Common Sense on Mutual Funds: New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor

I would recommend "Commonsense on Mutual Funds" as a must read (or listen) for anyone getting started. This book will help investors understand the need to be efficient and disciplined over due time rather than incurring higher costs in the hopes of beating the market and getting rich quick. I think Bogle is able to outline investing strategies for an efficient market theorist concisely whereas "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" offers a more expansive version for those who have the attention span to digest it. Both books are must reads. I have found the audio versions of these books to be a wonderful way to boost my investing IQ during commutes. Ultimately, this topic may not be as sexy as the get rich quick gimmicks out there...but it is vital knowledge that is anything but common knowledge amongst the working class and novice investors. I think for those managing their 401k's, keeping management costs down over the long haul through indexing can be the world of difference to one's bottom line after 30+ years. This book can help people better understand how to manage their own portfolio's effectively. A very small investment of time and money into this book can provide an impressive boost to your long term returns.

Everybody knows that asset allocation is the only significant factor in portfolio performance. Right?Well, no. Bogle starts with the Jahnke research article "The Hoax Of Asset Allocation" and piles on mountains of his own research to demonstrate beyond doubt that cost is what really matters in every asset class imaginable.That being the case, indexing is the only rational investment strategy because index funds (and, these days, index ETFs) have by far the lowest costs.This edition was written before the dot-com crash; the revised edition will make for fascinating reading: which views have changed, which have been reinforced?It's a little hard to know who Bogle's intended audience is.The analysis is too deep for casual reader/investors (I might even say that you need to share his enthusiastic obsession to get through it all).Plus, he is so intent on proving how important cost is that he gives such matters as diversification virtually no attention except to say that it's a good thing. Unless you agree with the implication that you should simply buy Vanguard's Balanced Index Fund (VBINX) and be done with it, you will need to look elsewhere for advice on matters other than cost.Bogle devotes the last third of the book to a discussion of how the fund industry should restructure itself to better serve the investor. Since it obviously won't ever happen that sheep will not get shorn, it's rather sad and quixotic.In fact, considering the sad state of affairs at TIAA/CREF, once a bastion of customer service now gone to hell for the sake of corporate profits, it's worrisome to consider whether Vanguard will go down that same road once the old man is safely out of the picture.The end of the book is a brief autobiography of his creation, Vanguard, and the index fund that rocked the world.I think Bogle is the best. An inspiring example for the ages who single-handedly created the opportunity for individual investors to succeed. I come to his book with that bias and I slogged through it all because of my admiration. Not everyone will be sufficiently motivated to put in the effort, however, even though they would be rewarded for it if they did.

This book has the fundamental of indexing and why we should consider it as part of building our financial portfolio. Bogle is at his best preaching the value of indexing and how it relates to lower cost investing. This eventually translates to higher return for the investors and less profit to the brokerage firms that make money on trading.The book is a valuable resource for beginners who have not built their investment portfolio using actively managed funds. I found it helpful in thinking about reducing the number of funds in my portfolio.I thought Bogle was a little off when he discussed investing internationally. He claimed that international investing is not necessary since large companies do business globally. I disagree with this notion and believe that we should diversify our portfolio through investing in global funds.The principle of staying the course no matter what happens is very true. I saw that real time during the economic downturn after the year 2000. Staying the course paid off really well now that we are out of that trough!

Repetitive? Yes. Somewhat arduous to break through certain sections without falling asleep? Certainly.Considering the fundamental thesis of this book isn't all that entertaining in and of itself, and the fact that Bogle uses a litany of charts, graphs and other data presentation techniques and technical writing to support his thesis, it should be expected that the reading will be slow and may even bog you down if you let it.Although it often felt like a chore (which, let's face it, financial planning usually is!) I am now armed with decades of statistical fact to back up the assertion that indexing is (mostly)superior to paying for an actively traded mutual fund to invest your money for you. I haven't read any of his other books, and after completing this one, I'm not sure I need to. You can't avoid fees, and can't expect yourself to correctly choose those few funds which consistently outperform the indexes after fees. Yep, I think I pretty much got it. Thanks, Jack.

This book, alongside Tim Hale's "smarter investing" will ensure that a have a pension that hasn't been stolen by the greedy, inept, fund management industry. Bogle will give you a FACTUALLY BASED argument for how you should place your capital and long term savings.

Good and easy going book for beginners and new graduates. You can easily read it during your vacation . Nice language and good tips for long term and old fashion investors

Thanks.