Individual Stockholder R.I.P

A WSJ artilce written by John Bogle, founder of the Vangaurd Group of Funds. It shows that the % of american households with direct ownership of stocks has declined dramatically over the last 5 decades. Instead, investors are increasingly turning their money over to large money managers with the 100 largest now controlling 58% of all stocks. As a result, Bogle argues that the investment industry is rife with conflicts of interest that limit corporate governance efforts and investor returns have suffered from the high turnover and fees of the average equity mutual fund.

http://johncbogle.com/wordpress/2006/03/15/the-amazing-disappearance-of-the-individual-stockholder-the-wall-street-journal-october-32005/