I would always advise young people to follow their star - not my star. They have to live their own life. If they decide they want to go into the investment business, do it, but make it a better business than it is today.
John C. BogleRead
The grim irony of investing is that we investors as a group not only don't get what we pay for, we get precisely what we don't pay for.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Investors often miss out on the true value of their investments and sometimes receive negative outcomes despite their efforts.
John C. Bogle highlights the paradoxical nature of investing, where investors feel the burden of fees and costs, yet fail to realize that the pursuit of lowering these expenses can lead to missed opportunities. This ironic situation suggests that by focusing solely on costs, investors might overlook the broader implications of their investment choices, ultimately resulting in underperformance or unexpected losses.
Themes
InvestingIronyCostsReturnsOpportunity
In practice
Example use cases
In a financial seminar discussing the importance of understanding market dynamics.
More from John C. Bogle
All quotes βWhen our financial system - essentially our money managers, marketers of investment products and stockbrokers - put up zero percent of the capital and assume zero percent of the risk yet receive fully 80% of the return, something has gone terribly wrong in our financial system.
John C. BogleRead
Entrepreneurs or international conglomerateurs, or large financial institutions buy or create mutual fund management companies to create a return on their own capital. It's capitalism at work, where the rewards tend to go to the managers rather than the investors.
John C. BogleRead
Net return is simply the gross return of your investment portfolio less the costs you incur. Keep your investment expenses low, for the tyranny of compounding costs can devastate the miracle of compounding returns.
John C. BogleRead
Investing is a virtuous habit best started as early as possible.
John C. BogleRead
Wise investors won't try to outsmart the market.
John C. BogleRead
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