Jack Bogle is largely responsible for my stockmarket philosophy...

Jack Bogle is largely responsible for my stockmarket philosophy and investment style. I highly recommend any investor read Bogle's Little Book of Common Sense Investing. I'd be amazed if it doesn't leave you absolutely convinced that index funds are the way to go.

That said, the bulk of my holdings are spread across index funds (STW and Vanguard's Australian Shares Index Fund) as well as low-cost, well diversified LICs. These LICs effectively track the index anyway, but also offer SPPs and rights issues from time to time, making them excellent for investors in the accumulating phase.