Jack Bogle on Index Funds, Vanguard, and Investing Advice

Jack Bogle transformed the investment management industry. Over a career lasting nearly half a century, Bogle was a crusader for individual investors, working to bring the interests of asset managers in line with those of their investment clients.

In 1975, Bogle founded the Vanguard Group, structuring the business as a mutual company, meaning that Vanguard is owned by the funds it manages and, as a result, the funds' investors. A year later, Bogle and Vanguard introduced the first ever index mutual fund available to the general public, aiming to track the performance of the broader market while charging the lowest fees possible. At first, many in the investment industry snickered at Vanguard's new index funds, but over time Bogle's idea took hold. While maintaining some of the lowest fees in the business, Vanguard has grown its assets under management from $1.8 billion at its founding to $5.3 trillion as of September 30, 2018, making Vanguard the second largest asset manager in the world.

Despite Vanguard's incredible success, Bogle didn't become fantastically rich. Instead, Jack passed on as much savings as possible to Vanguard investors, bringing fees for his funds to razor-thin levels (and dragging the rest of the fund market with him). As a result, Bogle helped all investors get better returns on their retirement savings, drastically reducing underperformance caused by high management fees. As Bogle said in 2012, "My ideas are very simple. In investing, you get what you don't pay for."

All investors are indebted to Jack Bogle for his efforts over 40+ years to make the investment industry better serve the interests of individuals. As we remember Bogle's life and his contributions, we hope you'll enjoy this conversation between Bogle and Motley Fool Motley Fool CEO Tom Gardner recorded in 2016.





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