The Little Book of Common Sense Investing

Key takeaways

• Common Sense Investing's Simple Premise
• The Tyranny of Compounding Costs
• Why Beating the Market Consistently Is So Rare
• Simplicity as a Virtue, Not a Compromise
• Addressing Common Objections
• Building Your Own Index-Based Portfolio

Final takeaway

Before choosing an actively managed investment, honestly compare its long-term track record and fees against a comparable low-cost index fund — Bogle's consistent, extensively evidenced argument throughout the book is that this straightforward comparison, applied rigorously and consistently over genuinely long investment horizons, reveals index investing's substantial, durable advantage for the overwhelming majority of individual investors.