To: Veterans and Principals
From: John C. Bogle
Re: Vanguard in the News
Date: December 3, 2015
Hi All,
Favorable press coverage of our firm seems to be growing just as rapidly as our cash flow. (Well, maybe not quite as fast!) I’m attaching five of the more important news stories with this note.
1. “Vanguard’s Gain is Wall Street’s Pain.” Bloomberg Business, December 1, 2015. I urge all of you to read this remarkably perceptive article by veteran journalist Eric Balchunas. It discusses the often taboo subject of our impact on the entire field of investment, estimating that by 2020 we will have reduced Wall Street’s revenues by $40 billion per year. (Actually, that figure is underestimated.)
2. “The George Washington of Investing Wants You For The Revolution.” NPR’s Chris Arnold wrote this story in connection with his radio segment about me for NPR’s Morning Edition, which you can listen to here. Chris wrote a companion piece about asset allocation, with suggestions from David Swensen, me, and Gretchen Tai of Hewlett-Packard.
3. “John Bogle’s legacy: Falling prices everywhere.” On November 19, 2015, Mitch Tuchman of MarketWatch again refers to “the Vanguard Effect”—the impact of our low pricing strategy on our peers. He concludes: “If better, cheaper advice along with falling prices for funds in a race to the bottom, bring it on!”
4. “The best strategy for everyday investors, according to investing legend Jack Bogle.” In Business Insider, on November 3, 2015, Kathleen Elkins concludes: “Set yourself up for financial success by investing in low-cost index funds.”
5. “Cost Always Matter, So Pick This Winning Read.” Financial adviser Nick Train, writing in FT Adviser on October 29, 2015, quotes at length from the recently published “Classic Edition” of John Bogle on Investing—The First 50 Years. (Curiously, he doesn’t get around to mentioning the name of the book.) He shares my view that “picking winners is a loser’s game.”
Please enjoy this continuing stream of affirmation for the work we do—you and I alike—to serve investors with excellence.
Best,
Jack