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John Bogle
We help you make good financial decisions by tuning out the noise and focusing on just a handful of simple, core principles that have proved successful over time. Although they are simple, following them is not always easy.
If this is your first visit, begin at "Getting started" below.
Regular visitors may want to look at our new articles.
Getting started
For US investors:
- Getting started - Start here.
- Investment philosophy - Our investment principles.
- Investing start-up kit - A top-down approach to start investing.
- Investment policy statement - Identify your investment objectives and how you plan to meet them.
- Prioritizing investments - Choosing where to save your investing money, such as an employer's retirement plan or a savings account.
For non-US investors:
- Getting started for non-US investors - Start here.
- Investment philosophy for non-US investors - Our investment principles.
- Investing start-up kit for non-US investors - A top-down approach to start investing.
- Outline of non-US domiciles - Overview of topics specifically for non-US investors.
Personal finance
Personal finance covers not only investing, but day-to-day finances, budgeting, insurance, taxes, estate planning, and retirement.
For US investors:
- Personal finance planning start-up kit - Start here.
- Financial planning - The first thing you should do.
- Household budgeting - Understand how much you make and how much you spend.
- Emergency fund - Have cash on-hand for life's unexpected events.
- Insurance - Auto, home, medical
- Estate planning - Be prepared when bad things happen.
Retirement
Retirement is a major event in many people's lives. It is not only a lifestyle change, but a change in income and spending.
Planning for this life-changing event is important.
For US investors:
- Retirement planning start-up kit - Start here.
- Preparing for retirement - Steps you should take before retiring.
- Retirement policy statement - Lay-out your retirement plans and strategies.
From today's featured article
An index fund pools investors' money, and uses it to invest in securities, aiming to replicate an index of a particular financial market. It is typically a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF).
A well-managed index fund gives investors a simple way to invest with low costs, better tax efficiency, style consistency, and lower manager risk. However, not every index fund is low cost, and active investors can exploit some indexes.
The key measure for assessing an index fund's efficiency is how well it tracks its benchmark index. (more...)
This week in financial history
- 1912 - The Helsinki Stock Exchange was established on October 7, 1912. On September 3, 2003 the exchange merged with the OMX, and is now known as NASDAQ OMX Helsinki. Source: Descriptive analysis of the Finnish stock market: Part II
October 9:
- 2002 - Daniel Kahneman receives the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel ("Nobel prize") for his work in prospect theory. Source: The Prize in Economic Sciences 2002
October 10:
- 1962 - The first individual retirement account in the United States, the Keogh (H.R.10) Plan for the self-employed, was created by the enactment of the Self-Employed Individuals Tax Retirement Act of 1962. Source:Teresa C. Campbell, Self-Employed Individuals Tax Retirement Act of 1962,32 Fordham L. Rev. 279 (1963).
October 11:
- 1834 - The Boston Stock Exchange, the third oldest stock exchange in the United States, was founded on October 11, 1834. The Exchange was purchased by NASDAQ in 2007. Sources: This Day in Economic History, The Houston Economic Club; Boston Stock Exchange (BSE), investopedia.
October 12:
- 1961 - The World Federation of Exchanges, a trade association of stock exchanges, officially started in London on October 12, 1961. Source: History
- 1992 - The FTSE 250 Index, an index of mid cap stocks in the United Kingdom, was launched on October 12, 1992. Source: FTSE 250 Index, fact sheet
October 13:
- 2000 - William Bernstein's first book,The Intelligent Asset Allocator: How to Build Your Portfolio to Maximize Returns and Minimize was published on October 13, 2000.
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Sister projects
Our Canadian sister site, Financial Wisdom Forum, and its wiki, finiki, the Canadian financial wiki, has a similar focus with many like-minded members, and you might also find this site interesting.
We also have a sister site in Spain, Bogleheads® España (en español).
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