The Bogleheads' Guide to the Three-Fund Portfolio

Foreword

There is something truly remarkable about the intersection of something old and something new. First, a World War II veteran of the Battle of the Bulge has an idea for building a better world for investors. A decade later, modern technology begins to create unprecedented opportunities for the development of social networks, opening a whole new world for interpersonal communication. That combination of man and technology led to the creation of an investor-driven website for individual investors.

The Army combat veteran, born in 1924, is Taylor Larimore, distinguished citizen of Miami, Florida, and a truly wonderful human being. The new technology is the Internet. The idea: to allow investors in the Vanguard mutual funds to share their ideas, their investment experiences, and their financial strategies with one another, as it is said, “without fear or favor.”

Founded by Taylor in 1998 as the “Vanguard Diehards,” the name of the new website was changed to the “Bogleheads” in 2007. Their first meeting—Diehards I—took place in March 2000, when I joined some 20 Vanguard investors in Taylor’s Miami condominium for dinner, friendship, and lively conversation about investment strategy and policy.

Then to Vanguard’s home in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on June 8, 2001, with 40 Bogleheads in attendance. Then to Chicago, where Morningstar hosted the three-day gathering for 50 dedicated investors. Next, to Denver and the Chartered Financial Analysts Conference in 2004, with 90 Bogleheads ...