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Bogleheads® wiki - Investing Advice Inspired by John Bogle Academics Asset classes Employer provided retirement plans ETFs and mutual funds Financial planning Indexing International domiciles Investing Personal retirement plans Retirement planning Tax considerations Complete list... Academics Asset classes Employer provided retirement plans ETFs and mutual funds Financial planning Indexing International domiciles Investing Personal retirement plans Retirement planning Tax considerations Complete list...

 

Welcome

Welcome to the Bogleheads^® wiki, a collaborative undertaking by members of the Bogleheads Community. This wiki is a reference resource for investors. Bogleheads emphasize starting early, living below one's means, regular saving, broad diversification, and sticking to one's investment plan.

If all this seems a bit overwhelming, relax and don't panic. A good place to begin is getting started. Returning visitors may be interested in our new pages.

 

Getting started

• Getting started - Start here.
• Bogleheads® investment philosophy - Our investment principles.
• Bogleheads® 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.
• Bogleheads® personal finance planning start-up kit - Other than investing, such as financial planning, insurance, and saving for college.
• Preparing for retirement - Steps you should take before retiring.
• Prioritizing investments - Choosing where to save your investing money, such as an employer's retirement plan or a savings account.

 

Today's featured article

An index fund is a fund that pools investors capital for the purpose of investing in securities, typically a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF), that aims to replicate the movements of an index of a specific financial market.

A well-managed index fund provides investors with a simple way to access such advantages as low costs, improved tax efficiency, style consistency and reduced manager risk. Investors should be mindful that not all index funds are low cost and that some indexes can be exploited by active investors when the indexes periodically reconstitute.

The key measure for accessing an index fund's efficiency is how well it tracks its benchmark index. (more...)

 

This week in financial history

September 20:

• 2000 - The Euronext Exchange was created on this date following a merger of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, Paris Bourse and Brussels Stock Exchange. Source: Euronext

September 21:

• 1931 - The Bank of England abandoned the Gold Standard. Source: Suspension of the Gold Standard in Great Britain Federal Reserve Bulletin, October 1931.

September 23:

• 1998 - On September 23, 1998, a group of fourteen banks and brokerage firms invested $3.6 billion in Long-Term Capital Management L.P. (LTCM) to prevent the firm’s imminent collapse. The hedge fund, operating on leveraged capital based on mathematical models designed by Nobel laureate finance economists Myron Scholes and Robert C. Merton, had experienced massive losses after Russia devalued its currency and defaulted on its debt in August 1998. Source:Near Failure of Long-Term Capital Management, Federal Reserve History.

September 24:

• 1869 - The original "Black Friday" occurred on September 24, 1869 when the gold market collapsed and the stock market fell 20%. Source: The “Black Friday” Gold Scandal, 145 Years Ago
• 1974 - Vanguard was incorporated on September 24, 1974. Source: Lightning Strikes: The Creation of Vanguard, the First Index Mutual Fund, and the Revolution It Spawned

 

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Use the wiki's Search box. Or, start from a top-level overview using Site navigation. A complete article list is also available.

You can search or register to ask a question on the Bogleheads forum, or browse recent forum posts from the Bogleheads' home page. We're also on Facebook.

Our Canadian sister site, Financial Wisdom Forum, and its finiki, the Canadian financial wiki has a similar focus, many like-minded members, and may be of interest as well.

 

Contributing to the wiki

Anyone can read the wiki. If you would like to edit it, you must first join the Bogleheads forum. Once you've joined, send a private message requesting access, and you can then become an editor. Information on editing the wiki is available on the left sidebar of every wiki page. Suggestions are welcome by posting in Suggestions for the Wiki.

If you see content in need of improvement, or a new page on a topic not yet covered, consider becoming an editor so that you can contribute to the site. If you find yourself writing a reply to a forum question that's been discussed a number of times before, consider creating a wiki page with the answer. Then you and others can reply to subsequent questions on that topic with a link and a quote of your text. That way, the Bogleheads Community both preserves our knowledge base and makes it more accessible, particularly to those using search engines.