Bogleheads® is the title adopted by many of the investing enthusiasts who participate in this site. The term is intended to honor Vanguard founder and investor advocate John Bogle.
The Bogleheads® approach to investing emphasizes starting early, living below one’s means, regular saving, broad diversification using low cost funds, simplicity, and sticking to one’s investment plan regardless of market conditions.
We are an independent, non-commercial site that is run by volunteers and we invite your participation. The site consists of a forum, a wiki, and this blog. Registration and participation on our site is free. We do accept donations to help defray costs.
On the Forum, members discuss financial news and theory. The forum is moderated and notable for its civil discourse, so it is helpful to be familiar with Forum Policies. In addition to investments and personal investments, the forum also has sub-forums devoted to personal finance and personal consumer issues. Our growing world-wide membership has also prompted us to add our non-US investors forums.
Anyone can read the forum, it is a free site. To post, one must register. Registration is also free.
Seeking portfolio advice – US investors
The members also welcome less experienced investors who have questions about investing or who need help to develop their portfolios. We are not registered financial advisors or planners, but we do have a lot of collective wisdom to share. Many financial questions do not have a right or wrong answer, but rather a range of options. It is up to you to weigh the pros and cons in light of your specific situation.
The wiki page Asking portfolio questions contains a template that you can use to copy and paste into your own “Asking portfolio questions” topic.
Seeking portfolio advice: Non-US and non-resident investors
Non-US and non-resident investors can get an introduction to investing in these wiki pages:
Non-US and non resident individuals can use our wiki page, My portfolio: seeking advice for a template to copy and paste your investing questions.
The Wiki is a comprehensive investing and personal finance reference that was built and is maintained by members of the Bogleheads® community. You can find our most recent pages at New Pages. Many newcomers find that a good way to begin is by reading these Wiki articles:
For US investors:
- Getting started – Start here.
- Bogleheads® investment philosophy – Our investment principles.
- Bogleheads® investing start-up kit – A top-down approach to start investing.
- Investment policy statement – Identify your investment objectives and how you plan to meet them.
- Bogleheads® personal finance planning start-up kit – Other than investing, such as financial planning, insurance, and saving for college.
- Preparing for retirement – Steps you should take before retiring.
- Prioritizing investments – Choosing where to save your investing money, such as an employer’s retirement plan or a savings account.
For non-US investors:
- Getting started for non-US investors – Start here.
- Bogleheads® investment philosophy for non-US investors – Our investment principles.
- Bogleheads® investing start-up kit for non-US investors – A top-down approach to start investing.
- Outline of non-US domiciles – Overview of topics specifically aimed at non-US investors.
Searching the wiki
There are three ways to find wiki articles:
- Use the wiki’s search box
- Use Help:Navigation
- For a complete listing of pages refer to the Index of all pages.
In addition, you may find our outlines to be of assistance. The table below provides our outlines in alphabetical order.
Contributing to the wiki
Anyone can read the wiki. If you would like to edit it, you must first join the Bogleheads forum. Once you’ve joined, send a private message requesting access, and you can then become an editor. Information on editing the wiki is available on the left sidebar of every wiki page. Suggestions are welcome by posting in Suggestions for the Wiki.
The very serviceable index of forum posts page has a remarkable history. The page dates from July 27, 2001 when the Bogleheads community was centered on the Morningstar Diehards forum. The Morningstar forum had limited search capabilities and a poor set-up for a large active community. Alex Frakt and Larry Auton created an independent site, Diehards.org. (now Bogleheads.org.) which provided an updated search and post index page that made reading and navigating the Morningstar forum simple
In 2007, Morningstar’s lax moderation and poor forum design resulted in the establishment of a new phpBB forum. This forum was soon transferred to Diehards.org, and with a divided audience, the post index page provided updated post information for both the new forum and the Morningstar forum.
As the new Bogleheads Forum became the preferred site, the post index page dropped coverage of the Morningstar forum.
Bogleheads.org. is operated by its founders, Alex Frakt and Larry Auton.
Milestones
From its initial founding in 2001, bogleheads.org. has recorded steady growth in both membership participation and expansion of its sites. Key developments in its history are listed below.
2000 – 2010
- 2001 – On July 27, 2001, Alex Frakt and Larry Auton launch an index and search site designed to more efficiently track the Morningstar Diehards forum. The site, diehards.org., is independent and has no official ties with Morningstar.
- 2007 – The lax moderation and technical obsolescence pervading Morningstar’s forums inspires the start-up of a new phpBB forum on February 19, 2007. A week after its founding, Alex and Larry agree to host and operate the new forum within diehards.org.
- 2008 – At the request of a small group of enterprising forum members, Alex and Larry agree to host a new wiki at diehards.org. The Bogleheads® wiki debuts on May 13, 2008.
- 2008 – On May 31, 2008 Alex and Larry switch default domain names from diehards.org to the more natural bogleheads.org.
2011 – 2020
- 2011 – The John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy trademarks Bogleheads®. The registration date is October 11, 2011.
- 2017 – On February 11, 2017, Larry Auton moves the bogleheads.org. server to Switch.com.
- 2019 – On January 29, 2019, bogleheads.org. adds three non-US forums to the Bogleheads® forum, and welcomes Bogleheads® España as our sister forum in Spain.
- 2019 – On February 4, 2019, bogleheads.org. transferred the domain of the Financial Page blog to its domain, thus making it a part of the bogleheads. org. suite of sites.
2021 –
- 2021 – On January 1, 2021 the Forum passes 100,000 registered members.
- 2021– On February 9, 2021, Larry Auton moves the bogleheads.org server to Hostwinds.
- 2021– August 9, 2021, The John C. Bogle Center establishes the Bogleheads Youtube channel, which provides access to Bogleheads conference videos, Bogleheads on Investing podcast audios, and Bogleheads Local Chapter videos. See the forum topic, Bogleheads now on YouTube for the announcement of the site.
What’s New
Our wiki’s new pages, our most recent local chapter formations: the latest videos from our local chapters; along with the Bogle Center sponsored Speaker Series videos, Bogleheads on Investing Podcast audios and Bogleheads® Live audios.