Bogleheads

[pkcrafter]

Continuing our series on Mr. Bogle's 12 Pillars of Investing, here is
Pillar #9.

Introduction:
The Vanguard Diehards forum has a well-earned reputation as one of the best investment resources on the internet because of its long history of attracting and helping newer, inexperienced investors. The seeds of success have grown from the fundamental teachings of our mentor, Jack Bogle. I feel our mission has been, and continues to be, to pass along the wisdom of Mr. Bogle.

In recent years, the forum has also attracted more knowledgeable investors who enjoy discussing sophisticated ways to reduce risk and/or increase investing returns. This is interesting and educational for knowledgeable and experienced investors. However, our advanced discussions are sometimes confusing and possibly even overwhelming for newbies and less-experienced investors. As a result of these more sophisticated conversations (about which experts often disagree), it is not unusual to see new investors with a few thousand dollars trying to start with complicated slice-and-dice portfolios.

I discussed this problem with Mel and Taylor with the idea that the best way to help new and less sophisticated investors would be to post a series of conversations that will bring us back to Jack Bogle's common sense, easy-to-understand ways to invest successfully. Mel and Taylor agreed and suggested I review each of Jack's "12 Pillars of Wisdom."

The 12 Pillars were originally published in 1994 as an Epilogue in Mr. Bogle's first book, Bogle on Mutual Funds. I will post a series of conversations featuring each of Mr. Bogle's "Twelve Pillars of Wisdom" for the benefit of our new and less-experienced investors. Replies are encouraged, but please keep on topic.

Pillar 9.
You May Have a Stable Principal Value or a Stable Income Stream, But You May Not Have Both.

Contrast a money market fund-with its volatile income stream and fixed value-and a long-term government bond fund-with its relatively fixed income stream and extraordinarily volatile market value. Intelligent investing involves choices, compromises, and trade-offs, and your own financial position should determine the most suitable combination for your portfolio.

Mr. Bogle's example

As 1991 began, the yield of the average money market mutual fund was about 6%, and the yield on a long-term U.S. Treasury bond fund was just over 7½%. During the ensuing decade, the value of a $1,000 investment in the money market fund never varied, while $1,000 invested the bond fund fell to as low as $900 (in 1992) and rose to as high as $1,300 in 1998. Stable principal vs. variable principal.
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Link to Pillar #8 http://www.diehards.org/forum/....ght=pillar



Paul
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