I am not the common investor and manage my own investments. Bogle’s advice has always been self-serving. Informed investors, such as myself, can do far better than Vanguard.
“Informed” is the KEY word
There is a mountain of statistical evidence that affirms the vast majority of investors are better off using a handful of dirt cheap index funds with the dividends set to reinvest. Are there exceptions? Yes. But they are statistical anomalies. Some people also win the lottery.
“Informed investors, such as myself, can do far better than Vanguard.”
The vast majority of investors are “uninformed.” Bogle gave them a superior alternative to the unscrupulous investment managers who delivered below-average performance for high fees.
The majority of self-proclaimed “informed” investors under-perform broad market indexes. Bogle game them a superior option, even though many of them chose not to avail themselves of it. Congratulations on beating the Vanguard indexes; you are among the relatively few (less than 20%) who have been able to do so, even among so-called “professional” investment advisors.