The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing Quotes

“The shortest route to top quartile performance is to be in the bottom quartile of expenses. —Jack Bogle”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“I helped put two children through Harvard—my broker’s children. —Michael LeBoeuf”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“If you buy an S&P 500 index fund, your investment is highly diversified and its performance will match that of 500 leading U.S. corporations' stocks. Is it possible to lose all of your money? Yes, but the odds of that happening are slim and none. If 500 leading U.S. corporations all have their stock prices plummet to zero, the value of your investment portfolio will be the least of your problems. An economic collapse of that magnitude would make the Great Depression look like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Here is the crux of the strategy: Instead of hiring an expert, or spending a lot of time trying to decide which stocks or actively managed funds are likely to be top performers, just invest in index funds and forget about it!”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Index investing is an investment strategy that Walter Mitty would love. It takes very little investment knowledge, no skill, practically no time or effort-and outperforms about 80 percent of all investors. It allows you to spend your time working, playing, or doing anything else while your nest egg compounds on autopilot. It's about as difficult as breathing and about as time consuming as going to a fast-food restaurant once a year.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“It’s been said that whom the gods would destroy they first make mad. A large sum of cash can create illusions of endless wealth, especially if it’s a new experience.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and investor of legendary repute: "Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal fees. Those following this path are sure to beat the net results (after fees and expenses) delivered by the great majority of investment professionals.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“There is a crucially important difference about playing the game of investing compared to virtually any other activity. Most of us have no chance of being as good as the average in any pursuit where others practice and hone skills for many, many hours. But we can be as good as the average investor in the stock market with no practice at all.
Jeremy Siegel, Professor of Finance, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and author of Stocks for the Long Run”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Never treat the highly likely as certain and the highly unlikely as impossible.”
― Mel Lindauer, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Part of the money went for gambling, part for horses, and part for women. The rest I spent foolishly.”
― Mel Lindauer, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Great Estates may venture more, but little Boats should keep near shore.”
― Mel Lindauer, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“An Investor in Early Retirement Diversified domestic stocks 30% Diversified international stocks 10% Intermediate-term bonds 30% Inflation-Protected Securities 30% An Investor in Early Retirement Using Vanguard Funds Total Stock Market Index Fund 30% Total International Index Fund 10% Total Bond Market Index Fund 30% Inflation-Protected Securities 30%”
― Mel Lindauer, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Only consider investing in no-load funds with annual expense ratios of 0.5 percent or less, the cheaper the better.”
― Mel Lindauer, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Holding out until you get your price to sell an investment is playing a fool’s game.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Mr. Bogle suggests that owning your age in bonds is a good starting point. So, a 20-year-old would hold 20 percent of his/her portfolio in bonds. By the time this investor reaches 50, the bond portion of the portfolio would have gradually increased, in 1 percent increments, to now represent 50 percent of his portfolio.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

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― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“A 25-year-old who invests $5,000 in a Roth IRA once a year for 40 years reaches age 65 with a tax-free fortune of $1,625,149.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Let’s assume a child is born today. For the next 65 years, she or her parents will deposit a certain amount into a stock mutual fund that pays an average annual return of 10 percent. How much do you think they need to deposit each day in order for her to have $1 million at age 65? Five dollars? Ten Dollars? In fact, a daily deposit of only 54 cents compounds to more than $1 million in 65 years. It really helps to start early.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“On Nov. 11 of 1998, a physician in San Francisco invested $50,000 in a mutual fund called BT Investment Pacific Basin Equity. In January, scarcely seven weeks after he had bought the BT fund—he got the shock of his investing life. On his original $50,000 investment, BT Pacific Basin had paid out $22,211.84 in taxable capital gains. Every penny of the payout was a short-term gain, taxable at Dr. X’s ordinary income tax rate of 39.6 percent. He suddenly owed nearly $9,000 in federal taxes. As a California resident, he was also in the hole for $1,000 in state tax.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Morningstar is also a good source for finding out what a particular mutual fund’s turnover rate is.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Barra, a research firm, did a study of market impact cost and found that a stock fund with $500 million in assets and a turnover rate of 80 to 100 percent could lose 3 to 5 percent a year to market impact costs.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“We recommend that mutual fund investors avoid load funds. If financial advice is needed, use a fee-only financial planner—not a mutual fund salesperson who has a conflict of interest.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“We know a very successful executive who, upon retirement, put all his investments into high-quality, diversified, municipal bonds. The income from the bonds is more than sufficient for his family’s lifestyle. This executive wants to spend his time traveling and on the golf course—not managing a complex portfolio of assorted securities. His simple portfolio may be unusual, but we think it’s probably a very suitable portfolio for him. However, most of us want a return greater than is available from savings, CDs, and bonds. This is why we use stocks to provide the growth and additional income needed to meet our goals. DESIGNING OUR PERSONAL ASSET ALLOCATION PLAN We have discussed the Efficient Market Theory and Modern Portfolio Theory.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“And someone with significant net worth or a large portfolio does not need to invest in risky investments in search of higher returns.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Remember, one of the greatest gifts you can give your children is to be financially independent in your old age, thus ensuring that you won’t become a financial burden to them.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“The Coffeehouse Investor by Bill Shultheis (Kirkland, WA: Palouse Press, 2005). A little book with a big message: How to invest simply and successfully.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“We can’t stress enough how important it is to establish your own personal financial plan, and then carefully follow that plan. Select low-cost mutual funds, preferably index funds, as the core of your investment portfolio.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Protect your assets with the proper types and amounts of insurance. Insurance is for protection. It’s not an investment. Don’t confuse the two.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Taxes can be your biggest expense. Invest in the most tax-efficient way possible. Put tax-inefficient funds in your tax-deferred accounts, and select tax-efficient investments for your taxable account.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

“Indexing via low-cost mutual funds is a strategy that will, over time, most likely outperform the vast majority of strategies.”
― Taylor Larimore, The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing