10 Questions for John Bogle

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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Recently came across
The Lange Money Hour - Where Smart Money Talks

See #89 for listening for an hour - Jack Bogle

Plus other good learning discussions
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Vanguard founder John Bogle's enduring wisdom
Bogle continued: "We're all very different human beings, and I tell this to our crew members when we meet - they have a lot of assets that I don't have; I have a lot of liabilities that they don't have. We're just plain different. They can't live my life, and I can't live theirs. So follow your own instincts, try to be yourself and live your own life. I think there's a lot of wisdom in that.

"Other than that, it comes down to some pretty simple things: First, don't forget your family, because in the end, that's all you really have. Next, be a decent human being, and don't think you're better than anybody else, no matter what your condition of wealth or importance."

"Indeed, never forget the important role of luck in your life. Never, never, never, never say, 'I did it all myself.' Nobody does it all themselves. And when somebody has the temerity to tell me they did, I say to them: 'That's wonderful. I'm not sure I've ever met anybody who did it all themselves, but could I ask you one question: How did you arrange to be born in the United States of America?' "

"Above all, never give up your idealism. No matter how dark things get, keep your eye on the brighter side of things. Never let your determination falter.

"Even when the world turns against you and ridicules your ideas, 'Press on, regardless.' Try to make things happen, and treat everybody as an equal. I can't stand it when somebody demeans somebody who's doing the hard work. The world should work exactly the opposite. They should get much more credit than the big shots and suits."...

Bogle adores struggle. He's an admirer of the Greek god Antaeus. "Each time he got knocked down, he came back stronger," Bogle explains.

"The struggle is what it's all about," he says. "People ask me about success. Success is a word I almost never use. Success sounds like you've achieved something, it's done.

"But to be corny, though not inaccurate, success is a journey and not a destination. You don't say, 'I've arrived, I'm here.' You say, 'I'll try to do a little better tomorrow, and all the tomorrows after that.' "
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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:thumbsup:
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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An hour-long wide-ranging interview with Motley Fool's Tom Gardner. Video and transcript.

Investing Legend Jack Bogle Answers Your Questions
I think the market needs a certain amount of liquidity and I accept that — but how much liquidity do we need? Do we really need the market to turn over 250% a year? I grew up in this business. There wasn't a liquidity problem and the turnover was 25% a year. I've been known to say — you'll like this expression copying Samuel Johnson and what he said about patriotism — "Liquidity is the last refuge of the scoundrel."...
Lots more nuggets and gems follow...
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Another short video with Bogle at Bloomberg
Bogle: High-Frequency Trading Is on Balance a Plus

I agree - the issue is not about fast trading or slow trading - it is about honest trading and low cost.
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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'Born in strife': Jack Bogle on Vanguard at 40
Here's the memo Vanguard Group founder John Clifton "Jack" Bogle sent Vanguard Principal managers and 15+-year veteran employees to mark its 40th anniversary this morning under the title, "Vanguard Turns 40! Happy Birthday! And Thanks to our Crew!"
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Bylo Selhi wrote:Vanguard founder John Bogle's enduring wisdom
Bogle continued: "We're all very different human beings, and I tell this to our crew members when we meet - they have a lot of assets that I don't have; I have a lot of liabilities that they don't have. We're just plain different. They can't live my life, and I can't live theirs. So follow your own instincts, try to be yourself and live your own life. I think there's a lot of wisdom in that.

"Other than that, it comes down to some pretty simple things: First, don't forget your family, because in the end, that's all you really have. Next, be a decent human being, and don't think you're better than anybody else, no matter what your condition of wealth or importance."

"Indeed, never forget the important role of luck in your life. Never, never, never, never say, 'I did it all myself.' Nobody does it all themselves. And when somebody has the temerity to tell me they did, I say to them: 'That's wonderful. I'm not sure I've ever met anybody who did it all themselves, but could I ask you one question: How did you arrange to be born in the United States of America?' "

"Above all, never give up your idealism. No matter how dark things get, keep your eye on the brighter side of things. Never let your determination falter.

"Even when the world turns against you and ridicules your ideas, 'Press on, regardless.' Try to make things happen, and treat everybody as an equal. I can't stand it when somebody demeans somebody who's doing the hard work. The world should work exactly the opposite. They should get much more credit than the big shots and suits."...

Bogle adores struggle. He's an admirer of the Greek god Antaeus. "Each time he got knocked down, he came back stronger," Bogle explains.

"The struggle is what it's all about," he says. "People ask me about success. Success is a word I almost never use. Success sounds like you've achieved something, it's done.

"But to be corny, though not inaccurate, success is a journey and not a destination. You don't say, 'I've arrived, I'm here.' You say, 'I'll try to do a little better tomorrow, and all the tomorrows after that.' "
I don't know his religion. He sounds like he knows the Gospel inside out and I suspect he is a man of faith.
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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zinfit wrote: I don't know his religion. He sounds like he knows the Gospel inside out and I suspect he is a man of faith.
From a review of a Bogle biography:
I was curious to know Bogle's religious affiliation--I thought he might be a Quaker, but, no, he is an Episcopalian who attends Presbyterian services (p. 198). A self-described "religious person," he is a regular churchgoer but, Braham says, "takes religion with a grain of salt." He quotes Bogle as saying "No, I don't believe the Bible is the word of God. If it is, how did He learn to write in Hebrew and then Greek?"
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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brucecohen wrote:
zinfit wrote: I don't know his religion. He sounds like he knows the Gospel inside out and I suspect he is a man of faith.
From a review of a Bogle biography:
I was curious to know Bogle's religious affiliation--I thought he might be a Quaker, but, no, he is an Episcopalian who attends Presbyterian services (p. 198). A self-described "religious person," he is a regular churchgoer but, Braham says, "takes religion with a grain of salt." He quotes Bogle as saying "No, I don't believe the Bible is the word of God. If it is, how did He learn to write in Hebrew and then Greek?"
Thank you for the information. It just struck me that this advise would be very consistent with the teachings of JC as described in the gospels. Now the dating and the accuracy of the gospels is another debate.
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Bylo Selhi wrote:Vanguard founder John Bogle's enduring wisdom
Bogle continued: "We're all very different human beings, and I tell this to our crew members when we meet - they have a lot of assets that I don't have; I have a lot of liabilities that they don't have. We're just plain different. They can't live my life, and I can't live theirs. So follow your own instincts, try to be yourself and live your own life. I think there's a lot of wisdom in that.

"Other than that, it comes down to some pretty simple things: First, don't forget your family, because in the end, that's all you really have. Next, be a decent human being, and don't think you're better than anybody else, no matter what your condition of wealth or importance."

"Indeed, never forget the important role of luck in your life. Never, never, never, never say, 'I did it all myself.' Nobody does it all themselves. And when somebody has the temerity to tell me they did, I say to them: 'That's wonderful. I'm not sure I've ever met anybody who did it all themselves, but could I ask you one question: How did you arrange to be born in the United States of America?' "

"Above all, never give up your idealism. No matter how dark things get, keep your eye on the brighter side of things. Never let your determination falter.

"Even when the world turns against you and ridicules your ideas, 'Press on, regardless.' Try to make things happen, and treat everybody as an equal. I can't stand it when somebody demeans somebody who's doing the hard work. The world should work exactly the opposite. They should get much more credit than the big shots and suits."...

Bogle adores struggle. He's an admirer of the Greek god Antaeus. "Each time he got knocked down, he came back stronger," Bogle explains.

"The struggle is what it's all about," he says. "People ask me about success. Success is a word I almost never use. Success sounds like you've achieved something, it's done.

"But to be corny, though not inaccurate, success is a journey and not a destination. You don't say, 'I've arrived, I'm here.' You say, 'I'll try to do a little better tomorrow, and all the tomorrows after that.' "
Again thanks Bylo for this Bogle text. Worth re-reading.
As time goes on I admire and respect Bogle more and more.
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

Post by Flaccidsteele »

Bogle is extremely wise. I totally agree with everything he said there. A fantastic man. :thumbsup:
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Words of wisdom? No doubt- who could disagree? As with most "words of wisdom" a little general and sometimes difficult to implement.
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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SQRT wrote: As with most "words of wisdom" a little general and sometimes difficult to implement.
When I was young and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would answer: "A guru."

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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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So did you guru up? ;-) ;-)
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Shakespeare wrote:So did you guru up? ;-) ;-)
I had the vague pronouncements part down pat. All I was missing was the groupies.

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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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The ones looking for gurupe therapy?
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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SQRT wrote:Words of wisdom? No doubt- who could disagree? As with most "words of wisdom" a little general and sometimes difficult to implement.
How difficult sometimes depends on the personality/temperament involved.
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Jack Bogle to would-be Buffetts (or Beethovens):

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[From Warren Buffett: Know when to hold ’em ]
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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:thumbsup:
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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:thumbsup:
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Flaccidsteele wrote: :thumbsup:
Is Bogle advocating a "fragile retirement", in your view?
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Jack Bogle's success principles to live by
A conversation about something other than fund fees that got Jack Bogle worked up...

Bogle is 85.

He says that what made him a leader was a combination of luck, skill and a hefty or huge dose of determination. Then there's a collection of principles that have become clearer to him over time. Bogle is a self-described introvert, using his own experience to understand and illustrate the world. In an interview, he laid out principles that have led him, a few he could have embraced a little more conscientiously, and describe qualities he believes define the leadership on which Vanguard's success was built...
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Jack Bogle Explains How the Index Fund Won With Investors
A. ...Warren Buffett believes this. He said that 90% of the trust he’s leaving to his wife should go in the Vanguard 500 Index Fund.
Q: If he’d asked, would you have suggested the more diverse Vanguard Total Stock Market Fund instead?
A: Yeah! I wrote him about that. I didn’t hear back from him...

Q: What’s that mean, to cut out the profit? Vanguard keeps costs low, but people must certainly be making financial services industry salaries.
A: I never said we have low costs. I’ve said we have low expense ratios. That’s very different. If you multiply Vanguard’s average 0.14% expense ratio by its $3 trillion in assets, that’s total expenses of about $4 billion. Go back to when we had about $1 trillion in assets, charging 0.21%—that’s about $2 billion. So Vanguard’s costs have gone from $2 billion to $4 billion. When you have 20 million shareholder accounts, it costs money. When you’re employing 15,000 people all over the world, it costs money. We don’t disclose executive compensation anymore, which I think is a little strange. [Bogle stepped down as Vanguard’s senior chairman in 1999.] I designed the best company that I could design. But there are ways to make it better.

[N.B. $1T assets cost $2B to run. 3x assets increased costs by only 2x. Hence the difference—due to economies of scale—got passed back to fund investors by way of lower fees. Does your fundco do that? If not, why not? ...bylo]

Q: You’re concerned that the financial sector is too big. Why?
A; The job of finance is to provide capital to companies. We do it to the tune of $250 billion a year in IPOs and secondary offerings. What else do we do? We encourage investors to trade about $32 trillion a year. So the way I calculate it, 99% of what we do in this industry is people trading with one another, with a gain only to the middleman. It’s a waste of resources.
Bogle, "Don't do something, stand there" mantra video is here: http://money.us/1SGwI1L
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Awesome! I'm so thankful for Vanguard coming to Canada and lowering investment costs.
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Re: 10 Questions for John Bogle

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Love it! This comment certainly provides the 10,000 ft perspective:
...The job of finance is to provide capital to companies. We do it to the tune of $250 billion a year in IPOs and secondary offerings. What else do we do? We encourage investors to trade about $32 trillion a year. So the way I calculate it, 99% of what we do in this industry is people trading with one another, with a gain only to the middleman. It’s a waste of resources.
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