrossing book traces the history of Vanguard—the largest mutual fund organization on earth. Offering the world’s first index mutual fund in 1976, John Bogle led Vanguard from a $1.4 billion firm with a staff of 28 to a global company of 16,000 employees and with more than $5 trillion in assets under management. An engaging blend of company history, investment perspective, and personal memoir, this book provides a fascinating look into the mind of an extraordinary man and the company he created. John Bogle continues to be an inspiring and trusted figure to millions of individual investors the world over. His creative innovation, personal integrity, and stubborn determination infuse every aspect of the company he founded. This accessible and engaging book will help you: Explore the history of some of Vanguard’s most important mutual funds, including First Index Investment Trust, Wellington Fund, and Windsor Fund Understand how the Vanguard Group gave rise to the Index Revolution and transformed the lives of millions of individual investors Gain insight on John Bogle’s views on values such as perseverance, caring, commitment, integrity, and fairness Investigate a wide range of investing topics through the lens of one of the most prominent figures in the history of modern finance The Vanguard Group and John Bogle are inextricably linked—it would be impossible to tell one story without the other. Stay the Course: The Story of Vanguard and the Index Revolution weaves these stories together taking you on a journey through the history of one revolutionary company and one remarkable man. Investors, wealth managers, financial advisors, business leaders, and those who enjoy a good story, will find this book as informative and unique as its author.

The Man in the Arena

The Man in the Arena
Author: Knut A. Rostad
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 929
Release: 2013-11-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1118650735

The importance of the life's work of mutual fund pioneer and investing legend John C. Bogle The Man in the Arena offers the essence of John C. Bogle's thinking and the meaning of his life's work, which transformed individual investing to benefit tens of millions of investors. Through Bogle's own words—as well as the voices of others whose hearts and minds he touched—the book touches on topics he cares about most deeply: Vanguard, indexing, corporate governance, and a fiduciary society. From Vanguard shareholders to true giants in finance, one cannot read their words without being struck by their sheer intensity. Bogle's parade of admirers is passionate. It is led by, arguably, the two most acclaimed leaders of our day—in the world of investing and the public life of the world—Warren Buffett and President Bill Clinton. The book is a first take at putting Bogle's life work into a broader context. It includes some of Bogle's classic essays and leads to an agenda of reform Bogle feels is essential to preserve our democratic republic. It features insight on the man from such commentators as Arthur Levitt, Burton Malkiel, Paul Volcker, and many more. Features wisdom and commentary on the career and life of legendary investor John C. Bogle Presents a summary of Bogle's prominent and successful career, as well as his investing strategies Includes commentary from a Who's Who of top investors

The Bogle Effect

The Bogle Effect
Author: Eric Balchunas
Publisher: BenBella Books
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2022-04-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1637740727

The index fund wouldn’t be jack without Jack. It was just one innovation fueled by The Vanguard Group founder Jack Bogle’s radical idea in 1975 to make investors the actual owners of his new fund company. While the move was as much to save his job as it was to save investors, the end result was powerful: a fund company for the people and by the people. Bogle began a 50-year process of lowering costs inch by inch, which ultimately unleashed a populist revolt that has saved average investors trillions of dollars while reforming and right-sizing much of the entire financial industry. Today, nearly every dollar invested in America goes to either Vanguard funds or Vanguard-influenced funds. But Bogle’s impact and this “great cost migration” reaches well beyond index funds into many other areas, such as active management, ETFs, the advisory world, quantitative investing, ESG, behavioral finance and even trading platforms. The Bogle Effect takes readers through each of these worlds to show how they—and the investors they serve—are being reshaped and reformed. While hundreds of fund providers have copied the index fund that Vanguard made popular no one is yet to copy its “mutual” ownership structure. Why? This book explores that question as well as what made Bogle such an anomaly—seemingly immune to the overwhelming magnet of ambition that dictates Wall Street, made famous by movies like Wall Street, The Big Short, and The Wolf of Wall Street. On the flip side, Bogle wasn’t perfect by any stretch—he could be moralizing, cantankerous, and tended to make virtue out of necessity. The Bogle Effect is animated by the author’s hours of one-on-one, exclusive interviews with Bogle in the years before he passed, which reveal his philosophy, vision, intellect, and humor. Dozens of additional interviews with people who worked with him, lived with him, were influenced by him, and disagreed with him round out a portrait of this revolutionary figure. You will never look at the financial industry or your portfolio the same way again.

Character Counts

Character Counts
Author: John C. Bogle
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2002-04-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0071418121

How John Bogle built Vanguard and transformed the investment worldin his own words Jack Bogle remains one of the titans of the investment world and a hero to the independent investor, as renowned for his influence as he is respected for his accomplishments. Character Counts is the story of how Vanguard was born, why it has flourished, and what leadership principles and management practices fostered its development. Covering the period 19742001, the story is told through the dozens of potent and memorable speeches he has given to Vanguard crew members over the years, interspersed with a narrative that provides context and explanation. This "you are there" approach provides new insights into one of the world's most important financial institutionsand into the mutual fund industry itself. Character Counts paints an indelible portrait of the man Fortune named one of the "four giants of finance" of the 20th century.

Don't Count on It!

Don't Count on It!
Author: John C. Bogle
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 640
Release: 2010-10-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0470949023

Praise for Don't Count On It! "This collection of Jack Bogle's writings couldn't be more timely. The clarity of his thinking—and his insistence on the relevance of ethical standards—are totally relevant as we strive to rebuild a broken financial system. For too many years, his strong voice has been lost amid the cacophony of competing self-interests, misdirected complexity, and unbounded greed. Read, learn, and support Jack's mission to reform the industry that has been his life's work." —PAUL VOLCKER, Chairman of the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board and former Chairman of the Federal Reserve (1979–1987) "Jack Bogle has given investors throughout the world more wisdom and plain financial 'horse sense' than any person in the history of markets. This compendium of his best writings, particularly his post-crisis guidance, is absolutely essential reading for investors and those who care about the future of our society." —ARTHUR LEVITT, former Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission "Jack Bogle is one of the most lucid men in finance." —NASSIM N.TALEB, PhD, author of The Black Swan "Jack Bogle is one of the financial wise men whose experience spans the post–World War II years. This book, encompassing his insights on financial behavior, pitfalls, and remedies, with a special focus on mutual funds, is an essential read. We can only benefit from his observations." —HENRY KAUFMAN, President, Henry Kaufman & Company, Inc. "It was not an easy sell. The joke at first was that only finance professors invested in Vanguard's original index fund. But what a triumph it has been. And what a focused and passionate drive it took: it is a zero-sum game and only costs are certain. Thank you, Jack." —JEREMY GRANTHAM, Cofounder and Chairman, GMO "On finance, Jack Bogle thinks unconventionally. So, this sound rebel turns out to be right most of the time. Meanwhile, many of us sometimes engage in self-deception. So, this book will set us straight. And in the last few pages, Jack writes, and I agree, that Peter Bernstein was a giant. So is Jack Bogle." —JEAN-MARIE EVEILLARD, Senior Adviser, First Eagle Investment Management Insights into investing and leadership from the founder of The Vanguard Group Throughout his legendary career, John Bogle-founder of the Vanguard mutual fund group and creator of the first index mutual fund-has helped investors build wealth the right way, while, at the same time, leading a tireless campaign to restore common sense to the investment world. A collection of essays based on speeches delivered to professional groups and college students in recent years, in Don't Count on It is organized around eight themes Illusion versus reality in investing Indexing to market returns Failures of capitalism The flawed structure of the mutual fund industry The spirit of entrepreneurship What is enough in business, and in life Advice to America's future leaders The unforgettable characters who have shaped his career Widely acclaimed for his role as the conscience of the mutual fund industry and a relentless advocate for individual investors, in Don't Count on It, Bogle continues to inspire, while pushing the mutual fund industry to measure up to their promise.

Trillions

Trillions
Author: Robin Wigglesworth
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2021-10-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0593087690

From the Financial Times's global finance correspondent, the incredible true story of the iconoclastic geeks who defied conventional wisdom and endured Wall Street's scorn to launch the index fund revolution, democratizing investing and saving hundreds of billions of dollars in fees that would have otherwise lined fat cats' pockets. Fifty years ago, the Manhattan Project of money management was quietly assembled in the financial industry's backwaters, unified by the heretical idea that even many of the world's finest investors couldn't beat the market in the long run. The motley crew of nerds—including economist wunderkind Gene Fama, humiliated industry executive Jack Bogle, bull-headed and computer-obsessive John McQuown, and avuncular former WWII submariner Nate Most—succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Passive investing now accounts for more than $20 trillion, equal to the entire gross domestic product of the US, and is today a force reshaping markets, finance and even capitalism itself in myriad subtle but pivotal ways. Yet even some fans of index funds and ETFs are growing perturbed that their swelling heft is destabilizing markets, wrecking the investment industry and leading to an unwelcome concentration of power in fewer and fewer hands. In Trillions, Financial Times journalist Robin Wigglesworth unveils the vivid secret history of an invention Wall Street wishes was never created, bringing to life the characters behind its birth, growth, and evolution into a world-conquering phenomenon. This engrossing narrative is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand modern finance—and one of the most pressing financial uncertainties of our time.

Putting the Shareholder First, A Lifetime Ideal

Putting the Shareholder First, A Lifetime Ideal
Author: Investments & Wealth Institute
Publisher:
Total Pages: 15
Release: 2015
Genre:
ISBN:

Over the course of his fifty-five-year career in the investment industry, John C. Bogle, founder and former chairman of The Vanguard Group, redefined investing for the individual investor and became known as the conscience of the mutual fund industry. Concerned since his undergraduate days at Princeton University about the impact of costs on the returns that investors receive, Mr. Bogle turned a career setback in the mid-1970s into an opportunity to put his early beliefs into action. Within the space of three years, he had established Vanguard, the first mutual fund company to be owned by its fund shareholder clients; created the first index mutual fund; and pioneered the concept of the modern no-load mutual fund. In April 2006, Mr. Bogle talked with members of the Journal of Investment Consulting Editorial Advisory Board about the experiences that shaped his philosophy, his views on the costs of financial intermediation, and his recommendations for improving corporate governance.

The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism

The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism
Author: John C. Bogle
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2005-01-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780300119718

The founder and former chief executive of the Vanguard mutual funds argues for a return to a governance structure in which owners' capital that has been put at risk is used in their interests rather than in the interests of corporate and financial managers.