The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing

PRAISE FOR The Bogleheads’Guide to INVESTING

“I’m often asked to recommend a good, basic book on investing, and The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing has been my go-to pick since its original publication. It focuses on all the right things: the virtues of maintaining a frugal lifestyle, keeping investment costs down, and building a simple, low-maintenance portfolio. And importantly, it also tells investors what they can safely tune out—namely, day-to-day market action and the latest ‘hot’ investment products. Its advice will stand the test of time.”

—CHRISTINE BENZ, Director of Personal Finance, Morningstar, Inc.

“John Bogle set out to reform the mutual fund industry nearly 40 years ago. He saw a high fee, self-serving, good ol’ boy network and thought it was wrong. Bogle believed the purpose of an investment company was to be investor-focused. His idea turned into a revolution. The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing is a testimony to the massive changes that have taken place as a result of Bogle’s vision. The ideas in this book have saved countless investors billions of dollars in unnecessary fees. Hats off to Taylor, Mel, and Mike for a job well done.”

—RICK FERRI, CFA, Investment adviser and author

“The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing describes a sophisticated and proven approach to successful investing. Nevertheless, its message of saving, investing in a diversified, balanced, low cost portfolio, and keeping it simple is easily grasped by investors of all levels of experience. Regardless of your investment acumen, this book provides many clearly expounded investment insights and is a great roadmap to financial success.”

—GEORGE U. “GUS” SAUTER, Retired Chief Investment Officer, Vanguard

“The best one-stop shopping solution to saving, debt management, investing, insurance, and financial planning I have seen between two covers. For the price of a week’s worth of lattes, you can secure your future.”

—WILLIAM J. BERNSTEIN, cofounder, Efficient Frontier Advisors, LLC, author of The Intelligent Asset Allocator, The Four Pillars of Investing, and The Investor’s Manifesto

The irreverent guide to investing, Boglehead style

The Boglehead's Guide to Investing is a DIY handbook that espouses the sage investment wisdom of John C. Bogle. This witty and wonderful book offers contrarian advice that provides the first step on the road to investment success, illustrating how relying on typical "common sense" promoted by Wall Street is destined to leave you poorer. This updated edition includes new information on backdoor Roth IRAs and ETFs as mainstream buy and hold investments, estate taxes and gifting, plus changes to the laws regarding Traditional and Roth IRAs, and 401k and 403b retirement plans. With warnings and principles both precisely accurate and grandly counterintuitive, the Boglehead authors show how beating the market is a zero-sum game.

Investing can be simple, but it's certainly not simplistic. Over the course of twenty years, the followers of John C. Bogle have evolved from a loose association of investors to a major force with the largest and most active non-commercial financial forum on the Internet. The Boglehead's Guide to Investing brings that communication to you with comprehensive guidance to the investment prowess on display at Bogleheads.org. You'll learn how to craft your own investment strategy using the Bogle-proven methods that have worked for thousands of investors, and how to:

• Choose a sound financial lifestyle and diversify your portfolio
• Start early, invest regularly, and know what you're buying
• Preserve your buying power, keeping costs and taxes low
• Throw out the "good" advice promoted by Wall Street that leads to investment failure

Financial markets are essentially closed systems in which one's gain garners another's loss. Investors looking for a roadmap to successfully navigating these choppy waters long-term will find expert guidance, sound advice, and a little irreverent humor in The Boglehead's Guide to Investing.