The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns

Concise, easy to read, exceptionally helpful investing introduction written by a famous developer of the Vanguard family of low cost funds. Read it BEFORE you start investing!

Another great book for investors. Easy to read but not very long. Packed with good information.

I read this over and over again. It is such a great book, lots of wisdom in a compact form. If there is a downturn in the markets, or if people become more pessimistic, it is good to just go back to this book and get grounded in fundamentals rather than following the crowd and sell everything. I encourage anyone just starting out to read this, or even to younger folk to know what to do once they start having income.

When someone as successful as John Bogle attempts to impart knowledge in the form of a book, people ought to listen and heed his advice. This is the man who practically invented the index fund, after all. While there's much wisdom to be found in The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, the first third to half of the book is dedicated to discussing the sheer arithmetic of how actively managed funds eat away investors' gains: fees, taxes, and all. I cast no doubts on the value of these discussions, particularly to readers for whom the topic of index fund investing is novel in its entirety. That said, this first part could have been significantly shortened without much loss to its value, if at all. After tackling the disadvantageous arithmetic of actively managed funds, Bogle dedicates a few more chapters to drive his point home and details how these funds consistently fail to match the returns of the index. Two-thirds into the book, commentaries on and new information about other matters such as investment advisors, bond funds, and ETFs finally surface. Beyond a critical assessment of non-index ETFs, little explanation of the tax differences between long-term index fund and long-term index ETF investing is offered before the book circles back to theme, with a section on what the great Benjamin Graham would have said about index funds promptly following. For the uninitiated, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing serves as a good resource to explain the how's and why's of index funds. For individuals who have read enough about index funds as to already be invested in them, however, four-fifths of the book may feel little more than one thick advertisement, living up to "The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns" well. But what about the last few chapters? This is where the earlier-mentioned "much wisdom" enters the equation, with Bogle providing timeless insights on assembling portfolios, building them efficiently, customizing them for retirement, and a myriad other ideas that can only come with maturity and experience. For these alone and despite all my ramblings above, I recommend alloting space in one's collection and a few hours of one's time for this book.

This book is very informing and easy to ubderstand

This book totally transformed my life financially. Before I read it, I didn't know how to properly invest in the stock market. I was able to retire only 17 years after reading this book because it improved my finances so much.

Great book. I would recommend

Great book for beginners. All the basics and not overly technical.

Siempre había querido este libro, te enseña bastante sobre la inversión al largo plazo y te explica lo mucho que vale la pena. Con este libro maximizarás la rentabilidad de tus inversiones.

A must read for anyone before investing in stock and shares

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Must read

This book completely changed how I think about investing. John Bogle breaks everything down in plain English—no confusing jargon, no hype. The main message is simple: stop trying to beat the market and just own the market through low-cost index funds. It’s common sense, but the way he explains it really makes it click. I wish I had read this years ago—it would’ve saved me a lot of time and stress chasing “hot stocks.” It’s short, practical, and full of wisdom. Perfect for beginners or anyone who wants to invest smarter without overthinking it.