By John C. Bogle

 

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, founder of the Vanguard Group and creator of the world's first index mutual fund. Bogle 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, this book 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, since it's all about common sense. With this book as your guide, you'll discover how to make investing a winner's game:

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.

 

216 pages. Hardcover. 2007.

 

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