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EQUITY FUND SELECTION: THE NEEDLE OR THE HAYSTACK?

The American Association of Individual InvestorsPhiladelphia ChapterNovember 23, 1999

IT IS A VERY SPECIAL PRIVILEGE to be here with you tonight, all the more so because you have graciously agreed to let bygones be bygones and forgive me for the abrupt cancellation of my previously scheduled appearance on November 5, 1995, just four years ago. But since then I've had a change of heart. So here I am.

Some of you insiders may know that I really have had a change of heart. I entered Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia on October 18, 1995, to await a transplant, and, after a 128-day wait, received my new heart on February 21, 1996. I hope it will be obvious that my new heart, young and strong, has given me not only boundless energy, but a wonderful outlook on life … qualities that have enabled me to face adversity with a smile, and to put the problems of the past just where they belong—in the past. Given a second chance at life, I accept more enthusiastically than ever before the challenge Kipling laid down for those who “face both triumph and disaster: To treat those two imposters just the same.” So I intend not to dwell on the past, but to look to the future, keeping an eagle eye on the interests of Vanguard, our crew, and our shareholders, and energetically continuing my mission to give mutual fund investors everywhere a fair shake. As I tell our Vanguard shareholders in this year's annual reports: “… I have promises to keep, and ...

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