Steve Jobs and Jack Bogle - Two of a Kind
I just returned from an event where I was able to rub elbows with some of the best investing minds on the planet. It was the 10th annual Bogleheads conference, located a couple of miles outside of the Vanguard headquarters near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The keynote speaker was, as might be expected, the founder of the Vanguard Group and Boglehead namesake, Jack Bogle. In his speech, Bogle drew some similarities between his life and that of Apple founder Steve Jobs, which he elaborated upon later when I met with him after his remarks. Following our meeting, I gave it some thought and found even more.
Now to put this in context, Jack made sure I understood what he considered to be the big difference between himself and Steve Jobs. Bogle observed that Jobs' brilliance was in his ability to take extreme complexity and from it create simplicity, giving us such products as the iPod, iPad, and the iPhone. Bogle stated that what he did was to take simple products and keep them simple, creating the index fund and no load fund. It was surprising to hear Bogle dismissively tell me "any moron could have done it." I beg to differ. I think it takes a certain brilliance to keep a simple idea simple, especially when one can profit from unnecessary complexity.
Bogle noted the following similarities.
- Veteran capitalist Arthur Rock stated about Jobs, "He got ideas in his head and the hell with what anybody else wanted to do." Bogle also was criticized for his creation of an index fund for the individual investor, and the hell with all those who called it Bogle's Folly and un-American.
- Customers didn't tell Jobs they wanted the iPhone nor did they tell Bogle they wanted an index fund. They had the insight to understand what customers wanted before the customers even knew themselves.
- Both Jobs and Bogle got fired early in their careers. Jobs was fired by Apple only to later return, while Bogle was fired by Wellington Management Company, which today is still Vanguard's largest sub-advisor. Both said it was the best thing that ever happened to them.
- Simplify, Simplify, Simplify. Both understood the value of simplicity. My iPhone is so simple that I can actually use most features. My index funds are just as elegantly simple.
On a more personal note, there is one more similarity I would like to add to the list - both Jobs and Bogle changed my life. Jobs made my life better by giving me the capability to get any information I want from anywhere at anytime. I'm now hooked and could never go back. Jack Bogle, however, has had a far greater impact. With decades of dullness under my belt, earning market returns through low cost index funds, Jack Bogle gave me the financial freedom to do whatever I want for the rest of my life.
I now do what I love which, in a final similarity, is advice that both Jobs and Bogle have been known to say.
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