The Bogleheads' Guide to the Three-Fund Portfolio
How a Simple Portfolio of Three Total Market Index Funds Outperforms Most Investors with Less Risk
1. Edition April 2025
112 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
ISBN:
978-1-394-33095-9
John Wiley & Sons
Twenty benefits from the three-fund total market index portfolio.
The Bogleheads' Guide to The Three-Fund Portfolio describes the most popular portfolio on the Bogleheads forum. This all-indexed portfolio contains over 15,000 worldwide securities, in just three easily-managed funds, that has outperformed the vast majority of both professional and amateur investors.
If you are a new investor, or an experienced investor who wants to simplify and improve your portfolio, The Bogleheads' Guide to The Three-Fund Portfolio is a short, easy-to-read guide to show you how.
Foreword by John C. Bogle xi
Preface: the History of the Bogleheads' Three-fund Portfolio xvii
Acknowledgments xxv
Chapter 1 The Investment Industry 1
Chapter 2 John C. Bogle--The Investor's Best Friend 5
Chapter 3 John Bogle Introduces Three Total Market
Index Funds 9
Chapter 4 Twenty Benefits of Total Market Index Funds (In No Particular Order) 13
Benefit 1: No Advisor Risk 14
Benefit 2: No Asset Bloat 17
Benefit 3: No Index Front Running 19
Benefit 4: No Fund Manager Risk 20
Benefit 5: No Individual Stock Risk 22
Benefit 6: No Overlap 24
Benefit 8: No Style Drift 26
Benefit 9: Low Tracking Error 27
Benefit 10: Above-Average Return 28
Benefit 11: Simplified Contributions and Withdrawals 32
Benefit 12: The Benefit of Consistency 33
Benefit 13: Low Turnover 34
Benefit 14: Low Costs 35
Benefit 15: Maximum Diversification (lower risk) 38
Benefit 16: Portfolio Efficiency (best risk/return ratio) 39
Benefit 17: Low Maintenance 40
Benefit 18: Easy to Rebalance 41
Benefit 19: Tax Efficiency 42
Benefit 20: Simplicity (for investors, caregivers, and heirs) 44
Chapter 5 Getting Started 49
Chapter 6 Stay the Course 59
Appendix I: What Experts S Ay 63
Appendix II: Meet the Bogleheads 69
Glossary of Financial Terms 75
Index 79
Preface: the History of the Bogleheads' Three-fund Portfolio xvii
Acknowledgments xxv
Chapter 1 The Investment Industry 1
Chapter 2 John C. Bogle--The Investor's Best Friend 5
Chapter 3 John Bogle Introduces Three Total Market
Index Funds 9
Chapter 4 Twenty Benefits of Total Market Index Funds (In No Particular Order) 13
Benefit 1: No Advisor Risk 14
Benefit 2: No Asset Bloat 17
Benefit 3: No Index Front Running 19
Benefit 4: No Fund Manager Risk 20
Benefit 5: No Individual Stock Risk 22
Benefit 6: No Overlap 24
Benefit 8: No Style Drift 26
Benefit 9: Low Tracking Error 27
Benefit 10: Above-Average Return 28
Benefit 11: Simplified Contributions and Withdrawals 32
Benefit 12: The Benefit of Consistency 33
Benefit 13: Low Turnover 34
Benefit 14: Low Costs 35
Benefit 15: Maximum Diversification (lower risk) 38
Benefit 16: Portfolio Efficiency (best risk/return ratio) 39
Benefit 17: Low Maintenance 40
Benefit 18: Easy to Rebalance 41
Benefit 19: Tax Efficiency 42
Benefit 20: Simplicity (for investors, caregivers, and heirs) 44
Chapter 5 Getting Started 49
Chapter 6 Stay the Course 59
Appendix I: What Experts S Ay 63
Appendix II: Meet the Bogleheads 69
Glossary of Financial Terms 75
Index 79
TAYLOR LARIMORE is a sage on the Boglehead forums for everyone who wants to discover "the Boglehead way." Crowned the "King of the Bogleheads" by Jack Bogle, he has spent more than seven decades in finance and investing, in such positions as revenue officer for the IRS, chief of the Financial Division for the Small Business Administration in South Florida, and a director of the Dade County Housing Finance Authority. He is co-author of The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing and The Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planning.
