Common Sense on Mutual Funds

Common Sense on Mutual Funds
By John C. Bogle
Published in 1999 (Updated in 2009)
656 Pages
Thibault’s Score: 1/5

Common Sense on Mutual Funds builds on A Random Walk Down Wall Street by arguing that most mutual funds are, essentially, scams. The book argues instead that passively managed Index Funds have lower management costs, and are more able to ride the wave of markets.

The author, John C. Bogle, founded Vanguard, one of the first Index funds. As such, he is not an impartial author. Much of the book feels somewhat “markety,” like the author is trying to sell you his specific financial services.

While I agree with the general premise that Index Funds are superior to managed funds, and that mutual funds tend to be scams, I couldn’t finish it. I only read about half of the book. The writing style is tedious, somewhat dreary.

Furthermore, I am not the target audience. The target audience is retail investors who want to develop personal finance strategies. I was reading the book as a consultant attempting to learn more about the industry.

I don’t recommend this book.

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