{"id":869,"date":"2013-09-26T15:18:35","date_gmt":"2013-09-26T20:18:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johncbogle.com\/wordpress\/?p=869"},"modified":"2013-09-26T15:18:35","modified_gmt":"2013-09-26T20:18:35","slug":"happy-birthday-to-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johncbogle.com\/wordpress\/2013\/09\/26\/happy-birthday-to-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Birthday to Us!"},"content":{"rendered":"

September 26, 2013<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To: Vanguard Veterans and Principals:\u00a0 Happy Birthday to Us!<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 September 24, 2013 marked the 39th<\/sup> anniversary of the birth of Vanguard, incorporated on September 24, 1974<\/b>.\u00a0 We were tiny then, with only 28 crew members on board when we began operations in May 1975. The environment was difficult in those early days\u2014we were suffering regular net cash outflows month after month. But we were all excited to be undertaking \u201cThe Vanguard Experiment\u201d<\/b> in a new model of mutual fund governance.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In this industry\u2019s then-half-century of existence, the idea of a mutual<\/i> mutual fund organization <\/b>had never been tried before. Our formation was novel, contentious, and politicized, and in truth our continuing existence was in doubt. Few in the finance community noticed the new firm, and those who did belittled it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 But radical changes in finance were on the way. The creation of the world\u2019s first index mutual fund (\u201cBogle\u2019s Folly\u201d)<\/b> followed in short order, a direct result of our unique \u201cat-cost\u201d structure. Going \u201cno-load\u201d soon after and eliminating our entire broker-dealer distribution network was without precedent in the industry. The introduction of our novel defined-maturity bond fund strategy followed, changing almost overnight the bond fund landscape of the period. Other departures\u2014less radical\u2014followed in the years ahead.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It seems to me a long time ago when Vanguard began, but I still recall the trials and tribulations, the slings and the arrows, the successes and the profound disappointments, the hopes and fears that punctuated our nearly four-decade history. But it\u2019s a treat to see that in recent weeks our astonishing acceptance in the marketplace continues to be celebrated in the media.\u00a0 I have attached just four recent examples:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. 1.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b>Motley Fool<\/i><\/b> \u201cFather of the Index Fund,\u201d<\/a> <\/b>commemorating Vanguard\u2019s 39th<\/sup> anniversary and generously crediting Vanguard for \u201ccreating an entirely new way to invest.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  2. 2.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Philadelphia Inquirer<\/i><\/b> exclusive on the human aspects of my long career,<\/i> headlined “John Bogle\u2019s Enduring Wisdom.\u201d<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  3. 3.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/i><\/b>Morningstar Rekenthaler Report<\/a><\/i><\/b> describing your founder as one \u201cwho entered 2008 as the mutual fund industry\u2019s leading figure, whose position, five years later is that much stronger . . . his legacy, never in much doubt has now been totally cemented.\u201d <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  4. 4.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/b>The Wall Street Journal<\/i><\/b>, September 14-15, 2013 \u201cWhat We Learned From the Financial Crisis,\u201d<\/a><\/b> emphasizing the importance of \u201ccharacter\u201d in investing. <\/b>For whatever it may be worth, I was highly complimented to have this major story conclude with a paragraph citing words from a speech I gave almost 15 years ago (!): \u201cTo earn the highest returns that are realistically possible, you should invest with simplicity. Rely on the ordinary virtues that intelligent investors have relied on for centuries: common sense, thrift, realistic expectations, patience, and perseverance. Call them \u2018character.\u2019 And in investing, over the long run, character will be rewarded.\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Please revel with me as we mark our 39th<\/sup> birthday and thank you all for your commitment to our long-standing mission of serving investors.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jack<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    September 26, 2013 \u00a0 To: Vanguard Veterans and Principals:\u00a0 Happy Birthday to Us! \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 September 24, 2013 marked the 39th anniversary of the birth of Vanguard, incorporated on September 24, 1974.\u00a0 We were tiny then, with only 28 crew members on board when we began operations in May 1975. The environment was difficult in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-memos-to-principals-and-veterans","category-press-clippings"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johncbogle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johncbogle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johncbogle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johncbogle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johncbogle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/johncbogle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":870,"href":"https:\/\/johncbogle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869\/revisions\/870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johncbogle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johncbogle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johncbogle.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}