The Client. The Client. The Client.

That’s not what you normally get when Wall Streeters convene to congratulate themselves on their great investing acumen. It’s also not the first topic of conversation, as a rule, among advisors. Too often, it’s about how big your book is or how much money you have under management. (Interestingly, I can’t recall hearing that bit of boasting from women advisors, but that’s a discussion for another time).

John Bogle has never lost track of what’s important in this business. He’s never lost his focus in his books, his speeches, his Congressional testimony and his media appearances that all of us in the financial services industry must put the client first. You could argue with Bogle about the wisdom of the indexed mutual fund approach to investing, though the growing popularity of ETFs among advisors seems to validate that approach. Even the aforementioned Mr. Swenson of Yale told the audience that he thinks there are only two paths to successful investing: the index approach or to hire all the really smart people you can to embrace the world of alternatives.

That’s why putting your client first is so important. That’s why Bogle is on record as supporting a fiduciary standard for all advice givers. That, too, is why he calls for a “fiduciary society” in this country that allows for market capitalism to flourish while tempering capitalism’s essential selfishness. The 2008-2009 financial meltdown was, Bogle has said, a “crisis of ethics proportions.” His legacy is to embrace your higher calling, to be a moral absolutist, not a relativist. Be a fiduciary.