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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
Risk tolerance is an investor’s emotional and psychological ability to endure investment losses during large market declines without selling or undue worry, such as losing sleep. To know whether a portfolio is right for your risk tolerance, you need to be brutally honest with yourself as you try to answer the question, "Will I sell during the next bear market?"
Knowing your emotional tolerance for investment risk means knowing yourself and your unique goals and needs - and it is not easy. (more...)
This week in financial history
- 1761 - The first life insurance policy in the US was written by the Presbyterian Synod of Philadelphia. Source: The History of Life Insurance in the United States to 1870
May 23:
- 2014 - The Standard & Poors 500 index closed over 1900 for the first time in history on May 23, 2014. Source: Closing milestones of the S&P 500 Index
May 24:
- 1688 - The earliest known book on the stock market, Joseph Penso de la Vega's Confusion de Confusiones (Confusion of Confusions), appeared when Vega signed a dedication to his dialogues about the Amsterdam stock exchange on May 24, 1688. Source: Joseph de la Vega, Confusion de Confusiones (Baker Library, Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, Cambridge, MA, 1957), pp. xi, 22. available at google digitized
May 26:
- 1896 - Charles Dow first published the Dow Jones Industrial Average of a dozen industrial company stocks. Source: Dow Jones Industrial Average History (PDF)
May 27:
- 1933 - The United States Congress enacted the Securities Act of 1933. The act required that new security offerings be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and that prospective investors must be provided with a prospectus. Source: Securities Act of 1933
- 2015 - The NASDAQ Composite Index passed the 5100 milestone for the first time in history when it closed at 5106.59. Reaching the 5100 milestone was a long climb back from the 2000 - 2003 dot.com bubble collapse. The NASDAQ Composite breached the 5000 milestone on March 9, 2000. Source: NASDAQ Composite (COMP)
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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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