Sep 09, 2022

NGPF Podcast: Eric Balchunas describes Jack Bogle's legacy in his book, The Bogle Effect

Want to learn more about the man who has saved investors $1 trillion? 

Eric Balchunas got to know Jack Bogle through interviews with him and conversations with more than 50 people who worked with him over the years. The result is his new book, The Bogle Effect, where Eric chronicles the serendipity that marked Jack Bogle's career, from his ouster at Wellington to the creative approach he took to starting Vanguard and the unique way he structured it (as a mutual company). If you invest in mutual funds, you have Jack Bogle to thank for driving down the costs of the industry and for popularizing the lowest cost mutual fund of them all, the index fund. Eric also shares his favorite personal finance resources and important investing lessons he would share with high school students. Enjoy! 

 

Details:

  • 0:00~1:42 Introduction
  • 1:42~5:15 Early money lessons
  • 5:15~10:19 Career at Bloomberg
  • 10:19~12:04 Sitting close to Michael Bloomberg
  • 12:04~15:14 Passive versus active management
  • 15:14~20:41 What’s an ETF?
  • 20:41~30:21 Bogle’s backstory
  • 30:21~30:42 A word from NGPF
  • 30:42~36:37 The first index fund 
  • 36:37~39:21 Total cost saved through low-cost funds 
  • 39:21~45:23 Bogle’s philosophies
  • 45:23~48:10 The end goal for Bogle
  • 48:10~54:54 Indexing and ESGs
  • 54:54~58:06 Robo-advisors and the future of wealth management
  • 58:06~1:00:50 Favorite resources 
  • 1:00:50~1:06:00 Important investing lessons and meme stocks 
  • 1:06:00~1:09:20 The Bogle legacy
  • 1:09:20~1:10:15 Conclusion

Resources:

Quotes:

  • “In my book, I take great pains to explain that indexing isn’t really the thing. The thing is low cost. And that is ultimately what would not have happened without Bogle and Vanguard’s mutual ownership structure.”

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Looking for more engaging conversations with thought leaders in personal finance? NGPF Podcast has more than 300 episodes! 

About the Authors

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

Ren Makino

Ren started interning at NGPF in 2014, and worked part-time through high school and college. With his knowledge growing alongside NGPF, he joined the team to work full-time after graduating from college in 2020. He is also the producer of the NGPF podcast. During his free time, he likes to try out coffees from different roasters across the world.

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