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The story behind Bogle founding Vanguard is one of my favorite business stories and one of my favorite examples of contrarian thinking. https://www.inc.com/mag

• ThirdFoundation 8y ago
  I worked at Vanguard for about 5 years and Mr. Bogle was omnipresent on campus, working in his research area and dining (almost) every day in the on-campus cafeteria. In my few interactions with him, he was always nice and gentle. I only ever heard great things from my colleagues who had the chance to get to work with him closely or knew him better. Also, I appreciated that he was willing to grow, even into his old age, regarding his thinking on asset allocation. For example, his stance on holding an international stock index changed over time (from "unnecessary because most S&P 500 companies are multinational" to "there is some value to allocate a percentage of one's account to a broader international index"). Additionally, he wasn't afraid to completely go or say something against Vanguard after retiring. He stuck to his beliefs and was willing to challenge the company he started (and, albeit, was forced to retire from). For example, he was not supportive of Vanguard's deep foray into ETFs as he viewed them as encouraging short-term trading. All-in-all, he seemed like a wonderful person and the investment industry (and many other realms) are better because of him.