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Title: Common Sense on Mutual Funds: New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor by John C. Bogle ISBN: 0-471-39228-6 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 06 October, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.43 (47 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Brokers Hate This Guy - He Deserves 6 Stars
Comment: If we were not a democracy someone would lock this guy up. He has spilled all the beans on the fake financial advisors and financial and insurance sales people that want to sell you the grotesque front end loaded mutual funds and those annuities that make piles of money for everyone except for the investor. Bogle founded one of the biggest mutual fund groups in America - the Vanguard Group - and he is a burr under the saddle of many financial people. His advice saves you money at the expense of the broker.
The bitter truth is that over the long haul only 10% of mutual funds outperform the conservative S&P 500 index. So why pay some company a front end load fund of 5-7% to under-perform the S&P 500 plus an annual fee of 1.5% when you can buy S&P index shares or Vanguard mutual funds that have no load fees, and have very low annual expenses - often less than 0.5% per annum. You end up giving away a chuck of your money if you do not follow his sound advice.
Bogle of course does not want to stop there. He wants to reign in all those CEO perks and huge bonuses and use the leverage of the mutual fund shareholders. All great stuff,
This is a case where Amazon.com should have a special 6 star category.
Jack in Toronto
Rating: 4
Summary: Excellent Review of Mutual Funds
Comment: John Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group which is the known for its low cost index funds as well as simply being one of the two largest mutual fund organizations, makes his simple but undeniable arguement.
1. The administrative costs of a mutual fund makes a huge impact on returns. For example, a 1% administrative fee eats away at least 10% of the fund's yearly return if it earns 10%.
2. Index funds have consistantly outperformed other managed funds.
3. Given #1, the managment fees for managed funds are a double burden because they reduce returns that are already typically below what a low cost index fund can offer.
Bogle also touches other topics on the mutual fund industry. I found that he hammered the same points home again several different ways. This made some parts of the book drag, but I suppose it is useful for those who may be skeptical about index funds to see the evidence presented in several formats. Bogle also touches upon the (mis?)-management of mutual funds. Fees have gone up despite the proven inability of funds to beat the market despite the supposed skill of their managers, funds turnover their securities rapidly leaving the unprepared owner (invester) with capital gains nightmares as well as lost returns due to trading costs.
Also interesting, Bogle reviews his life in the mutual fund industry. I feel Bogle hits us with a little too much data and not enough of the drama of the industry. For example, does Bogle's fellow fund managers believe they have the skill to beat the market or do they know they are ripping people off by creating and marketing funds with excessive fees and unproductive churning of assets? How can what is supposed to be one of the most free and efficient of all markets experience increasing prices (fees) coupled with products that have lower quality (i.e. lower returns and/or higher risk)?
Despite these minor flaws, I have to recommend Bogle for everyone who has an interest in securing an excellent retirement (or at least a decent one). As we enjoy longer lifespans, we are discovering that our retirement is also expanding. This, coupled with the gradual shrinking of social security/medicare benefits means that everyone must take on more responsibility for their final years. If you just read the advertising material given to you by your broker or your 401K administrator, you are going to be losing some of your returns on excessive fees and poorly managed funds.
Rating: 3
Summary: Index funds are still managed! C'mon Bogle.
Comment: In waging his crusade against actively managed funds, Bogle loses sight of the fact that even index funds are managed nonetheless. Take the popular Vanguard 500 Index Fund, which is indexed to S&P 500. He still cannot dodge the question: Who decides which stock gets listed or delisted? It's S&P itself, which manages the index. But why does he suppose that S&P is always a better managing institution than the best mutual fund companies that actively manage their funds?
Arguably, most fund managers can't outperform the indexes, but that does NOT mean that no managers actively managing their funds ever outperform the indexes. If you have to put money in the market, why not go for the best? And sure, managers can blow up too, but you can still diversify amongst the best managed funds.
As to costs, sure, index funds have small expenses compared to actively managed funds, but index funds have a serious drawback--usually a lot more volatility that makes owning them riskier. Investing is not just about keeping expenses to a minimum--important as it is. Neither is it merely about performance. It's also about controlling risks and preserving capital. I for one wouldn't want to own a fund--even for the long term and however cheap--if it's up 40% one year, down 30% the next, and then up %25% still the next and so on. I'm willing to pay more knowing that my capital would be preserved even in a down market. No index funds can be compared to the safety and nonvolatile nature of such funds as SGENX, OAKBX, MERFX and MVALX, which have very low betas.
Bogle's indexing approach is for me a sure path to mediocrity. If you have to put money in the market, why not go for the best funds with a long-term market-beating track record and consistent returns? To reduce management-related risks, why not also diversify amongst the best managed funds?
That said, I don't mean to say that you should not own index funds at all.
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Title: Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor by John Bogle ISBN: 0440506824 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 04 September, 1994 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: The Intelligent Asset Allocator: How to Build Your Portfolio to Maximize Returns and Minimize Risk by William J. Bernstein ISBN: 0071362363 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Trade Pub. Date: 22 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The Four Pillars of Investing : Lessons for Building a Winning Portfolio by William J. Bernstein ISBN: 0071385290 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Trade Pub. Date: 26 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: A Random Walk Down Wall Street, Completely Revised and Updated Edition by Burton G. Malkiel ISBN: 0393057828 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book On Value Investing, Revised Edition by Benjamin Graham, Jason Zweig ISBN: 0060555661 Publisher: HarperBusiness Pub. Date: 08 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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