Vanguard's John Bogle beats the low-fee drum, takes a fresh swipe at active management
On Thursday's <i>Breakfast with Benjamin</i> menu: John Bogle says retirement plans will suffer under active management fees. Plus: Cheap oil's fallout hits gold prices, media hype overstates the Fed's taper tap-out, and more.
- Vanguard's Bogle says unless you make fees a top priority, your retirement plan will suffer, and the financial “industry doesn't give a damn.” Highlights from the Bogleheads' annual meeting
- Cheap oil adds up to more bad news for gold investors. The ratio between the two commodities is at a 17-month high, signaling that gold is now relatively expensive. Inflation concerns fade into the background
- Overstating the Fed's bond-buying wind-down has become a financial media bandwagon that I refuse to ride. Let's not overlook that whopping $4.5 trillion portfolio that the Fed will now be managing from now till who-knows-when. It's a gross overstatement to call this a hawkish move
- As the Fed takes another baby step toward less quantitative easing, it has conveniently overlooked providing any kind of assessment of whether the big, expensive experiment did any good for the economy. The lack of conviction is understandable and, sadly, warranted
- Using fancy charts to oversimplify the Fed's next move. But, if we're being honest, we have to admit, we've never been here before. So, nobody really knows what the heck will happen next. More ways to abuse the tired 'punch bowl' analogy
