Bogleheads Conference 2023
Let’s get one thing out of he way: financial advisors attend too many conferences, then they post about it on social media.
No one cares. Your clients don’t care. They don’t know who Michael Kitces is, and they’re not going to think your advice is any better because you took a selfie with him. (No offense, Michael, I was looking for the selfie at XYPN Live.)
So, now that that’s out of the way, let me get on to writing a blog post about the conference I just attended…
Bogleheads investing experts panel: William Bernstein, Rick Ferri, Paul Merriman, Dana Anspach, Jonathan Clements, Jim Dahle (Karen Damato Moderates)
For those readers who are unfamiliar with the Bogleheads, they’re a group of like minded individuals (disciples?) who took Jack Bogle’s idea of low cost index investing to heart. The group founded The John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy, “to help build a world of well-informed, capable, and empowered investors.”
I consider myself a Boglehead, which should surprise no one if you’re reading this piece.
Personally, I attend very few industry conferences. Earlier in my career, as a banker & money manager, I did go to conferences, but only to meet with clients. In fact, of the dozens of conferences I may have attended, I don’t think I sat through a single session.
Also, full disclosure, I attended a conference earlier in the year to help me with my practice management. Just as I mentioned above, there’s about zero reason for me to publicize the fact that I learned a bunch of nitty gritty about running an efficient financial advisory business.
The Bogleheads conference, on the other hand, is one of kind.
Frankly, I can’t imagine a place where a normal person can be exposed to so many experts, and I’m talking genuine experts, not just the kind of people who put, “expert,” in their LinkedIn profile. The investment expert panel pictured above can’t be beat by any, “big bank,” sponsored conference, and the way they so generously share their knowledge is second to none. In fact, none of the panelists or speakers, including Clark Howard, (my celebrity selfie below), received any compensation for their appearances.
All that’s nice for me, but you may still be asking, “why is this guy writing about a conference? How does this affect me, or the advice I might receive?”
The world is more connected than ever before, and the internet allows us to tap into a level of knowledge that’s still unimaginable, but I think we all know that personal relationships matter, and you can learn more in conversation with someone than you will typing questions into the Google box. Exposure is another. Y’all know that I recommend Vanguard funds, specifically their Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF. I can read all I want, but I’m a solo practitioner, so it’s not like I have a direct line to the C-suite (spoiler alert, JP Morgan advisors don’t have Jamie Dimon’s number on speed dial either). But I got to hear Rick Ferri interview Gerard O’Reilly, who manages the Total Stock Market Fund, AND we could ask him questions. I liked Vanguard funds before, but things I learned that I believe help you, as my clients, include:
The most liquid time of the day to trade: the last 45 minutes of the day.
Vanguard’s Total Stock Market Index Fund turnover is around 10% a year, vs 70-80% for actively managed funds, which helps reduce costs.
Vanguard actively works to return money to clients. For example, VTI’s annual fee is 0.03%, or 3 basis points, but Vanguard’s value add, in terms of trade timing strategy, participation in IPOs, and securities lending added back an estimated 3.5 basis points in return to the fund!
Rick Ferri & Gerard O’Reilly
Aside from investment related knowledge, we were all exposed to concepts surrounding tax planning, college savings, behavioral investment, the importance of certain types of insurance, and even heard about life strategies from my friend Dr. Jordan Grumet. All of this is important, but perhaps most of all, the ability to interact with folks who have, “done it before,” and made many of the mistakes you can make, including the ones you may not have thought about, in terms of retirement according to the Bogleheads’, “principles,” is invaluable.
It just makes you think.
Perhaps above all, the Bogleheads are a community that cares about helping other folks. If you’d like to learn more about them, please visit Boglecenter.net, or to make a donation, click HERE.
