Bogleheads.org

My 3 Steps 1) My father explained to me, when I was a young adult, that the 1% annual fee a mutual fund charges is a percentage of assets , and if the fund makes 8% before the fee, the fee represents 12.5% of earnings . I didn't want to give anyone 12.5% of my gains. 2) Jane Bryant Quinn's 1991 book...

I believe the Roth can lower most people's lifetime federal income tax because it allows us to choose when to take the tax hit (investing in Roth) and when to minimize taxes by withdrawing Roth instead of declaring income from Traditional IRAs (TIRA) or taxable gains. This flexibility means a lot to...

I believe Elizabeth Warren is becoming the next major advocate for Americans over financial institutions that are soaking us. She won't exactly be a Jack Bogle, but she's already publicizing the lack of prosecution of bank legal breaches on our behalf.

Just.

"BlackRock’s size is mind-boggling. With almost $4 trillion under management, it is, according to a recent University of Michigan study, the single largest shareholder in one of every five United States companies. It manages money from pension funds and endowments as well as retail investors, ...

Thanks for sharing. I wish Mister Booraem had addressed Vanguard's extremely poor marks in the past for their proxy votes as a "pay enabler" and rarely voting 'for' shareholder resolutions, compared to other mutual fund companies. Vanguard has one of the worst records regarding climate cha...

. . . . It is the Barclays Global Agg Ex-USD Float Adjusted RIC Capped index. As per the subscription only Barclays site here are some of the stats: Duration: 6.65 yield 1.71% now these stats are for the non-hedged index. I don't know how the currency hedging would affect things. I think Vanguard h...

Look at the prospectus, when it's available. I was under the impression that the index already exists, so we should be able to learn duration and yield today. Does anyone know? According to Vanguard on 2/6/13, the fund should be available for purchase at the end of the second quarter of 2013. https...

chaz wrote:Look at the prospectus, when it's available.

I was under the impression that the index already exists, so we should be able to learn duration and yield today. Does anyone know?

What will be the approximate duration and yield of Vanguard's new Total International Bond Index Fund? It should be similar to the index it is intended to track, Barclays Global Aggregate ex-USD Float Adjusted RIC Capped Index (USD Hedged). However, I didn't find a Barclays index with exactly that n...

It's so nice to see that Vanguard created this summary document. They desperately needed it. Thanks for sharing, Barry. I had be pointing people to IFA's 12 Step program to learn the basics, in addition to Vanguard's 'Plain Facts'.. I might be able to point people to Vanguard for more now. IFA's stu...

Any tips, suggestions from folks who may have done this before? Think good and hard about what you're actually planning to do during the travel year. Unless you and your spouse are the kind of people content to just read, drink and/or surf the internet, you'll probably soon be yearning for somethin...

Other: Include Canadian stocks in the Developed Markets Fund.

.......There are many threads on this board that compare a ROTH and a tIRA. In the absence of changes in the tax rate and some inheritance issues which are really changes in the tax rate both types of accounts return the same after tax amount if both are funded with the same pretax amount. I.E a $1...

The Roth IRA does not have government as a co-owner taking future taxes, unlike one's Traditional IRA or taxable accounts, so it makes sense to grow the Roth fastest and let the government take it's taxes from the slower-growing accounts. jidini is concentrated on taxes paid but if you instead look...

To maximize after-tax returns, the asset class that is expected to have the highest returns usually belongs in the Roth IRA. The Roth IRA does not have government as a co-owner taking future taxes, unlike one's Traditional IRA or taxable accounts, so it makes sense to grow the Roth fastest and let t...

It is a nusiance sometimes to deal with Vanguard as an expat. I maintain a U.S. address as my official address for Vanguard, and recommend you also do that. Almost all dealings with Vanguard can be done via the internet, and they DO accept calls (toll-free) from overseas about our accounts. I've nev...

. . . . We all know interest rates will be rising sometime (no one knows when) but wonder if our duration of about 5.4 is too risky in a rising rate environment. Is anyone out there in the same situation? . . . We are all in this situation. However, I'm optimistic that U.S. interest rates will rema...

First, the idea that stocks are less risky the longer the horizon is simply wrong. It relies on the idea that SD is lower over time for stocks. But that is irrelevant, the longer the horizon the wider the dispersion of potential outcomes, which of course makes stocks riskier. Stocks do have more va...

It's similar to Pascal's wager. If you can retire early and don't want to, no harm will be done. If you want or need to retire early and can't, you will be miserable. Exactly. The option to retire early is worth saving for. It is impossible to tell how we will feel about working in our 60's until t...

I second the subarus. My family is on its 3rd WRX wagon. Just took a 600 mile road trip in the 2011 and it is very fun to drive and we averaged 26 mpg. Not the greatest, but we weren't exactly going for fuel economy up the curvy 101 on the coast. I also second Subaru, especially if safety and relia...

Avoiding peak demand seasons is the easiest way to save air travel dollars. Peak season have more to do with school holidays and traditional vacation times than the best seasonal weather. For instance, traveling to Fiji is expensive in December and January due to Christmas and Australia / New Zealan...

Excellent question by the orignal poster. I believe he is describing fund flows , not total market. Mutual funds only make up part of the market, and might be thought of as the 'stupid money'.** Institutions and/or individual investors also exert pricing pressure on stock prices. Common sense tells ...

Gardening occupies a lot of my time. Also doing volunteer work, but that only averages a few hours each week. I feel good if I spend 2 or 3 hours each day being 'productive'.

I honestly don't know how I ever managed to hold a full time job and also have a life. Retirement is great.

I agree completely with MrMatt that human capital and debt (net assets) are not comprehended in the simplistic asset allocation models, and that their inclusion is important when seeking to optimize one's overall well-being. Human capital in particular is important because it signifies the ability t...

SwampDonkey,

[Snarky comment removed by admin LadyGeek] Ask your tenant to level it off with a shovel (if it's that important). What's the big deal?

Morningstar's Investing Classroom usually has very good questions at the end of each course section. It's free and you are sure to get good ideas from that.

http://www.morningstar.com/cover/classroom.html

Some off us on this forum take PE into account when deciding when to rebalance. For instance, I have a target asset allocation of 57% stocks but will let the target vary 5% based on PE, or PE-10, which is a better measure of recent sustainable earnings. Bond yields and foreign (vs. U.S.) stock valua...

I voted 'zero to negative one' because most of my rebalancing over the past 25 years has been from stocks to bonds. Since stocks tend to perform better than bonds over the long run, I probably would have had a higher return, but riskier portfolio, if I left the money in stocks. I rebalance to manage...

It would be wrong to base a decision on where to retire primarily on financial criteria. Consider how much of an expat community you need to be happy; this includes access to comfort foods, intellectual stimulation, hobbies, etc. Also consider reliable electricity, a good legal system, crime, intern...

I'd place two-thirds of it in Vanguard's Total Stock Market Fund and one-third in Total International Stock Market Fund. If the money will be held in an IRA, I'd just stuff it all in Target Retirement 2045 and be done with it.

After reading books by Bogle and others on the merits of investing in low-cost diversified mutual funds instead of 'playing the market', I shifted most of my investments into index fund funds. How did learning of Bogle's investment philosophy, or 'Vanguarding', affect your investing behavior? It di...

After reading books by Bogle and others on the merits of investing in low-cost diversified mutual funds instead of 'playing the market', I shifted most of my investments into index fund funds. How did learning of Bogle's investment philosophy, or 'Vanguarding', affect your investing behavior?

Most commmunities have 'nusiance laws' that cover barking dogs, bad smells, etc. Suggest you call the appropriate law enforcement agency in your area (police or animal control (often within the police department), and ask them to enforce the law.

Nice article. Mr. Bogle has cost the mutual fund industry BILLIONS in fees they never saw because of Vanguard. If Vanguard's expense ratios are an average half-percent less than its competitors*, Vanguard customers kept approximately $11 billion more of their money on that $2.2 trillion in one year!...

Just in case the worst happens... Someboby's been watching too much Fox News. :happy The Mormon's have a slightly more rational approach to a worst case scenario. I'll leave it to you to research, and hope the facts don't interfere too much with preconceived fears. Personally, I take a much kind-he...

. . . . you are welcome to present the scenario in which the "special tax" could happen. Allow me to present two possible scenarios where Roth dollars could be indirectly taxed: 1) Roth withdrawals (or income) could be included in the calculation for Alternative Minimum Tax, similar to th...

Not crazy. If your income allows, consider rolling over a smaller amount each year, for the next decade, to minimize income taxes.

An additional 10% of my bond allocation was shifted to corporate bonds after Mr. Bogle expressed his preferences. It probably doesn't matter as much as what bond fund duration we choose. I'm not afraid of keeping a portfolio that has a good mix of short, intermediate and long term bonds. For 30 year...

Mr. Bogle, Jack, it is a pleasure to read your note here. You have made a big difference in my life, and I, in turn, have had the opportunity to make a big difference in the lives of a few others in their investing success. Your impact is 'snowballing'. While I did not have the pleasure of participa...

Read Jane Bryant Quinn's book "Making the Most of Your Money" and then Bogle's book "Bogle on Mutual Funds" in the early 1990's. Those two books converted me to fiscal common sense.

It paid off well. Retired approximately 5 years ago in my early 50's. Living my hobbies now

My portfolio is pretty close to Vanguard's 2015 Target Retirement fund, which has approximately 10% of it's fixed income portfolio in TIPS.

As I get older, I expect to increase TIPS to approximately one-third of fixed income, similar to Vanguard's Target Retirement Income fund.

They're retired and the first thing they do at their latest "home" is put an alarm clock by the bed. . . . I love to travel, but an alarm clock is NOT my idea of a retirement lifestyle.

stemikger wrote:In the end the only thing that matters is that the people you love, love you back - Warren Buffett

Exactly right. My best line of wisdom also. -Just.

I think #6 ("use index funds when possible") is not needed, as they are not the only way of achieving the Vanguard/Boglehead investing philosophy, as Ladygeek points out (DFA funds). It is sufficent to simply advise using low cost (#7), broadly diversified (#4) tax-efficient (#8) mutual fu...

It's been a long while now, but I think I just called the general number and requested a new rep. They did that for me right away. In fact, I later found I liked the voyager reps better, or at least if I had a bad rep I would call back later and get a different one. That made it easier to transfer ...

What kind of questions are you asking that you're not getting replies to? I always received replies, but they usually did not address my question directly on the first try. It's almost like he doesn't want to give me bad news. Questions such as "how can I add more Canada exposure in my stock m...

mickeyd wrote:Why not just call your new VG rep and ask to be transferred to another person.

I don't want to do that because I don't want to have a discussion with him about it.

While I agree with those suggesting buying fewer, but higher quality, knives, you might need more than two or three. If you cut breads you will want a knife with a serrated edge. If you fillet fish or debone meats, you'll find a good fillet knife worth the money. A sharpening stone is well-worth kee...

I am a 20+ year Vanguard client. Approximately 18 months ago, my Flagship representative changed jobs and Vanguard assigned me a new rep. I don't contact Vanguard often, but have been disappointed on the 3 or 4 issues where I requested information or help from my new rep. I want Vanguard to assign m...

The economy is clearing recovering in terms of unemployment and the purchasing/input end of the supply chain. The 'smart money' is investing in stocks. Good times ahead, the money says. That said, I maintain a relatively static allocation between equity and debt and suggest almost everyone do the sa...