Berkshire Meeting: Buffett Praises Vanguard Founder Jack Bogle

A lot of people around the world have called Warren Buffett their hero for his ability to pick stocks and companies.

But Mr. Buffett's hero might be someone who's entire business model is based on a belief that stock-picking is a complete waste of time and money: Jack Bogle.

"Jack Bogle has probably done more for the American investor than any man in the country," said Mr. Buffett.

Mr. Bogle is the founder of Vanguard Group--the Malvern, Pa. index fund giant. Mr. Buffett said that when Mr. Bogle first started his indexing crusade, no one on Wall Street wanted to help. Index funds cut out Wall Street's money machine by bringing down fees, and Mr. Bogle was the subject of attacks.

But today, index funds have delivered more for shareholders than nearly any other financial product. The Wall Street Journal even delivered a series last year on the rise of these passive investment products.

"The index fund wouldn't have happened without him," said Mr. Buffett, who estimates that at a minimum index funds will save investors hundreds of billions over time.

Mr. Bogle, who turns 88 on Monday, is in attendance at the annual meeting on Saturday. In addition to a nice ovation, Mr. Bogle also got some good news during the meeting as Mr. Buffett jokes that at 88, he'll be eligible for an executive position at Berkshire Hathaway in two years.

Click here to see the full live coverage of Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting:

http://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/berkshire-hathaway-2017-annual-meeting-analysis

Write to Geoffrey Rogow at geoffrey.rogow@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 06, 2017 11:01 ET (15:01 GMT)