Talk:Bogleheads® investing start-up kit

With content, there's no need to keep this in the development area. See this Forum thread: http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/posting.php?mode=reply&t=38621 LadyGeek 01:20, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

I added the link to Video:Bogleheads&reg; investment philosophy (updated link, --LadyGeek 21:16, 23 May 2011 (EDT)). I did some formatting cleanup to give a more professional appearance. Although still in development, I think even viewing just the first 4 rules is very helpful. --LadyGeek 23:48, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Fixed above link. --LadyGeek 19:45, 22 November 2012 (CST)

Reader feedback: Hi Wiki administrators, edit...
65.128.228.182 posted this comment on 1 December 2013 (view all feedback).

Hi Wiki administrators, editors,

Here’s my first feedback (it’s a great idea very easy to use), so I’ve kept my comment brief and await your reactions.

Under “Set your level of acceptable risk,” the lead graf does not mention risk tolerance and financial capacity, which are the two most important factors in deciding on risk level. Tolerance is first mentioned in the third graf. and in the “AA” link. Also, for good transition from the preceding on “Pitfalls,” I would add “emotional tolerance for risk.”

Overall, I think the lead could be confusing for new investors. In fact, it’s a bit confusing for me. A rewrite could include much of what’s there, but focus immediately on AA, financial capacity, risk capacity, etc.

Thanks, Fallible

Any thoughts?

Blbarnitz 14:20, 1 December 2013 (CST)

Risk tolerance and financial capacity are introduced as "the investor's ability, willingness, and need to take risk" in a later paragraph. Fallible is requesting to put this as a first concept.

I like to introduce the basic concepts first, then get to the investing part. Otherwise, the idea of risk is not understood prior to first use. I don't think the order should be changed.

--LadyGeek 16:09, 1 December 2013 (CST)

Reader feedback: Mention real estate (either ...
71.202.210.73 posted this comment on 12 April 2014 (view all feedback).

"Mention real estate (either the investor's home, or commercial real estate, or REIT) as another class of asset allocation on this page?"

Any thoughts?

Blbarnitz 16:04, 12 April 2014 (CDT)

On this page, I would refrain from mentioning asset classes other than stocks and bonds as the intention is to start from a simple perspective. The addition of asset classes, especially when trying to define risk (ratio of stocks / bonds), would complicate things. Real estate is sometimes considered as part of the "stock" side of the equation. International stocks are more appropriate (versus real estate), but I prefer the simplicity of basic concepts for this page. --LadyGeek 20:22, 12 April 2014 (CDT)

Reader feedback: I wonder if the Bogleheads I...
67.176.179.54 posted this comment on 25 May 2015 (view all feedback).

"I wonder if the Bogleheads Investment Philosophy section, the Bogleheads investing start-up kit section, and the asset allocation section could indicate that three of the commonly-used portfolios are 1) John Bogle's 2-fund portfolio (US stocks and US bonds), 2) the Bogleheads original 3 (or 4) Fund portfolio (the 3rd fund being international stocks and the 4th possible fund being a TIPS fund for older investors), and 3) Vanguard's current 4 (or 5) Fund portfolios which added international hedged nominal bonds to the original Bogleheads' 3 or 4 fund portfolio? I think that would be more clear than referring to these later two portfolios as three-fund and four-fund portfolios. This is just a question of the naming of the portfolios, since all the information is contained within the sections. But then people can clearly see the progression from Bogle's simple portfolio to the current Vanguard-recommended asset allocations."

We can't conclusively prove what is a "commonly-used" portfolio. Further, these recommendations are biased towards Vanguard and ignores many other suitable providers. Additionally, Vanguard is only available to US residents and naming Vanguard here would ignore funds available for investors domiciled outside the US.

More importantly, construction of a portfolio is very much dependent on the investor's situation. Indicating a preference here would suggest an implementation - which is not the intent of this wiki. Instead, investors are encouraged to post their situation in the Bogleheads forum (Asking questions) where the guidance can be tailored to their needs.

--LadyGeek 14:32, 25 May 2015 (EDT)

why no TOC,
Wonder why this page explicitly excluded the TOC? Ialways find that an easy way to have an overview of the page and jumps to the good section.

--BeBH65 10:40, 25 November 2015 (UTC)
 * There doesn't appear to be any recorded reason in the version history. I tracked back through the history and it changed with from 2010. LadyGeek made the change. For guidance, I checked Manual of Style which references Help:Section and there doesn't seem to be any recommendation, it is left to the author/editor as far as I can tell. If you want to dig a bit deeper, there is some discussion in  Manual of Style discussion. Note, the referenced Template:TOC right is not (yet) implemented on the BH wiki. --Peculiar Investor 15:20, 25 November 2015 (UTC)


 * The answer is simple: It was a good idea at the time. Now, the idea no longer makes sense. I have removed the magic word. --LadyGeek 19:48, 25 November 2015 (UTC)