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Community Reviews· 17,097 ratings · 1,436 reviews Start your review of The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns
Aug 15, 2015 Keegan rated it really liked it What did I think? I'll get back to you in about 30 years. What did I think? I'll get back to you in about 30 years. ...more
Apr 30, 2017 Michael rated it really liked it While it was indeed a little book, it was much longer than it needed to be. The whole book can be summed up in one sentence: Buy and hold a low cost index fund. You're welcome, you've essentially just read the book. While it was indeed a little book, it was much longer than it needed to be. The whole book can be summed up in one sentence: Buy and hold a low cost index fund. You're welcome, you've essentially just read the book. ...more
Dec 14, 2009 C rated it really liked it After hearing so many references to John Bogle and his followers, the Bogleheads, I decided I had to read this book. The author,
John Bogle, invented the index fund and founded Vanguard. I really liked this book; it's one of the better investing books I've read. It contains just the right amount of empirical evidence in the form of statistics, graphs, and charts to be convincing, but not eye-glazingly boring. To back up his assertions, he points to "the relentless rules of humble
arithmetic." Bog I really liked this book; it's one of the better investing books I've read. It contains just the right amount
of empirical evidence in the form of statistics, graphs, and charts to be convincing, but not eye-glazingly boring. To back up his assertions, he points to "the relentless rules of humble arithmetic." Bogle comes across as very experienced and intelligent. In case you find yourself questioning Bogle, the end of each chapter contains a "Don't Take My Word For It" where well-known investors agree with Bogle on the chapter's topic. Bogle's main point is that the best (most efficient)
investment strategy is to buy and hold all publicly traded US businesses at a low cost. He recommends this very simple approach as a superior alternative to the incredibly complex array of specific investment options available today. He describes this as Bogle's Corollary: "Don't look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack!" This book is definitely worth a read for anyone investing in the stock or bond markets. Notes Selecting a fund adviser Keep costs low • Use index funds for bonds and money markets too. ETFs The 2 sources of the superior returns of index funds: Portfolio Acceptable variations: Asset allocation rule of thumb: hold a bond position equal to your age, or your age minus 10%. ...more
I regret buying this book so much - I should have invested the $19.99 instead. The whole book can be summarized in one sentence: index ETFs are better than mutual funds because they track the whole (or a good chunk of the) market and have very low costs. There. The whole book.
One sentence summary: Invest in index funds.
Oct 12, 2018 Soheil rated it did not like it
In all my ventures into the books on stock market, I had never come across a book as useless as this one. The author keeps telling you that from the first page to the last that you should follow his advise on chucking mutual stocks and become passive nobody that only invests on index funds and sits for the next 10 years to earn an average profit. To support his statement (while claiming that he invented the index funds) he uses arguments such as
tax, agent fees, half quotes from famous people, s In all my ventures into the books on stock market, I had never come across a book as useless as this one. The author keeps telling you that from the first page to the last that you should follow his advise on chucking mutual stocks and become passive nobody that only invests on index funds and sits for the next 10 years to earn an average profit. To support his statement (while claiming that he
invented the index funds) he uses arguments such as tax, agent fees, half quotes from famous people, stupid examples on why this worked (you may be able to find many more on why this did not work!), etc. The writing is awful. The author's futile at humor fail to create the slightest of smiles. He keeps repeating phrases such as the "relentless rules of humble arithmetic" as many as what feels like a million times (there is even a chapter with that name). I have only one recommendation to
anyone reading this. Stay well away from this book. Your time has more value...
Dec 02, 2021 Bradley rated it really liked it This is a funny little book. It starts out very fun, making a
strong case to attach itself to Thomas Paine's Common Sense, The Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings, the book that led to the American Revolution. While the idea doesn't exactly feature all throughout this piece of good advice, it does underscore
the obvious idiocies and point to a classy, simple solution. Kinda like the causes for the Revolution. So, what, we need to overthrow the stock market? Um.. no. The actual idea is prett While the idea doesn't exactly feature all throughout this piece of good advice, it does underscore the obvious idiocies and point to a classy,
simple solution. Kinda like the causes for the Revolution. So, what, we need to overthrow the stock market? Um.. no. The actual idea is pretty damn simple and backed up with massive proof in the massive pudding. *Buy* *Hold* It outperforms almost everything. Second-guessing, day trading, money managers, almost everything else performs worse. It's pretty simple. Don't pay for middlemen, diversify for yourself, and have it rock out with compound interest. Unfortunately, the
rest of the book is just a lot of repeating the same good idea, always pushing for the value of ETFs, and it highlights how the system OUGHT to work, without interference or bad actors. All good, as far as that goes. So, if we live in a perfect world, this is just about perfect. And maybe it'll work fine for most, even so, but the point is to get going EARLY so the compound works FOR you. Honestly, the book could have been even shorter but what is here is still good. I've seen most of
these ideas many times before, even so.
Jan 30, 2020 David rated it liked it I get it. Invest in index funds that are low cost, broadly diverse, and hold hold
hold. Great idea, but much of the book is spent smacking you over the head with the idea.
Bogle deserves a million stars for starting Vanguard and bringing us the concept of low-cost index funds. I'll even go one better and agree with the fundamental premise of this book, that almost everyone should have broad-based indexing as the foundation of their investment plans. This book is essentially a dismantling of vast swaths of the financial industry, especially the mutual fund. Step by step, and through the relentless application of
real-world performance numbers and statistics, Bogle s This book is essentially a dismantling of vast swaths of the financial industry, especially the mutual fund.
Step by step, and through the relentless application of real-world performance numbers and statistics, Bogle shows investing for what is it is - a zero sum game where people who don't index, take money from each other while also paying the entire industry that is in place to chase mythical outperformance via mutual funds. The result? Underperformance. Rather than try to find a needle in a haystack, why not just buy the haystack (he's full of colloquialisms and folksy charm)? Boom.
Indexing. My biggest issue with the book is that it pokes a stick at the largest turd in the industry (mutual funds) and then says, "indexing is a heck of a lot better than this." He's right, of course; but he neglects including other allocation possibilities. He quotes Buffett several times without mentioning that his market-crushing performance is still in full effect and investors are still being rewarded by it or that stock picking services like the Motley Fool have a great track
record of consistently outperforming market averages on most of their real-money portfolios. Clearly, there are some ways to invest that do beat the market - I just wish that Bogle had spent a little time getting into what it takes to be successful in those other areas. I think there's a way of doing that without diminishing the awesome power of the main thesis.
"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan." Stick to the good plan. Index funds are those good plans that will save you from failing in the
dreams of a perfect plan. Index funds are those good plans that will save you from failing in the dreams of a perfect plan.
This book is based on The Intelligent Investor, John C. Bogle did a good job explaining investment options with pros and cons. This would be a great book to start since this book was written for normal people, not financial specialists. This comes with a cost of nothing extraordinary if you are looking for something more than basic information about stocks and bonds you should pick another book.
(4.0) Big long sell on low-expense ratio broad index funds. Logic makes sense and if I weren't already a convert, would definitely take seriously. It's so interesting that so many investors do not. - things that cost investors
in actively managed mutual funds: - things that cost investors in actively managed mutual funds: Heading into 2017 and beyond: brace yourself for lower than historical returns (lately very low dividend yield (companies chasing growth?), very high P/E ratio that will probably regress to
the mean). With inflation at ~2%, returns will be very slim. Fees on mutual funds historical based on big days of 70s and 80s but will now result in negative expected return. Corey raised a very interesting point: is the fact that so many people are in index funds turning /it/ in to a 'fad' to the point that it artificially inflates the value of S&P500 stocks? Can this imbalance cause problems / result in some sort of correction down the line that makes S&P index funds dangerous?
Jun 06, 2021 Anas Saad rated it it was amazing A simple short book for any beginner who wants to invest
in stocks and don't know how/where to start. The main message is clear, logical, and simple: I would recommend the book for anyone who wants to start investing but doesn't want the headaches and the more technical stuff. I would recommend the book for anyone who wants to start investing but doesn't want the headaches and the more technical stuff.
Dec 18, 2017 Jason Pettus rated it it was amazing I'm posting the last of my 2017 reads here this month without reviews, so that they'll count towards this year's Goodreads Reading Challenge. Full review coming in early 2018. I'm posting the last of my 2017 reads here this month without reviews, so that they'll count towards this year's Goodreads Reading Challenge. Full review coming in early 2018. ...more
Jul 20, 2020 Leah rated it really liked it This is surprisingly a good book. I thought it was going to be extremely basic beginners guide and only scratch the surface of the investment world. This book does not really talk about the
investment world, it just talks about index funds within the stock market. I feel like they should have chosen a better title. It is all about proving that index funds are the best (profitable while being safe) bet for investing, with hard factual evidence. Get rid of all your money managers, consultants, fin I thought it was going to be extremely basic beginners guide and only scratch the surface of the
investment world. This book does not really talk about the investment world, it just talks about index funds within the stock market. I feel like they should have chosen a better title. It is all about proving that index funds are the best (profitable while being safe) bet for investing, with hard factual evidence. Get rid of all your money managers, consultants, financial advisors, brokerages, fee's, mutual funds and just buy low cost index funds like Vanguard. It's that simple lol This is not a beginners book. One needs an intermediate level of knowledge on the stock market for this book. Definitely a re-read because it's hard to listen as an audiobook, I'd rather read about ROI %'s than hear them. FYI the audiobook does not follow the book
This book can be summarized as: Point 1: Index funds are better than ETFs, mutual funds, individual stocks, etc. Here are 7 chapters using statistical and historical data to
prove it. Don't believe me? Here's a chapter cap from another source that agrees with me. Point 2: Money managers have their own best interest in mind, and have fees. Avoid them and do your own managing. Here are 7 chapters using statistical and historical data to prove it. Don't believe me? Here's a chapter cap from another s Point 1: Index funds are better than ETFs, mutual funds, individual stocks, etc.
Here are 7 chapters using statistical and historical data to prove it. Don't believe me? Here's a chapter cap from another source that agrees with me. Point 2: Money managers have their own best interest in mind, and have fees. Avoid them and do your own managing. Here are 7 chapters using statistical and historical data to prove it. Don't believe me? Here's a chapter cap from another source that agrees with me. The information in the book is useful, but it seriously could've been
written in ten pages, with an optional additional 20 chapters of, "Here are the numbers if you want proof."
The book reiterated the same point from start to finish. What could have been a much smaller book, was stretched to the very limits. While there were a scant number of ideas presented, with the entire focus pretty much being on ETFs, there was well presented data to explain why the solitary conclusion had been drawn for a range of scenarios.
Feb 03, 2021 Abby rated it it was amazing I’ll let you know what I really think in about 30+ years!
Apr 26, 2020 Marta Sarrico rated it really liked it Simple analysis showing why investing in low-cost index funds should be the main approach to follow as an investor. A littler bit repetitive in the first chapters but some very interesting points towards the end about ETFs and (brief) asset allocation. Definitely makes a convincing point, sharing a handful of opinions given by experts in the field that agree and (some) also adopt it in their own portfolios. Not an extensive guide as it could have compared this passive strategy to invest in the m Simple analysis showing why investing in low-cost index funds should be the main approach to follow as an investor. A littler bit repetitive in the first chapters but some very interesting points towards the end about ETFs and (brief) asset allocation. Definitely makes a convincing point, sharing a handful of opinions given by experts in the field that agree and (some) also adopt it in their own portfolios. Not an extensive guide as it could have compared this passive strategy to invest in the market with some other strategies but a strong guidebook nevertheless. ...more
Mar 29, 2021 Ashraf Bashir rated it really liked it Excellent book on the topic, very analytical, data-driven, based on numbers not arguments, referring to experts, simple still in-depth, well researched, tracking history while forecasting future, taking many factors into account including taxes and management costs, including deep comparisons of core message with alternatives of investment, logical, and very well explained. The sole minus point is that it is very repetitive, reiterating on the same point from different angles. A must-read on inv Excellent book on the topic, very analytical, data-driven, based on numbers not arguments, referring to experts, simple still in-depth, well researched, tracking history while forecasting future, taking many factors into account including taxes and management costs, including deep comparisons of core message with alternatives of investment, logical, and very well explained. The sole minus point is that it is very repetitive, reiterating on the same point from different angles. A must-read on investing. ...more
What can I even say. We do live in a society and need to save money, and the general concept to invest in index funds rather than playing the stock market seems sound. However, this book presents an individual solution to a systemic problem and doesn't seem to seriously consider that there are any inherent flaws in this capitalist system that leads people to have to invest money to be able to retire in the first place. Like, he keeps on talking about how Main Street can make investing work for i What can I even say. We do live in a society and need to save money, and the general concept to invest in index funds rather than playing the stock market seems sound. However, this book presents an individual solution to a systemic problem and doesn't seem to seriously consider that there are any inherent flaws in this capitalist system that leads people to have to invest money to be able to retire in the first place. Like, he keeps on talking about how Main Street can make investing work for it, but like, what is this "Main Street?" Really it just seems to refer to rich and upper middle class white people who can afford to invest money in the first place. Furthermore he constantly conceptualizes taxes as theft which is just like ... taxes lead to services that benefit everyone!! He's also really into explaining investment income as "earning our fair share of whatever returns our businesses are generous enough to provide" and there's just so much going on there that I can barely handle breaking it down. Where does generosity come in to this???? Are taxes not exactly what he is describing here in a way that would positively impact everyone, rather than just the lucky few who can afford to invest? ...more
Definitely a lot of sound advice to be found in the book. However I found the author’s line of reasoning inconsistent - in some cases drawing from statistics and historical outcomes, in some just saying “I doubt it would work” without doing much analysis (e.g. when talking about whether to invest in US or globally and when talking about factor models). Also, it is clear the book is intended for the widest possible audience, resulting in it being extremely repetitive and at times too simplistic.
Apr 24, 2020 Bidhan rated it really liked it “The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect
plan.” This should be the first investment book that everyone reads. I think it paints a pretty good picture of how an individual should be investing - all the while re-iterating that his way is not the only way. I really enjoyed Bogle's writing style. Whatever he presented were backed by just enough facts so as to not get boring. Start early, create a good plan and stay the course! This should be the first investment book that everyone reads. I think it paints a pretty good picture of how an individual should be investing - all the while re-iterating that his way is not the only way. I really enjoyed Bogle's writing style. Whatever he presented were backed by just enough facts so as to not get boring. Start early, create a good plan and stay the course!
Jul 19, 2021 Thomas Edmund rated it it was amazing Continuing my binge of investing related
non-fiction The Little Book... is technically short, but relatively dense with information - basically the most straightforward and thorough explanation for why Passive Index funds are the best bet for long term stock investors. Coupled with A Random Walk Down Wall Street this Bogle provides both challenge and reassurance for Stock Investors and in my opinion is a must read for those on the topic.
Jun 19, 2022 Kate Weaver rated it really liked it Let it be known I wouldn’t have survived reading this book if it wasn’t for my brother Grant’s or Johnny’s helpful insights. This book was a little daunting for my non-money & numbers brain, but I’m glad I stuck it out and took it slow! Time is money people— invest now and let the S&P 500 index fund do it’s thang.
This book provides a basic guide to investing for the long term. Some of the points made, such as have diverse investments, that past performance can be misleading and minimise costs, were interesting, but
overall this book was a bit simplistic and it was very repetitive.
Jun 06, 2021 Vishwa Karia rated it really liked it Interesting book with investment advice
that initially seemed non-intuitive. But Bogle makes many compelling arguments to support his claim of investing in low cost index funds.
Worth mentioning that index funds generally require a $3000 initial investment. As is often the case (buying a house, for example), you need to be in good shape (have $3000 to spare) to get in on the "good stuff." Worth mentioning that index funds generally require a $3000 initial investment. As is often the case (buying a house, for example), you need to be in good shape (have $3000 to spare) to get in on the "good stuff." ...more
John Bogle is a legend not only in the investment world, but also the personal finance world. He recently passed so many have lauded praise on him and it is
all true. He changed the investment world more than perhaps any other person of the last 30 years. I have been wanting to read this book for many years and recently picked up a copy. Given his recent passing I thought it was a good time to read. Let me start by saying that I do this (investing and personal finance) for a living. This review Let me start by saying that I do this (investing and personal finance) for a living. This review has less to do with whether or not the concept of "index investing" is correct or not and more
to do with the actual writing/book itself. My personal belief is that the majority of investors should be using a component of index investing in their portfolio, but is by no means a panacea. One nit pick I have with the book is that for the first 200+ pages Bogle says nothing of this. It is not until the final 10-20 pages when he ultimately says that index investing should be a significant component of all financial plans, but he also says a component should be outside of that as well. What
this results in is 200 pages of content that likely could have been shared in 100 pages or less. My concern is many readers will get bogged down with the early content and give the book up before getting to the good recommendations at the end. This was a loss of one star in my eyes. The other star was lost because Bogle almost completely ignores a significant drawback to index investing - investor behavior. This could be for two reasons: 1) it was written in 2007 before the Great Financial
Crisis during which we saw the perfect example of human behavior wrecking an investment plan and/or 2) over the past 10 years the concept of "behavioral investing" has come to the forefront (again due to #1 and some high quality research studies). But make no mistake - the poor behavior of investors cannot be ignored when considering an index approach. No mention of behavior and no corresponding mention of why an advisor might be important at controlling this, setting an asset allocation, etc.
Bogle founded Vanguard and even Vanguard has issued a white paper on the important of an advisor for investors. Bottom line - Bogle is a legend. This book has a ton of merit at explaining why index investing is an important part of a financial plan. However, it leaves a lot to be desired as a book about investing outside of explaining the merits of indexing. "A Wealth of Common Sense" still remains the best book I have read that completely covers this topic. John Clifton "Jack" Bogle (born May 8, 1929) is the founder and retired CEO of The Vanguard Group. He is known for his 1999 book Common Sense on Mutual
Funds: New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor, which became a bestseller and is considered a classic. News & InterviewsOctober has arrived, and this month’s batch of incoming titles features some big names, some much-anticipated sequels, and several exotic... “Don't look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack!” — 27 likes “The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.” Stick to the good plan. Traditional” — 6 likes More quotes…Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. |
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