Customer Reviews

Bogle on Mutual Funds: New Perspectives for the Intelligent Investor

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For almost a decade now, this has been my bible on mutual funds. Using a straightforward and candid approach, Vanguard founder John Bogle explains every aspect of mutual funds and the industry behind them. Never does Bogle exaggerate information or mislead the reader as many other financial "guru's" do to sell their books. He is a true consumer advocate and his goal is clearly to educate.

Covered is everything from stocks, bonds, money market funds, indexing, asset allocation, expense ratio's and the risks inherent not only in investing but in not investing (e.g. the erosion of the dollar vs. inflation in "safe" investments). Bogle utilizes numerous graphs and statistical data throughout the book to help make his point and to allow the reader increased comprehension.

It is important to note that this book was published in the early 1990's. Since then capital gains tax laws have changed and the Roth IRA was yet to be created. For more up-to-date information I would recommend reading Bogle's newer book, Common Sense on Mutual Funds. Nevertheless, Bogle On Mutal Funds is a great place to start educating yourself to become more financially savvy. This book has been invaluable to me and I believe it is key to my investing success. I find myself often referring to it, expecially now in these turbulent market times just to hear Mr. Bogle remind me to, "stay the course" and I will be rewarded. No wonder so many admirers refer to the beloved Mr. Bogle as, "Saint Jack."

Despite the fact that tens of millions own mutual funds, few know how to go about it for the best results. This book was the first and still is the best overview of the whole subject. The book is well designed for both beginning and more advanced investors. Over the course of a lifetime, this book should help you gain many additional thousands of dollars.

The first three chapters are the basics for new investors. The first chapter explains the benefits of compound interest, and how high returns for a long time earn you much more. The second chapter looks at inflation, income, and principal risk. The implication is to choose between the risks and rewards of equities and bonds. The former gives you more potential for gains, but can be more volatile. If you are going to be a very long-term holder, equities will be better than bonds. The third chapter looks at the basics of mutual funds and how they work.

The fourth through the seventh chapters look at how to select various types of mutual funds (equities, bonds, money markets, and balanced). In the eighth chapter, you can find out how to get information about specific mutual funds. Most comes from prospectuses and Morningstar.

Many of the key insights come in chapters nine through eleven. In the ninth chapter, you will learn the advantages of index funds (you will beat almost all other funds of the same type). In the tenth chapter, the importance of finding funds with low costs is explained. In the eleventh, you will find out about the tax costs associated with a high turnover of portfolios.

The twelfth chapter looks carefully at the rules of asset allocation. The thirteenth chapter provides model portfolios for how to implement various types of strategies for asset allocation.

Chapter fourteen encourages you to be an active, knowledgeable mutual fund investor.

The Epilogue is a good overview of the book in 12 steps.

Each chapter has a nice summary of its contents at the end.

The main drawback of the book is that the charts and data are quite old, usually ending in 1992. This book could badly use an updating in a second edition.

The advice is outstanding and timeless, however. You can follow these rules and do well.

You should be aware that John Bogle wrote a more recent book, Common Sense on Mutual Funds, that makes the arguments in chapters nine through eleven in this book in much more detail. That book also has some wonderful analyses using historical data that are much more up-to-date.

I recommend that you start with this book and then go on to read Common Sense on Mutual Funds.

As you learn more about mutual funds, consider how important it is to find out what you don't know before you take on something important. Then develop a new habit of doing your homework on other important subjects like health, relationships, and your career. There's no reason to learn everything by making mistakes!

Enjoy your increased wealth and sleep better with this excellent book!!

Rare does one book cover so much territory and explore so many avenues of information as this tightly and thoroughly written discourse on everything "mutual fund." If there is a book that does it better, I've not seen it. This key text is supplemented with numerous boxes for caveats, and punctuated with plenteous graphs to explicate the material presented. Sometimes, the technical information gets short-shrift, and many of the statements already belie the book's age. Even so, no investor should proceed with confidence until this book is thoroughly read, digested, and implemented.

I read this book when it first came out ten years ago at the beginning of the bull market. At the time the book had mixed reviews. One of Bogle's warning, and probably the best advice, is to watch out for funds that charge high fees and to study all the fees charged in all funds. I remember one reviewer feeling that Bogle was overreacting to the fees that funds charged and that fund managers are really on our side. Fast-forward to today, we have the mutual fund scandal and we learn that mutual fund managers aren't really working on our best interests. Though reading this book can't help you spot all the bad apples ( the Janus family has alot of no-load funds and it was implicated in the scandal) it can help you be aware and thus be more weary. In a nutshell, this book is comprehensive,honest and prescient. John Bogle is the conscience of the mutual fund industry.

All Americans who invest in mutual funds should consider John C. Bogle a real American hero for revolutionizing the mutual fund business, thereby greatly enriching institutional and small investors alike. In this clearly-organized, information-packed book, Bogle explains the basics of mutual fund investing, exposes the hideous truths about actively-managed mutual funds, and proves the superiority and beauty of index funds. The bottom line: (1) The vast majority of managed funds underperform their respective relevant market indexes, (2) there is no reliable way to predict which few managed funds will outperform the market, and (3) the intelligent investor therefore invests in index funds. If you want to learn the truth about mutual funds, read this book. If you want to succeed in mutual fund investing, follow Bogle's advice.

I first became interested in this title because of the positive review by Warren Buffett. There's so much hype in the investing field that you'll save hundreds of hours of wasted time and thousands of dollars in lost money by consulting a genius to separate the wheat from the chaff. It's not always an exciting, easy read but it's essential knowledge if you're investing or planning to invest in funds. Its simple concepts that take some mental work to understand. Those that make big money in individual stock investing normally invest a tremendous amount of time understanding their field AND the particular companies they're risking their money on. If you don't have the time or inclination to do this, mutual funds are one safe way to go.

For my money, your number one investment is in becoming valuable in whatever field you have a passion for. After enough money starts flowing and you want a relatively safe approach to investing and compounding excess funds (above what you need for a comfortable--not extravagant--lifestyle), Bogle explains the simple concepts for compounding your money over time. Don't take my word for it. Read the back page of the book for the brilliant investing minds that have given Bogle's ideas their stamp of approval.

This is the single best investment book I've ever read and used. Bogle is accessible, thorough, and helpful. His general advice has been known to Vanguard investors for quite some time and the Vanguard "philosophy" has helped me build a nice retirement nest egg over the last 20 years. You can do it too without fearing the ups and downs of the market.

This book is a gem with many facets. It explains the various investment markets; it describes the different types of mutual funds (bond, stock, balanced, money market, etc.); it tells you how to understand and evaluate risk; and it gives advice on how to construct an investment program for whatever purpose you may have in mind (college tuition, retirement, to preserve and enlarge an inheritance). Bogle also gives advice on how much risk is prudent for different investment time "horizons".

I bought this book when it first came out and have re-read it several times to make sure I'm on track. For the average investor, this is a classic.

Bogle provides an excellent guide to the world of mutual funds. He begins with an introduction to three primary classes of investments namely stocks, bonds and cash reserves and goes on to provide an excellent insight into analysing and selecting a mutual fund. A must read for anyone who has invested or is planning to invest in mutual funds.

Love this book for two reasons. First, it has lots of unique and non-intuitive things to say about mutual funds and investing. Second, John says those things in such a definitive, persuasive and compelling way that he has persuaded me that he's right. This book will change the way you invest, increasing returns and lowering risk at the same time. This is no get-rich-quick scheme. It's also a mud-pie in the face of the mutual fund industry which typically skims 1.5% from your assets before you get any returns.

This book systematically explains what you need to know to invest in mutual funds. It is not very easy read, the first couple of chapters, for example, are not that elementary (Bogle could have alleviated this by giving extra explanations and definitions of some terms) . Nevertheless, if you read the book with patience, it gives you absolutely crucial insights. I wish I had read this book years ago! This book is not about tips, is about investing with understanding and avoiding mistakes. It shows how to approach investing with a simple and cogent view.