May
11
We try to be in touch with you whenever markets are roiling or unsettling news may have you questioning your resolve as an investor. Today, we simply want to take a moment to step away from the daily turmoil, and honor the life of one giant man.
On January 16th, Vanguard founder John “Jack” Bogle, passed away at age 89 in his Bryn Mawr home.
Search the Internet for “Bogle” or browse any news source, and you’ll soon be immersed in a universal outpouring of respect for the man. Rightfully so. His lifetime of unblinking commitment to busting open the doors of Wall Street and tearing down its shibboleths is unmatched by anyone else we know.
Reducing costs, avoiding hyperactive trades, insisting on fiduciary, transparent financial care … These may seem obvious today. But it was in large part Bogle who conceived them all, and at times, was ridiculed for doing so. He did not care; he spoke up anyway, every chance he got.
This excerpt from The Philadelphia Inquirer, Bogle’s home-town paper, epitomizes our feelings:
“Jack could have been a multibillionaire on a par with Gates and Buffett,” said William Bernstein, an Oregon investment manager and author of 12 books on finance and economic history. Instead, he turned his company into one owned by its mutual funds, and in turn their investors, “that exists to provide its customers the lowest price. He basically chose to forgo an enormous fortune to do something right for millions of people. I don’t know any other story like it in American business history.”
As we each strive to bring meaning to our own lives, we may sometimes despair over whether we can overcome seemingly enormous challenges.
We can … you can. Bogle’s legacy makes that abundantly clear. Day by day, choice by choice, year after year, each of us accumulates patient, positive steps toward being our ideal self. Each of us matter. Together, we matter the most.
