On Monday, the new CEO at Vanguard mentioned that the asset management giant might utilize artificial intelligence to enhance its customer service experience.
Vanguard has faced criticism in recent years over its customer service, despite having established a reputation as an affordable and investor-friendly brokerage business. Online forums frequently feature complaints about the difficulty of calling a Vanguard agent.
On Monday, CEO Salim Ramji told CNBC’s Bob Pisani that improving the customer experience is “very high on my list of priorities” and that artificial intelligence appears to be a viable support system.
After formally taking over the leadership position on July 8, Ramji stated, “A lot of the improvements that we’ve seen recently in some of the client experiences have been due to applications of machine learning or instances of AI.”
Scenario planning and digital onboarding were highlighted by the CEO as potential applications of AI.
He said, “We have a series of live experiments and pilots currently in progress.”
Ramji joins Vanguard from competitor BlackRock, making him the first external CEO for the approximately $9 trillion asset manager. Based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Vanguard has been instrumental in reducing investment costs since its inception in the 1970s. As a privately owned company, Vanguard typically introduces new products and services more slowly compared to its publicly traded counterparts.
The new CEO has not suggested any plans for a significant cultural overhaul at Vanguard, which was established by index fund pioneer Jack Bogle. For instance, Ramji has stated that he does not intend to introduce a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, despite its success at BlackRock.
“I wish to uphold the company’s mission and sense of purpose,” Ramji declared.
