Bogle

For more than 50 years, mutual fund executives have tried to ignore John C. Bogle, founder of the innovative Vanguard Group of mutual funds. Bogle earned the scorn of competitors for saying that the industry is tarnished by high fees, incestuous corporate governance and lack of accountability to shareholders. Now, everyone is listening. Mutual fund managers have been struggling to contain a scandal sparked in September, when New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer began a series of revelations of widespread market timing, late trading and other abuses that have cost everyday investors billions of dollars.

IF YOU want a short answer from Jack Bogle, ask him what he's satisfied with in the fund industry. Ask the Vanguard founder what bugs him about his former business, and you're in for an earful. When we sat down this month for what has become an annual breakfast in Lake Placid, N.Y., Bogle spent about six seconds on the stuff he likes, and then launched into the litany of problems and challenges facing the fund business. "This industry is a real enigma to me," said Bogle, whose passion for low-cost index investing has inspired loyal followers who call him "Saint Jack" and call themselves "Bogleheads."

Levi Henry Jr. founded The Westside Gazette in Fort Lauderdale in 1971 to tell the story of South Florida's black community, passing the business down to his son, Bobby Sr., when he retired. The Henrys say their newspaper and others in the black press have become pillars of the African-American community, right behind the family and the church. But they fear that pillar could collapse in the wake of a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission to relax media ownership restrictions.

WHEN IT comes to asset allocation, one size doesn't fit all. Asset allocation is how investors divide their portfolio among stocks, bonds and cash. Studies show that investors' returns over the long haul are determined more by asset allocation than by their choice of, say, a hot stock or mutual fund. Generally, the younger investors are, the more they should hold in stocks, which tend to provide better returns over many years. But the right asset allocation also depends on investors' goals, when they'll need the money and their stomach for risk.

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - The only proof that Jack Bogle was on vacation here were the surroundings and the bicycle he rode to breakfast. The founder of the Vanguard Group comes to the Adirondacks every summer to relax, but work is never far from his mind. There's another book to write and several to read, speeches to finish and years' worth of research ideas to finally attack. So when our friendly chat turned to business, I asked if he'd let me get him on tape. No matter how many times you have heard Bogle's message, there's never a bad excuse for another serving.

ARE YOU LOADED with high-technology stocks?"Be careful of high-techs," warns Personal Finance. "If inflation picks up Wall Street's soft spot will be overvalued Internet stocks. Many tech stocks will watch their inflated valuations collapse."And guess what? We're selling one of our biggest winners -- Microsoft. It has three strikes against it -- growing competition, a government lawsuit and its lofty valuation."WALL STREET WATCH: "I'm raising cash. Bargains were abundant last summer, but now they're scarce.

1997 Bogle Petite Sirah ($12). This chunky, well-rounded, concentrated California red wine delivers a ton of flavor at a reasonable price. While you wouldn't call it delicate, it avoids the rough edges shown by many petite sirahs. It's loaded with flavors of blackberry, chocolate, coffee and herbs. Serve it with unsubtle foods such as a well-loaded pizza or even chili.Pub Date: 02/17/99

INSTEAD OF BUYING them and holding on, today's investors seem to be trading mutual funds.That's not the way it used to be. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, only 9 percent of equity fund shares were sold or exchanged each year, says John Bogle, founder and chair of the Vanguard Group in Valley Forge, Pa.The average investor held a fund for around 11 years. Now, investors want action. The annual turnover rate is running at 36 percent. Holding periods have tumbled to just over 2 1/2 years.What were devised as long-term investments are being flipped around like a pack of cards, Bogle says.

The commander of a guided missile cruiser will become the Naval Academy's second in command next month in a move that keeps the school in the hands of academy-trained Navy officers for at least another year.Capt. Gary Roughead, 45, was endorsed as commandant of midshipmen by Adm. Charles R. Larson, the academy's superintendent, who will retire next year and has told aides that he intends to hand-pick the school's next leaders. Roughead was Larson's executive assistant when the admiral was chief of the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii from 1991 to 1994.

The commander of a guided missile cruiser will become the U.S. Naval Academy's second-in-command next month in a move that keeps the school in the hands of academy-trained Navy officers for at least another year.Capt. Gary Roughead, 45, was endorsed as commandant of midshipmen by Adm. Charles R. Larson, the academy's superintendent, who will retire next year and has told aides he intends to hand-pick the school's next leaders. Roughead served as Larson's executive assistant when the admiral was chief of the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii from 1991 to 1994.