Good Jack Bogle Quotes for Times Like This

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Howard Donnelly
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Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2010 2:19 pm

Good Jack Bogle Quotes for Times Like This

Post by Howard Donnelly »

"My advice to investors is to ignore the short-term noise of the emotions reflected in our financial markets and focus on the productive long-term economics of our corporate businesses. Shakespeare could have been describing the inexplicable hourly and daily - sometimes even yearly or longer - fluctuations in the stock market when he wrote, 'It is like a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.' The way to investment success is to get out of the expectations market of stock prices and cast your lot with the real market of business." - Jack Bogle, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing

"As the financial markets swing back and forth, do your best to ignore the momentary cacophony, and to separate the transitory from the durable. This discipline is best summed up by the most important principle of all investment wisdom: Stay the course!" - Jack Bogle, The Clash of Cultures: Investment vs. Speculation

"The stock market is a giant distraction to the business of investing." - Jack Bogle, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing

"The way to wealth for those in the (investment) business is to persuade their clients, 'Don't just stand there. Do something.' But the way to wealth for their clients in the aggregate is to follow the opposite maxim: 'Don't do something. Just stand there.'" - Jack Bogle, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing
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nedsaid
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Re: Good Jack Bogle Quotes for Times Like This

Post by nedsaid »

Bogle's comments remind me of why I sometimes lose patience with Wall Street. What you are doing when you invest in stocks is becoming a business owner without the headaches of actually running the business yourself. Buying into a broad index like the S&P 500 or the WIlshire 5000 allow you to buy into American business and to enjoy the fruits of capitalism. Pretty much, you are an owner of the means of production. You get the rewards of the growth in the value of your investment as well as a growing income stream from dividends. The frustration that I have with Wall Street is that too many "investment professionals" want to turn the stock market into a casino. There is a huge difference between investing and gambling.

When you buy stocks, you are buying a set of cash flows that will most likely grow and grow a lot over time. It is like buying your slice of the pie except the whole pie keeps getting bigger and bigger. What you want is your share of growing profits and the increased value of those businesses over time.
A fool and his money are good for business.
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