The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns (Little Book Big Profits)

Investing is all about common sense. Owning a diversified portfolio of stocks and holding it for the long term is a winner’s game. Trying to beat the stock market is theoretically a zero-sum game (for every winner, there must be a loser), but after the substantial costs of investing are deducted, it becomes a loser’s game. Common sense tells us—and history confirms—that the simplest and most efficient investment strategy is to buy and hold all of the nation’s publicly held businesses at very low cost. The classic index fund that owns this market portfolio is the only investment that guarantees you with your fair share of stock market returns.To learn how to make index investing work for you, there’s no better mentor than legendary mutual fund industry veteran John C. Bogle. Over the course of his long career, Bogle—founder of the Vanguard Group and creator of the world’s first index mutual fund—has relied primarily on index investing to help Vanguard’s clients build substantial wealth. Now, with The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, he wants to help you do the same.Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing will show you how to incorporate this proven investment strategy into your portfolio. It will also change the very way you think about investing. Successful investing is not easy. (It requires discipline and patience.) But it is simple. For it’s all about common sense.With The Little Book of Common Sense Investing as your guide, you’ll discover how to make investing a winner’s game:Why business reality—dividend yields and earnings growth—is more important than market expectationsHow to overcome the powerful impact of investment costs, taxes, and inflationHow the magic of compounding returns is overwhelmed by the tyranny of compounding costsWhat expert investors and brilliant academics—from Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham to Paul Samuelson and Burton Malkiel—have to say about index investingAnd much moreYou’ll also find warnings about investment fads and fashions, including the recent stampede into exchange traded funds and the rise of indexing gimmickry. The real formula for investment success is to own the entire market, while significantly minimizing the costs of financial intermediation. That’s what index investing is all about. And that’s what this book is all about.JOHN C. BOGLE is founder of the Vanguard Group, Inc., and President of its Bogle Financial Markets Research Center. He created Vanguard in 1974 and served as chairman and chief executive officer until 1996 and senior chairman until 2000. In 1999, Fortune magazine named Mr. Bogle as one of the four "Investment Giants" of the twentieth century; in 2004, Time named him one of the world’s 100 most powerful and influential people, and Institutional Investor presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Investing is all about common sense. Owning a diversified portfolio of stocks and holding it for the long term is a winner's game. Trying to beat the stock market is theoretically a zero-sum game (for every winner, there must be a loser), and after the substantial costs of investing are deducted, it becomes a loser's game. Common sense tells us—and history confirms—that the simplest and most efficient investment strategy is to buy and hold all of the nation's publicly held businesses at very low cost. The classic index fund that owns this market portfolio is the only investment that guarantees you with your fair share of stock market returns.

To learn how to make index investing work for you, there's no better mentor than legendary mutual fund industry veteran John C. Bogle. Over the course of his long career, Bogle—founder of the Vanguard Group and creator of the world's first index mutual fund—has relied primarily on index investing to help Vanguard's clients build substantial wealth. Now, with The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, he wants to help you do the same.

Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing will show you how to incorporate this proven investment strategy into your portfolio. It will also change the very way you think about investing. Successful investing is not easy—it requires discipline and patience. But it is simple, for it's all about common sense.

With The Little Book of Common Sense Investing as your guide, you'll discover how to make investing a winner's game:

• Why business reality—dividend yields and earnings growth—is more important than market expectations
• How to overcome the powerful impact of investment costs, taxes, and inflation
• How the magic of compounding returns is overwhelmed by the tyranny of compounding costs
• What expert investors and brilliant academics—from Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham to Paul Samuelson and Burton Malkiel—have to say about index investing
• And much more

You'll also find warnings about investment fads and fashions, including the recent stampede into exchange traded funds and the rise of indexing gimmickry. The real formula for investment success is to own the entire market, while significantly minimizing the costs of financial intermediation. That's what index investing is all about. And that's what this book is all about.

Dale Farris - Library Journal

Bogle (The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism) provides exemplary advice for investors interested in index funds. His solid, logical information is targeted at investors at all levels, and he deflates the myth of the superiority of mutual funds by explaining how common sense can help the average investor successfully manage low-cost index funds. As Bogle explains, owning a diversified portfolio of stocks for the long term is a winner's game, while trying to beat the stock market is a zero-sum game; after the substantial costs of investing are deducted, it becomes a loser's game. The material explains why dividend yields and earnings growth are more important than market expectations, how to overcome the powerful impact of investment costs, taxes, and inflation, and what expert investors like Warren Buffett say about index investing. The solid narration by Thom Pinto keeps listener interest on Bogle's latest approach to long-term investing, which, while offering nothing extraordinarily new in the overly saturated financial advice genre, nicely represents more than 20 years of successful investment advice from a leader in this field. Highly recommended for university libraries supporting a business curriculum and larger public libraries.

“There are a few investment managers, of course, who are very good – though in the short run, it's difficult to determine whether a great record is due to luck or talent. Most advisors, however, are far better at generating high fees than they are at generating high returns. In truth, their core competence is salesmanship. Rather than listen to their siren songs, investors – large and small – should instead read Jack Bogle's The Little Book of Common Sense Investing.” – Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, 2014 Annual Shareholder Letter. Investing is all about common sense. Owning a diversified portfolio of stocks and holding it for the long term is a winner's game. Trying to beat the stock market is theoretically a zero-sum game (for every winner, there must be a loser), but after the substantial costs of investing are deducted, it becomes a loser's game. Common sense tells us—and history confirms—that the simplest and most efficient investment strategy is to buy and hold all of the nation's publicly held businesses at very low cost. The classic index fund that owns this market portfolio is the only investment that guarantees you with your fair share of stock market returns. To learn how to make index investing work for you, there's no better mentor than legendary mutual fund industry veteran John C. Bogle. Over the course of his long career, Bogle—founder of the Vanguard Group and creator of the world's first index mutual fund—has relied primarily on index investing to help Vanguard's clients build substantial wealth. Now, with The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, he wants to help you do the same. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing will show you how to incorporate this proven investment strategy into your portfolio. It will also change the very way you think about investing. Successful investing is not easy. (It requires discipline and patience.) But it is simple. For it's all about common sense. With The Little Book of Common Sense Investing as your guide, you'll discover how to make investing a winner's game: Why business reality—dividend yields and earnings growth—is more important than market expectations How to overcome the powerful impact of investment costs, taxes, and inflation How the magic of compounding returns is overwhelmed by the tyranny of compounding costs What expert investors and brilliant academics—from Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham to Paul Samuelson and Burton Malkiel—have to say about index investing And much more You'll also find warnings about investment fads and fashions, including the recent stampede into exchange traded funds and the rise of indexing gimmickry. The real formula for investment success is to own the entire market, while significantly minimizing the costs of financial intermediation. That's what index investing is all about. And that's what this book is all about. A parable : the Gotrocks family Rational exuberance : business reality trumps market expectations Cast your lot with business : rely on Occam's razor to win by keeping it simple How most investors turn a winner's game into a loser's game : "the relentless rules of humble arithmetic" The grand illusion : surprise! : the returns reported by mutual funds aren't actually earned by mutual fund investors Taxes are costs, too : don't pay Uncle Sam any more than you should When the good times no longer roll : what happens if future returns are lower? Selecting long-term winners : don't look for the needle, buy the haystack Yesterday's winners, tomorrow's losers : fooled by randomness Seeking advice to select funds? : look before you leap Focus on the lowest-cost funds : the more the managers take, the less the investors make Profit from the majesty of simplicity : hold index funds that own the entire stock market Bond funds and money market funds : where those relentless rules are even more powerful Index funds that promise to beat the market : the new paradigm? The exchange traded fund : a trader to the cause What would Benjamin Graham have thought about indexing? : a confirmation from Mr. Buffett "The relentless rules of humble arithmetic" : reprise What should I do now? : funny money, serious money, and investment strategy. John C. Bogle's The Little Book of Common Sense Investing is a power-packed explanation of why outperforming the market is an investor illusion. Instead, the man who has been called 'the conscience of the investment industry' recommends a simple, time-tested investment strategy-indexing-that can deliver the greatest return to the greatest number of investors. Why? Beating the market is a zero sum game where transaction costs, taxes, poor investment diversification, and poor market-timing (an affliction for most investors) hurts your portfolio more than it helps. Indexing eliminates that hurt. Bottom-line, if you can't beat an index, why not invest in one. And you'll be all the happier and richer for it There are a few investment managers, of course, who are very good though in the short run, it s difficult to determine whether a great record is due to luck or talent. Most advisors, however, are far better at generating high fees than they are at generating high returns. In truth, their core competence is salesmanship.