And, strangely, this one of the few things in life that the third, the latter, the buy with our eyes closed has actually done better than everybody else.

The mutual fund industry provided the money for Intel and Motorola and Hewlett-Packard to crush the competitors.

After a lifetime of picking stocks, I have to admit that Bogle's arguments in favor of the index fund have me thinking of joining him rather than trying to beat him. Bogle's wisdom and common sense are indispensable... for anyone trying to figure out how to invest in this crazy stock market.

The corporate killer downsizing is directly responsive to what the mutual funds have wanted.

I don't think that's changed at all. I think there are a thousand stocks out there that could make you rich, totally independent of what you do for a living.

I mean it's the most objective industry in the world. If your numbers stink, you're out. If your numbers are good, you get more money. It's the most Darwinian, it's beautiful, it's brutal, it works.

It's the company itself, but most of these mutual fund companies, the guy who runs the company is just a fact totem and the guy who runs the money is the power. But we really don't know who they are.