John Bogle: His investing lessons inspired many

In simple terms, he made investing cheaper. And that struck a chord among investors. Bogle was instrumental in breaking the industry tradition by offering funds directly to investors in 1977, instead of marketing them through the broker chain, bringing down the cost in the US MF industry by 30-40 per cent.

Bogle launched First Index Investment Trust in 1976, but the initial response was tepid. But over the years, the index fund, now known as Vanguard 500 Index Fund, transformed into a $400 billion fund.

Bogle argued for an approach to investing defined by simplicity and common sense.

Below are his eight basic rules for investors.

1. Select low-cost funds
2. Consider carefully the added costs of advice
3. Do not overrate past fund performance
4. Use past performance to determine consistency and risk
5. Beware of stars (as in, star mutual fund managers)
6. Beware of asset size
7. Don't own too many funds
8. Buy your fund portfolio – and hold it

(Source . Review of Common Sense on Mutual Funds)

“One should not let the miracle of long-term compounding of returns be overwhelmed by the tyranny of long-term compounding of costs,” Bogle once said.

Billionaire Warren Buffett remains one of his big admirers. As a mark of tribute, Buffett said: "Jack did more for American investors as a whole than any individual I've known."

Bogle began his career in 1951 after graduating from Princeton University. His senior thesis on mutual funds attracted Wellington Fund founder Walter L Morgan, the introducer of the oldest balanced fund in US.

Soon, Bogle became the driving force behind Wellington’s growth into a mutual fund family. He persuaded Morgan to start an equity fund in the late 1950s. Later in May 1975, he founded Vanguard Group of Investment Companies.

In December 1999, he stepped down from the Vanguard board of directors and created the Bogle Financial Markets Resource Center, a Vanguard-supported venture.