John C. Bogle

The rewards of my life have been great. I built a company; I left things better than I found them. I have a good reputation. I put the Vanguard shareholders and crew first. That's a huge thing.

There's no perfection in family life, and certainly we aren't perfect, but we're probably about as close as we can be.

It is the power of words and books - explaining and dramatizing great ideas and articulating high ideals - that is the greatest weapon in the missionary's arsenal.

It occurs to me that, after the huge output of writing I've produced over the years, there is a close link between my twin careers as investment executive and financial writer: The power of the word and the power of the book have played a major role in turning my vision... into reality.

I don't see any magic in hedge funds.

The average hedge fund manager is going to earn zero per cent in extra return.

We must work to establish a 'fiduciary society,' where manager/agents entrusted with managing other people's money are required - by federal statute - to place front and center the interests of the owners they are duty-bound to serve.

I almost hate to say how proud I am of my career and, most of all, helping folks get the returns they deserve.

I'm not sure I really am an entrepreneur. I'm not much of a businessman. I know I'm not a marketing guy. I do have an entrepreneurial lineage, though.

I would advise someone who has just retired to be something in the broad range of 50/50 stocks and bonds.

If the fluctuations in your investment portfolio are reduced, the impact of emotions and behavior on your account is also reduced.

If the job of capitalism is to create wealth for those who put up the capital, no fund group comes close to Vanguard's success in serving its owners. So we're probably as far away from communism as is realistically possible.

My incentive in starting Vanguard, I'm very blunt about this, it was my means of preserving my career. That's a very selfish thing.

Investing is not nearly as difficult as it looks. Successful investing involves doing a few things right and avoiding serious mistakes.

Have rational expectations for future returns and avoid changing those expectations in response to the ephemeral noise coming from Wall Street.

My only regret about money is that I don't have more to give away.

Our financial system is driven by a giant marketing machine in which the interests of sellers directly conflict with the interests of buyers.

The miracle of compounding returns has been overwhelmed by the tyranny of compounding costs.

I will create value for society, rather than extract it.

Don't look for the needle in the haystack. Just buy the haystack!