John Bogle

The Man Who Cut the Fees. 1929 to 2019.

Who he was

John Bogle founded Vanguard in 1975 and launched the first index mutual fund for individual investors in 1976. Critics called it un-American.

Vanguard now manages trillions of dollars, and index funds hold a large share of all US fund assets.

Bogle showed that fees compound just like returns. A 2% annual fee over 50 years can consume more than half of an investor's final wealth.

He called it the tyranny of compounding costs. His answer was to own the whole market as cheaply as possible.

Vanguard is owned by its funds, which are owned by their investors. Profits go back into lower fees.

He never became a billionaire. He said he had enough.

Own broad index funds and keep costs under 0.2%. Do not trade.

Run the numbers in the fee calculator and you will see why he mattered.