3 ms·

Perhaps Vanguard is an example of a mass mutual company that owes part of its success through its formation due to its ability to pass cost savings back to its

Perhaps Vanguard is an example of a mass mutual company that owes part of its success through its formation due to its ability to pass cost savings back to its customers in the form of lower fund fees?

ihsw2 9y ago
Vanguard took decades to gain any traction and it was managed well enough to ensure it didn't prematurely burn out, and not only that but Jack Bogle spent his entire life evangelizing low-cost in an environment where "cost is no object" was a common mantra. Not only that but the healthcare industry has extraordinarily high financial and legal barriers to entry.
- 013a 9y ago
  > Managed well enough Unlike Amazon and Berkshire, two of the best managed companies humanity has ever created? > Extraordinarily high financial and legal barriers to entry Unlike financial companies?
  - ihsw2 9y ago
    There are extraordinarily high expectations in the finance industry but the only barriers are regulatory compliance (with regards to fiduciary duty) and convincing people to throw money at you.
- nabla9 9y ago
  >extraordinarily high financial and legal barriers to entry. If there is a company with enough muscle to force themselves into the business, it's Berkshire.
  - ihsw2 9y ago
    Considering their already extensive ground in insurance and JP Morgan's financial acuity, Amazon is in good hands. I know I'm hoping they encounter some success.
SilasX 9y ago
My personal (unproven) theory is that the non-profit model works well for ventures that require very little entrepreneurial judgment, but poorly otherwise. Vanguard basically follows that: they mainly sell index funds, which a well-trained monkey can run. Similarly, it makes more sense to have a non-profit coffee-buying employee group to buy coffee (at places that don't provide it for free) rather than pay a vendor to bring it in. But that's not because profit-making is an inherent drain on efficiency, but because the "judgment" that those profits are "buying" ... doesn't add much value.

ihsw2 9y ago

Vanguard took decades to gain any traction and it was managed well enough to ensure it didn't prematurely burn out, and not only that but Jack Bogle spent his entire life evangelizing low-cost in an environment where "cost is no object" was a common mantra. Not only that but the healthcare industry has extraordinarily high financial and legal barriers to entry.

013a 9y ago
> Managed well enough Unlike Amazon and Berkshire, two of the best managed companies humanity has ever created? > Extraordinarily high financial and legal barriers to entry Unlike financial companies?
- ihsw2 9y ago
  There are extraordinarily high expectations in the finance industry but the only barriers are regulatory compliance (with regards to fiduciary duty) and convincing people to throw money at you.
nabla9 9y ago
>extraordinarily high financial and legal barriers to entry. If there is a company with enough muscle to force themselves into the business, it's Berkshire.
- ihsw2 9y ago
  Considering their already extensive ground in insurance and JP Morgan's financial acuity, Amazon is in good hands. I know I'm hoping they encounter some success.

SilasX 9y ago

My personal (unproven) theory is that the non-profit model works well for ventures that require very little entrepreneurial judgment, but poorly otherwise. Vanguard basically follows that: they mainly sell index funds, which a well-trained monkey can run. Similarly, it makes more sense to have a non-profit coffee-buying employee group to buy coffee (at places that don't provide it for free) rather than pay a vendor to bring it in. But that's not because profit-making is an inherent drain on efficiency, but because the "judgment" that those profits are "buying" ... doesn't add much value.