"I don't know what to do about Scion Capital, started by Michael Burry M.D. after leaving his third year of residency in neurology. He started it mostly with his own money, $1.4 million, and he's looking for more. His technique to manage risk is to buy on the cheap and, if he takes a short position -- I hope you're all sitting down for this -- it is because he believes the stock will decline." - John Bogle, Fortune magazine, 2001
This is the same Scion Capital that trounced the market from inception to closure, and made a killing off the subprime debacle, vastly outperforming the S&P and enjoying great absolute returns with lower volatility and risk than the market.
By contrast, Bogle's vanguard S&P index fund has performed atrociously over the last decade. It made the incredibly dumb decision to be fully long stocks at the peak of the most overvalued stock market bubble in US history, and achieved the dubious distinction of being 100% long the index at the peaks of not one, but TWO bear markets in 10 years, losing 45% and 55% respectively. For this vast wealth destruction, Bogle had the temerity to actually charge his customers money, as if losing them a fortune was worthy of financial compensation.
I have yet to see any public apology from Mr Bogle either to his customers, who he has clearly served badly, or to Mr Burry, who has proven himself to be a far better investor than John Bogle could ever dream of being.
In short, John Bogle is an asshole. He has ripped off the public with a terrible product that owns 100% stocks no matter how ludicrously overvalued they might be, and he gratuitously insults far superior investors and more honourable men than himself, failing to then publish any kind of retraction or apology when his disgraceful conduct is exposed by reality as being complete and utter bullshit.
This is the same Scion Capital that trounced the market from inception to closure, and made a killing off the subprime debacle, vastly outperforming the S&P and enjoying great absolute returns with lower volatility and risk than the market.
By contrast, Bogle's vanguard S&P index fund has performed atrociously over the last decade. It made the incredibly dumb decision to be fully long stocks at the peak of the most overvalued stock market bubble in US history, and achieved the dubious distinction of being 100% long the index at the peaks of not one, but TWO bear markets in 10 years, losing 45% and 55% respectively. For this vast wealth destruction, Bogle had the temerity to actually charge his customers money, as if losing them a fortune was worthy of financial compensation.
I have yet to see any public apology from Mr Bogle either to his customers, who he has clearly served badly, or to Mr Burry, who has proven himself to be a far better investor than John Bogle could ever dream of being.
In short, John Bogle is an asshole. He has ripped off the public with a terrible product that owns 100% stocks no matter how ludicrously overvalued they might be, and he gratuitously insults far superior investors and more honourable men than himself, failing to then publish any kind of retraction or apology when his disgraceful conduct is exposed by reality as being complete and utter bullshit.
