John Bogle on riding out the storm
John Bogle, the father of index funds and founder of the Vanguard Group, was interviewed on NPR a few days ago, advising investors not to panic and to stick to their investment strategy. Well, that’s what he always says, but so far he’s been right, and it’s good to hear him say it again when so many are telling us the sky is falling. (The phrase Vanguard used until recently was “stay the course,” but since that expression has become so closely connected with our soon-to-be-ex-president, they don’t say it so often. “Riding out the storm” is the term NPR uses in its headline.)
“As measured by the stock market,” Bogle says, “the value of American business in its entirety (the total U.S. stock market) has dropped since last October from $18 trillion to $10 trillion.” The Dow is down 35 percent from a year ago. Bogle says there’s no way the value of most American companies has fallen that much. Still, he cautions against any big moves right now — either buying or selling stocks.
great post. thanks