“The historical data supports one conclusion with unusual force: To invest with success, you must be a long-term investor.”
So wrote Jack Bogle in his 2010 book, Common Sense on Mutual Funds.
Throughout his career, the importance of a long-term perspective was a theme that Bogle returned to again and again.
In the third video in our series of short videos on all-weather investing, inspired by the great man himself, we explain why time really is the investor’s best friend.
Video transcript:
A message the late Jack Bogle conveyed again and again is that time is your friend.
To be a successful investor, he said, you need to have a very long-term perspective.
Most westerners won’t retire before the age of 65. Average life expectancy is around 80 for men, 82 for women. And more and more people are living beyond 100.
New investors could be investing for 70 years or more.
The earlier you start, and the longer you invest for, the more you’ll enjoy what Bogle called the miracle of compounding returns.
And remember, a long-term focus is the one edge that ordinary investors have over the professionals.
Their focus is on the short term. They’re incentivised to deliver returns over short periods.
But frequent trading and market timing often lead to worse performance.
The rest of us can afford to play the long game.. and that usually means less stress and higher returns.
If you missed the first two videos in the series, you can watch them here:
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You can find more videos on The Evidence-Based Investor right here.
Robin is a journalist and campaigner for positive change in global investing. He runs Regis Media, a niche provider of content marketing for financial advice firms with an evidence-based investment philosophy. He also works as a consultant to other disruptive firms in the investing sector.
