Vanguard CEO Brands Prediction Markets A Form of ‘Financial Exploitation’

• Vanguard CEO latest asset manager leader to say clear distinctions must be made between investing and gambling
• Ramji claims prediction markets focus on engagement, not outcomes
• He believes prediction markets can harm investors and the overall system

To the surprise of no one following the industry, Vanguard remains absent from prediction markets—and that’s unlikely to change.

In fact, CEO Salim Ramji joins a growing list of his colleagues highlighting the importance of drawing clear lines between investing and wagering, while implying some of the language used by prediction market operators to position themselves as financial services firms is a gambit to skirt state gaming regulations.

You have too many platforms out there that are focused on engagement, and not focused on outcomes,” said the Vanguard boss in remarks made at the Economic Club of New York last Thursday. “You have too many people in the industry out there that are representing speculation as a form of empowerment. Really, we see this as a form of financial exploitation.”

Ramji’s remarks come as more and more critics and market observers assert the expansion of sports betting and yes/no exchanges is compelling more market participants, particularly young men, to incur significant risk in search of quick riches while ditching sound investing principles.

Ramji Says Lines Are Getting Blurrier

Like rival Charles Schwab, Vanguard wants to be a force for good in the investing vs. gambling debate, says Ramji, but the CEO acknowledges the lines are getting “blurrier.”

“The tension you have in the system right now is that you have a lot of people who have an incentive, because that’s their business model, to try and tell people the opposite,” he said at the Economic Club event. “I think it can certainly do harm for the investors — but also harm to faith in the system.”

That could position the Pennsylvania-based index fund giant to potentially steer some younger market participants away from prediction markets because some are using investing platforms that also offer event contracts.

Ramji Says the ‘Why’ Matters

Ramji didn’t overtly call for a ban on the prediction markets industry, but he noted it’s important to understand why some market participants head to yes/no exchanges. Often, there are flaws in those investors’ reasoning.

“On some level, if someone wants to do that with their fun money as entertainment, OK. The problem is when you ask why someone is doing that,” he told the audience at the Economic Club. “They’re doing it because they think this is a fast path to financial security.”

There’s a very Vanguard message there: in investing, it’s better to hit singles and doubles than frequently strike out by attempting to hit home runs.

With approximately $12 trillion in assets under management, Vanguard is the world’s second-largest money manager.