The Clash of the Cultures: Investment vs. Speculation

I was already a life-long fan of Jack Bogle and his low-cost index funds. I have probably read about 4 of his previous books. Since I was already familiar with Jack's work, there were few surprises for me in this book. As William Bernstein pointed out in his review, the large Wall Street investment firms have been a failure in terms of helping the average investor achieve his financial goals. Billions, yes billions of dollars are paid out in Wall Street bonuses every year, primarily for figuring out how to sell people and firms investments they should not buy. Just read a few books by people that worked on wall street for a few years...and you will get the idea. Many firms are legally bound not to buy investments that have too high of credit risk. Wall Street employees spend their time figuring out how to get poor investments rated as excellent so they can sell them. Someone recently pointed out the only innovation from Wall Street or the big banks in the last 25 years that has actually helped investors is the ATM. I would argue that Jack Bogle inventing the index fund was the best thing that happened to investors in the 20th century. If you have not read any of Jack Bogle's books, this is a good one to read. I found it encouraging that index fund stock investing now is about 28% of all money invested in stock mutual funds. Hopefully this percentage continues to trend higher as people figure out that Wall Street is not your friend.

Great expose on the world of finance, where less than 1% of investment funds are actually invested in companies, while 99% is spent gambling on whether the securities/markets go up or down. He shows that long-term investing in index funds will provide greater investor returns than speculation. He also illustrates how the short-term boom and bust mentality of speculation is putting our society at risk. Wall Street which should be a mechanism by which business, innovation, and progress is funded, is operating more like a rigged casino. Causing manufactured bubbles, crashes, bailouts, and the devaluation of the dollar. The fact that Mr. Bogle could make more money conning the public rather than speaking the truth and empowering us, speaks to his high level of integrity. This is a keeper!

After 61 years in the investments industry John Bogle may be done writing. I hope not. If it is his last, this one tells his story and why he fought to support the concious of the mutual fund industry, Vanguard. His "stewardship quotion", which measures fiduciary relationship between company, agent and client is worth the price of time and money invested. Bonuses beyond that come in the form of historical vignets, sage investment tenants, and genuine enthusiasm for the index investment industry he founded. He waxes on about his comrads who have gone before and he tries to resolve the readers questions regarding his love of the Wellington fund, a managed fund with his indexing philosohpy. C'est la vie. Wm. H. Prindle

I've read lots of investment books about market and investment strategies. Bogle presents a well written account of the changes that have occurred in recent decades including very high levels of turnover, the inherent conflict between fund managers and their customers, the creation of mutual funds, index funds, and ETFs. I found the comparison between fund managers (mutual, privately held, and publicly traded) to be facinating. I hadn't realized that so much money is paid to fund managers. I think he's right in comparing the "take" by fund managers to be similar to that by the house at casinos. As Bogle points out, the combined performance of all investors balances out to equal the market returns. The winners balance the losers. But, we all pay for management fees and commissions, which makes the management companies the real winners. Bogle has just about convinced me that a broad market index fund is the only way to go. I need to dig through my records and see just how well or poorly I've managed over the years. I rather suspect I'd have been much better off with with an S&P 500 index fund or broad market fund than my past approach. Even if you think you've been beating the market, you should read Bogle's book. It was truly an eye-opener for me.

John Bogle is one or the few members of the financial community with the courage to comment on the inherent conflict of interests that are pervasive on Wall Street, circa 2012. All investors, whether they be individuals or institutions, would be well served in following his advice. The unfortunate truth is that fiduciaries at all levels have sold out those to whom they are responsible. Bogle, the primary force behind Vanguard, has provided anyone who cares to listen with the sad state of affairs that have reduced the odds for investment success because of excessive fees and the failure of regulatory oversight which perpetuates a casino mentality. Short term high frequency trading has replaced investing as the preferred way to manage other people's money. It is little wonder that investors have left the markets in droves in the past few years. Inherently they sense the game is rigged. Until the rules are changed and the laws enforced they won't come back.. However, there is some hope as long as the Bogles of the world still have a voice.

This book spends 360 pages discussing in-depth what has been covered in several page articles in terms of practical and useful advice. The rest is the history of mutual funds and Vanguard, in what is often feels a bit like an advertisement. If you are in the industry, or brand new to investing, you might find this useful, but I found this both too topical in terms of practical advice and way too detailed in his support of the ideas.

John Bogle was one of the creators of Vanguard Mutual Funds. He has gone back and analyzed data for 30 years and has the proof of how financial planners are making a fortune off the unsuspecting public. Bottom Line: You can't beat the market consistently. Your broker or possibly yourself may beat the market now and then BUT not consistently. If you are paying a broker or advisor to do your investing, your loosing out to these folks. WHY ? You can't beat the market year after year. Your far better off to purchase a low expense ratio no load fund that is diversified and hold on to it. Yes it will go up and down. So does the market and so does the investments suggested by brokers and financial planners EXCEPT those folks charge YOU for the market fluctuations. Save your money and follow John's advise. A SMART READ.

This book is perfect for anyone who invests in the stock market, whether through a 401(k) plan or individual account. Bogle explains clearly why too much trading eats away the value of our savings through fees and hidden costs. He shows how actively managed mutual funds are overall not as good a deal as index funds. Bogle also describes how the culture of speculation leads to poor business management and excessive volatility in the stock market. He points out that most American families are stockholders, mostly through retirement accounts. We are the owners of corporate America, and should expect the managers to work for our interests. In practice, management is focused on "meeting the numbers" for short-term market expectations. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Clash of the Cultures, and recommend it for anyone interested in personal finance.

Despite the book brings lots of complex details and history about investing and mutual funds. On the other hand it makes very clear that investing is not that complicated. Buying the whole stock market by indexing is the way to go to beat the market.

THE CLASH OF THE CULTURS IS JOHN C.BOGLE 10TH BOOK ,more you read more you want from jack bogle a living legend ,who inspite of cardiac transplant in 1996 wrote 9 books since 1999 common sense on mutual funds to his 10th book in 2012 clash of cultures ,his 10 new rules on investing 1.remember RTM reversion to the market mean ,weather markets goes crazy like in it bubble of 2000 ,like a magnet it pulls back to reversion to the mean,93.4% of your return on investment depends on proper asset allocation between stocks and bonds ,not on stock selection ot market timing . a low cost traditional index balanced fund or a low cost active balanced mutual fund ,direct dividened and capital gains reinvested is a winner game in very long term .or vanguard low cost life style funds of funds or vanguard low cost target balanced funds areideal for retirement.as age =% of bond index in your portfolio ,and as age advances these funds automatically increases bond asset allocation in your portfolio. again low cost index funds wins in long term ,as keep investing as simple as possible .donot get distracted by hot funds ,day trading or hege funds ,as they are all losers game.thank to john c.bogle for opening eyes of individual investor and making them an intelligent investor.donot let your money work for your broker or fund manager ,every penny of your hard earned money must for yoi and for future of your family.low cost highly diversified indexing is the only answer,if investors will pullout their money from high cost active funds these dishonest fund managers and brokers will be forced to come out with low cost index funds,as say no to high cost speculation and active fund and hot sectors,which are cash cows of brokers and fund managers who are busy making milliniores out of billiniores. dr anil gupta md (new-York) cardiologist now retired boglehead

Read and liked this book. Great insights, evsn for investment professionals!

Ce livre est très intéressant pour l'amateur qui souhaite améliorer ses compétences dans le domaine de l'investissement. Je tiens aussi à signaler le sérieux d'AMAZON, je n'avais pas reçu ma commande initiale, après les avoir contacté, ils ont immédiatement effectué un nouvel envoi.

The Clash of Cultures deserves a 5 star rating because it is simply the best book ever written about investing. As an experienced investor, I truly feel that this is the ONLY book you ever need to read about investing. John Bogle explains in clear English, backed up by statistical evidence, why index investments will provide you with superior returns in the long run. I highly recommend this book to private investors, or simply anyone who wants to save up for retirement. After reading this book you will understand why so called "professional" money managers, bankers, investment advisers, etc. can NEVER beat the index in the long run. Spread the word!