Don't Count on It!

Reviews / Votes

"Don't Count on It! is a wise book. As mosttraders and investors remain convinced that they can beat themarket, it's always sobering to hear a compelling voice fromthe other side." (Seeking Alpha) "If Bogle writes it, it's worth reading. His latest,Don't Count On It, is a collection of 35 essays, every one ofthem filled with wisdom and insight. . . While I have readBogle's views on these issues many times, I'm alwaysimpressed with the quality of his writing (Where else can you readquotations from Adam Smith to Winston Churchill to Cato?), the witand humility he shows and his passion to help investors. The bookis a compelling read, one that in effect tells the story andmission of a great man. We're lucky and privileged to havehim fighting on our side. As Bogle noted in his book,Machiavelli "described the accumulation of worldly'glory' as the motivating principle that drives leadersto undertake 'great enterprises' and do 'greatthings' on behalf of their fellow citizens and not justthemselves." Hard to find a better description of Boglehimself." (MarketWatch) "Mr Bogle's prescription for a better system isrelatively simple: to demand proper fiduciary management from moneymanagers. They must prioritise client interests, act as responsiblecorporate citizens, charge reasonable fees and eliminate conflictsof interest. Amen to that. It may sound like nostalgia from anold-timer, or idealism from a visionary. But without such changes,investors and society will continue to be short-changed as thefinancial community carries on regardless." (FinancialTimes) "In Don't Count on It! Reflections onInvestment Illusions, Capitalism, "Mutual" Funds,Indexing, Entrepreneurship, Idealism, and Heroes, Bogle hammersat what he labels the cost matters hypothesis: Whether marketsare efficient or inefficient, investors as a group must fall shortof the market return by precisely the amount of the aggregate coststhey incur. It is the central fact of investing. Notsurprisingly, the book deals extensively with the low-costinnovation for which Vanguard is best known: the stock index mutualfund. When the company first made indexing available to smallinvestors in 1975, critics derided the notion as"Bogle's folly." To Bogle, however, the benefitsto investors were irrefutable. . . The impact of indexing hasbeen so great that a second, hugely important contribution byVanguard has been overshadowed. Vanguard originated the nowstandard segmentation of bond funds into short-, intermediate-, andlong-term varieties. Bogle was enshrined in the Fixed IncomeAnalysts Society Hall of Fame for this innovation. The author ofDon't Count on It! does not dwell on such honors,which include being named one of the world's 100 mostpowerful and influential people by Time magazine. In fact,Bogle devotes the final section of his book to tributes to four ofhis own heroes: Walter Morgan, economist Paul Samuelson, investmentguru Peter Bernstein, and Dr. Bernard Lown, a Nobel laureate whomhe credits with keeping him alive in defiance of a mystifying heartailment. Bogle also shows modesty in sharing credit for hiscontributions to the field and in downplaying his own theoreticalexpertise. His unashamed display of such old-fashioned virtues, aswell as his heretical view that running a business is not entirelyabout maximizing the wealth of the owners, has earned him thenickname 'St. Jack.'" (Financial AnalystsJournal)