MIT Consumer Finance Initiative and Vanguard Announce Research Collaboration

December 2025

MIT’s Consumer Finance Initiative (CFI) is pleased to share a new partnership with retirement planning industry leader Vanguard, aimed at producing cutting-edge research to advance consumer financial literacy and the broader field of financial economics. This collaboration leverages Vanguard’s deep institutional knowledge, robust data assets, and leadership in investment strategy research, alongside the CFI’s expertise in fundamental financial research, behavioral finance, and advanced modeling techniques. Together, Vanguard and the CFI will create impactful research and foster innovation in retirement planning, portfolio design, and overall consumer financial wellbeing.

The partnership aims to foster rigorous, joint research that integrates economic theory with practical application that improves the financial wellbeing of Vanguard investors.

Jonathan Parker, MIT Sloan Professor of Finance and co-director of the CFI, shares “We’re excited by the possibilities of this collaboration with Vanguard, not only for the potential benefit to consumers looking to take control of their retirement planning and financial wellbeing, but also the opportunity it creates for our students and researchers to engage with real-world financial challenges.”

About the MIT Sloan Consumer Finance Initiative

The purpose of the CFI is to equip individuals, financial institutions and policy makers with better models and tools to navigate the changing world of consumer finance. New technologies – from artificial intelligence and big data to Web3 and mobile devices – are disrupting consumer financial markets and causing significant changes in the way people save, borrow, buy insurance, or make payments. Learn more at mitsloan.mit.edu/cfi

About Vanguard

Founded in 1975, Vanguard is one of the world's leading investment management companies. The firm offers investments, advice, and retirement services to tens of millions of individual investors around the globe - directly, through workplace plans, and through financial intermediaries. Vanguard operates under a unique, investor-owned structure where Vanguard fund shareholders own the funds, which in turn own Vanguard. As such, Vanguard adheres to a simple purpose: To take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success. For more information, visit vanguard.com