Bogleheads® Conference history

 describes the background of the Bogleheads® Conferences.

Overview
The Bogleheads conferences provide an opportunity for forum members and respected experts to meet in-person and discuss investing. This interaction is encouraged from the start of a conference. Early conferences started with check-in and registration and banquet dinners. Since 2007, conferences open with a social "wine and cheese" reception. The conferences have provided substantive speeches and presentations from noted investment professionals such as John (“call me Jack") Bogle, Gus Sauter, and a number of officials from the Vanguard Group.

The introduction, presentation and discussion of academic papers was featured at three of the conferences. Question and answer sessions with both Jack Bogle and with a panel of investment experts have become conference staples, as has a non-scripted dialog session between Mr. Bogle and noted author William Bernstein, affectionately known as “The Fireside Chat”.

Over time, the conferences have grown more and more popular, with steady, measured increases in attendance. Conference organizers believe the current level of 200 attendees strikes a nice balance between participation levels and the desire to keep attendance low enough to assure friendly social interaction with Jack Bogle and the other authors and celebrities in attendance.

The early “reunions”
The first two national meetings were unique in that they were held at the private residences of individuals who participated in the old Vanguard Diehards forum, an investment discussion forum hosted by Morningstar Inc. The social interaction in both of these early meetings firmly established the friendly atmosphere that is a frequently noted special feature of ensuing conferences.

The first meeting, now known as Diehards I, had its start in a Thanksgiving forum posting by prominent poster and author Taylor Larimore. John Bogle so liked this forum topic that he contacted Larimore and suggested a possible meeting. The meeting, organized by Taylor and fellow author Mel Lindauer, took place during the Miami Herald’s Making Money Seminar in March of 2000, where Mr. Bogle was slotted to give a keynote speech.

The meeting took the form of an evening dinner at the Larimore's Miami condo, where 21 forum members met with John Bogle. This dinner meeting was warmly appreciated by all present. Organized dinners would become a standard feature of the first seven conferences.

The following day, attendees had reserved seating for Bogle’s keynote speech.