Editorial Reviews:
Synopsis
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), but 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 ionly/i investment that guarantees you with your fair share of stock market returns.pTo 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 iThe Little Book of Common Sense Investing,/i he wants to help you do the same.pFilled with in-depth insights and practical advice, iThe Little Book of Common Sense Investing/i 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.pWith iThe Little Book of Common Sense Investing/i as your guide, you’ll discover how to make investing a winner’s game:ulliWhy business reality—dividend yields and earnings growth—is more important than market expectationsliHow to overcome the powerful impact of investment costs, taxes, and inflationliHow the magic of compounding returns is overwhelmed by the tyranny of compounding costsliWhat expert investors and brilliant academics—from Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham to Paul Samuelson and Burton Malkiel—have to say about index investingliAnd much more/ulpYou’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.pbJOHN C. BOGLE/b is founder of the Vanguard Group, Inc., and President of its Bogle Financial Markets Research Center. He created Vanguard in 1974 and served as chairman and chief executive officer until 1996 and senior chairman until 2000. In 1999, iFortune/i magazine named Mr. Bogle as one of the four "Investment Giants" of the twentieth century; in 2004, iTime/i named him one of the world’s 100 most powerful and influential people, and iInstitutional Investor/i presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
