Passive Investment Strategies Make $ense.

Life is full of uncertainty and so is the stock market. You can reduce market risk and save on costs by indexing.

“It is the crystal-clear record of the past, an understanding of the present, and the realization that even the future returns of today’s successful managers are unpredictable that together seem to make the search for the Holy Grail of market-beating returns a fruitless quest. It is the recognition of this reality that has carried indexing to its remarkable eminence and growth.” - John C. Bogle, founder of the first index mutual fund and the Vanguard Group.

The answer may surprise you.

What type of person would choose an indexing strategy to grow their investment dollars?  Perhaps a shrewd one.

Proponents of “indexing” have come to understand that the cost savings of following the stock market—rather than paying more to try and beat it—is both a logical and profitable choice.

In 1975 the index mutual fund was born: a low-cost and easy way for the average investor to own a portfolio of 500 stocks with a single share purchase. In 1993 the first index ETF, or Exchange Traded Fund, came on the scene, based on the S&P 500.

Indexing is here to stay. Assets in registered ETFs and index mutual funds had reached more than $1.4 trillion by the end of 2007 and of all U.S. households that owned mutual funds, 31 percent owned at least one index fund.¹

Understanding the appeal.

Passive investment strategies like indexing do have a lot of appeal. After all, you're letting top analysts from global firms like Standard & Poors, Dow Jones, and the FTSE Group choose your stocks.

But what exactly is indexing—and it right for you? This web site should help you to answer those questions.

¹ Section 3 of the Investment Company Fact Book, 48th Edition, 2008.

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