The Bogleheads®

Bogleheads 17 Conference (2018) Bogleheads, a term intended to honor Vanguard founder and investor advocate John Bogle, are investing enthusiasts who participate in the Bogleheads Forum. The forum's members discuss financial news and theory, while also helping less experienced investors develop their portfolios. There are more than 75,000 registered members and the site receives an average of nearly 2,000 posts each day. Some members also participate in national or local chapter get-togethers.

The Bogleheads community encompasses the forum, the wiki, and three investment books (The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing, The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement Planning and The Bogleheads' Guide to the Three-Fund Portfolio). Affiliated sites include a presence on Facebook and Twitter, The John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy, a series of podcasts and a blog. 

Investing philosophy
The Bogleheads approach begins with an investor deciding on percentage allocations to various asset classes, such as U.S. stocks, international stocks, U.S. bonds, etc. The desired allocations are then implemented using low-cost vehicles which are true to the targeted asset classes. Tax costs are carefully considered, influencing decisions as to what investments to place in taxable versus tax-advantaged accounts.

Bogleheads emphasize regular saving, broad diversification, and sticking to one's investment plan regardless of market conditions. Information relevant to the group's core beliefs is available in both The Twelve Pillars of Wisdom and Vanguard's investment philosophy, and are explained in greater detail in Bogleheads investment philosophy.

Online history
The Bogleheads' history is one of growth and an increasing sense of group identity.

Vanguard Diehards
The Bogleheads group informally began in March 1998 when Morningstar established the Vanguard Diehards Forum to discuss Vanguard funds. By October 2001 the Morningstar forum had grown into Morningstar's most popular forum.

Diehards.org
In July 2001 Alex Frakt and Larry Auton debuted diehards.org as a convenient index and search capability in support of the Morningstar Vanguard Diehards Forum.

Figure 1 shows how the diehards.org homepage originally looked in September, 2001.

The Bogleheads Forum
An independent and noncommercial Bogleheads Forum was established on February 19, 2007 by an individual with username Phoenix. The primary driver behind creation of the new forum was acute disruption at Vanguard Diehards resulting from Morningstar's lax moderation policies. Technical obsolescence of the Morningstar boards was a secondary reason. One week after founding, Alex Frakt and Larry Auton agreed to host the new forum. Alex and Larry accomplished the changeover quickly, and the diehards.org homepage adopted a split-screen format, listing posts from both forums.

Figure 2 shows the look of the diehards.org homepage in March, 2007, when it incorporated posts from both Morningstar and the Bogleheads forum.

Bogleheads.org
After the inception of the Bogleheads Forum, activity on Vanguard Diehards decreased markedly, primarily due to rapid growth of the competing board. Also contributing to the decline was Morningstar's unpopular site redesign in September 2007.

On May 31, 2008 Alex and Larry switched default domain names from diehards.org to the more natural bogleheads.org. The newly minted bogleheads.org home page no longer indexed posts from the Vanguard Diehards Forum.

Bogleheads wiki
In April 2008, a small group of forum members began experimenting with an off-site wiki. After a few weeks of joint effort, the group presented the forum administrators with a proposal to create a Bogleheads.org. hosted wiki. The forum administrators agreed with the proposal, and Alex and Larry kindly consented to host the new venture. The wiki was officially introduced on May 13, 2008.

Bogleheads® on Facebook
The Bogleheads® Facebook page was announced on January 11, 2011 The site is managed by a small group of forum volunteers. The page seeks to continually fulfill the following purposes:


 * To maintain a Bogleheads.org presence on social networking website Facebook.
 * Serve to guide visitors to the Bogleheads&reg; Forum.
 * Spread the word about Bogleheads&reg; community and forum on  Facebook.
 * Have an appearance consistent with the Bogleheads brand and respect to our mentor John Bogle.
 * Maintain content and presence that is lasting; a page that does not require daily moderation or policing.

Since inception the site has seen steady growth, having passed 9,500 followers in 2018.

Bogleheads® blog
The Bogleheads blog was launched on March 4, 2014. The blogging team provides up-to-date information across the entire spectrum of site activity; including the forum, wiki, and facebook pages. Specialized topics of interest are also covered.

On September 8, 2014, the blog was moved to Financial Page and is now maintained by Barry Barnitz.

Podcasts
The Bogleheads on Investing Podcast, sponsored by The John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy, and hosted by Rick Ferri, is a monthly podcast series featuring well-known figures in the investment world. The initial podcast, an interview with John C. Bogle, was published on September 14, 2018.

The John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy
The John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy, a non-profit organization set up to help support the forum as one of its stated objectives, was approved by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity on February 6, 2012. The approval was retroactive to Nov. 22, 2010, the date of the organization's incorporation as a non-profit Texas Corporation.

Donations to the Bogle Center are tax-deductible.

In one of its first actions, the Center trademarked the name "Bogleheads", and it is now a Registered Service Mark of The John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy.

News articles

 * Here Come the Bogleheads: Part 1 Part 2, Jason Zweig, September 1, 2001 (MONEY Magazine), Source: A Golden Oldie: The Bogleheads, Jason Zweig
 * 'Bogleheads': Who cares about WorldCom?, Martine Costello, CNN/Money Staff Writer, June 27, 2002: 12:55 PM EDT
 * Vanguard Diehards Never Say Die, Sue Stevens, 09.02.04, 7:00 AM ET
 * Where You Can Turn for a Helping Hand, Penelope Wang, January 1, 2006 (MONEY Magazine)
 * Planning ahead can help keep holiday spending out of the red, Huberto Cruz, October 25, 2006 (The Boston Globe)
 * The common-sense cult of John Bogle, Kara McGuire, Star Tribune, November 21, 2007. Original link is defunct. This is an archive of the article's first page.
 * Where to go for advice you can trust, Joe Light, Ismat Sarah Mangla and Pat Regnier, December 4 2007: 1:32 PM EST (MONEY Magazine)
 * The Long Road: Diehard II, Murray Coleman of www.indexuniverse.com
 * Of Diehards and Bogleheads, Katy Marquardt, June 6, 2008, U.S. News & World Report
 * Investing Advice From the Bogleheads, Katy Marquardt August 11, 2008 10:30 AM ET New Money US News & World Report
 * Jack Bogle - Market Moralist, Art Carey, October 19, 2008, Philadelphia Enquirer
 * Investing Lessons From Vanguard's Bogleheads, Daren Fonda, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, January 2016.