February 1, 2012

To Principals and Veterans,

Yesterday, a star-studded group of our nation’s investment leaders celebrated my 60th anniversary in the financial field. “The John C. Bogle Legacy Forum” took place at the Museum of American Finance on Wall Street, and I must tell you that this recognition delighted my soul (even as I was embarrassed that, despite my good intentions, my pride sometimes peeped out).

I’m pleased to attach a few items that you might enjoy:

Pages 1-4 -The Forum program.
Page 5 -President Clinton’s welcome.
Page 6-8 -My opening remarks.

You should know that I had to overcome my extreme reluctance to circulate this summary of a true “red-letter” day in my life and career. But there’s no other way to inform the many ofyou who care, and for that I am in your eternal debt.

“Stay the Course,” and best, always,

Jack

John C. Bogle Legacy Forum 1-31-12

September 16, 2011

To Veterans and Principals,

            I’m attaching a copy of my speech to the NMS Investment Management Forum, presented to a packed house of some 400 endowment fund and pension fund officers in Washington, D.C., last Monday, September 12.

            It includes a discussion of endowment fund investment policy; a comparison of endowment fund returns with the model index fund portfolio (50 percent stocks, 50 percent bonds) that I recommended 15 years ago in an essay for the Common Fund; and a forecast of future stock and bond returns.  It also includes commentary about the risks involved in the greatly expanded use of alternative investments, now the dominant portion of endowment portfolios.

If these subjects interest you, I think you’ll enjoy the talk.

                                                Jack

Note 1: On Monday September 19, I’ll be doing a full hour—from 1PM to 2PM—on CNBC’s “Power Lunch,” with Tyler Mathisen.  We’ll be talking about current issues, including Vanguard’s growth and industry position, index funds, and today’s financial markets.

Note 2:  The endowment fund speech, along with most of my other speeches, interviews, etc. have all been posted on my Bogle eblog—www.johncbogle.com.

A number of speeches have been added to the blog.

Helping Others
On Receiving the “Others” Award from the Salvation Army
May 11, 2011

At the Summit
Tiburon Summit XX
April 13, 2011

Ethical Principles and Ethical Principals
The Johnson School at Cornell University
November 11, 2010

America’s Financial System – Powerful but Flawed
The Phi Beta Kappa National Lecture Series, Temple University
November 3, 2010

Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears the Crown
The First FUSE Research Network Award for Lifetime Impact and Commitment to Investors
October 26, 2010

How Calvin Coolidge Could Guide Us Now
50th Anniversary Symposium of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation
October 7, 2010

Economic Markets and Public Purpose
The Reinvestment Fund’s 24th Annual Celebration
June 11, 2009

When a Man Comes to Himself
Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades
May 28, 2009

The Culture That Gave Rise To The Current Financial Crisis
Seventh Annual John M. Templeton, Jr., Lecture on Economic Liberties and the Constitution, National Constitution Center
May 13, 2009

Aspiring to Build a Better Financial World
2009 Jake McCandless ’51 Princeton Varsity Club Speaker Series
April 30, 2009

The Fiduciary Principle: “No Man Can Serve Two Masters”
Columbia University School of Business
April 1, 2009

If You Can Trust Yourself…
Roxbury Latin School
March 30, 2009

Building a Fiduciary Society
IA Compliance Summit
March 13, 2009

Fixing a Broken Financial System
Stradley, Ronan, Stevens & Young Assembly, Philadelphia, PA
February 12, 2009

A Community of Character
On Receiving the 2008 Bonnell Award from the Community College of Philadelphia
December 16, 2008

Economics, Politics, and the Financial Markets
Blair Academy Reception
October 14, 2008

A Tribute to Bernard Lown, M.D.
Boston, MA
September 13, 2008

The Coming Market Environment and Implications for Financial Innovation
Financial Planning Association Retreat
June 2, 2008

Business and Its Publics
New York University Stern School of Business
February 25, 2008

Investing in Times of Market Turbulence
The Princeton Club of New York
Millennium Lecture Series
January 28, 2008

The U.S. Financial Sector and the Relentless Rules of Humble Arithmetic
New York University
November 14, 2007

Building a Better Financial System
Given to “The Old Guard” at Princeton University
November 7, 2007

October 8, 2010

To the Veterans and Principals:

I’m attaching a fun speech I gave last evening at the JFK Library in Boston at the 50th aIll1iversary of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation. (It’s a long story!) Entitled “How Calvin Coolidge Could Guide Us Today,” it includes a number of historical references that I think you’ll enjoy.

Also attached is an article from Bloomberg Business Week on Vanguard’s becoming the largest firm in our industry, essentially a summary of a much more extensive article on Bloomberg.com. Since this article is laced with some wonderful quotes from independent sources that I’m sure you’ll enjoy, I’ve included it as well.

Not to be too picky, but the story substantially underscores our advantage in asset size, stated as Vanguard $1.31 trillion, Fidelity $1.24 trillion. In fact, the totals are Vanguard $1.39 trillion, Fidelity $1.17 trillion-an edge of $220 billion. Excluding money market funds and counting only stock and bond funds, the totals are: Vanguard $1.22 trillion, Fidelity $730 billion, a staggering edge of almost $500 billion.

Numbers are mere numbers, and size is only size. (And don’t ever forget that “the bigger they are the harder they fall.”) What remains important are the basic human values and the simple investment strategies established at our founding, which–despite the challenges engendered by our electrifying growth to industry preeminence-remain the primary basis for the enormous trust that investors have placed in all of us.

Best always,

Jack

October 28, 2010

To Principals and Veterans,

While the attached speech about Vanguard’s ascent to industry leadership was presented to the FUSE Network Research Conference on the future of asset management and the distribution of marketing resources, it occurs to me that it would likely be of even greater interest to our Vanguard crew.

So I’m sending along “Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears the Crown,” some reflections on the lessons of industry leadership, with particular attention to the three past leaders during our industry’s 76-year history. Each held the crown with surprising durability, lasting for about 25 years before their decline and fall.

The obvious question: Will Vanguard’s reign be as durable? Or will it last even longer? Read on.

Best,

Jack

P.S. I’ll also be posting the speech on my eBlog – www.johncbogle.com

April 12, 2011

To: Principals and Veterans,

Three recent items to report to you:

(1)

Text of my brief (for me) remarks on receiving the Tiburon CEO Summit Award, in which I review our industry position and describe the amazing and unpredictable events that led to our creation, without anyone of which Vanguard would not exist today.

(2)

A nice presentation of my op-ed for the Financial Times of London, describing the harsh realities of investing as compared to the bright illusions created by Wall Street ( one of the major themes of Don’t Count on It!).

(3)

A copy of the cover and the text on the inside flap of a new book, The House that Bogle Built: How John Bogle and Vanguard Reinvented the Mutual Fund Industry. It begins with a revision of John Bogle and the Vanguard Experiment, published in 1996, and then follows with a chronicle of the past 15 years. While it includes interviews with me, Bill McNabb, and others, the opinions expressed are the author’s own. While I have not read it, I’ve heard the book includes some controversial issues. I believe it’s now in the book stores, as well as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

Thanks to each one of you for making this place such a fine haven for our clients, especially in these unpredictable and volatile markets.

Jack

To: Principals and Veterans:

Since so many of you have told me you enjoy my commencement speeches, I’ve attached the one I’ll deliver when I receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at Trinity College this Sunday, May 23.

Also attached are two recent newspaper articles:

1. A story from today’s Wall Street Journal about my presentation at the CFA Annual Meeting in Boston on May 19.

2. A New York Times story about the excessive level of fees charged by most mutual funds. (I believe there will be a follow-up to this story.)

Roxbury Latin speech

Financial Analysts Journal article

John M. Templeton, Jr. Lecture at the National Constitution Center.

I’m pleased to provide:

1 – An article on the U.S. retirement system in this week’s BusinessWeek   magazine.

2 – An extensive article by Gretchen Morgenson from Sunday’s New York Times calling for fiduciary duty standards for money managers and corporate managers.

3 – The text of my lecture on the Fiduciary Principle at Columbia Business School on April 1, which was the inspiration for the New York Times story.

Best,

Jack