The Future of Trading Isn’t Just AI. It’s Better Service.
Avant Garde Trading’s David Gompert joins The Sunny Ray Show to discuss how artificial intelligence, experienced brokers, and a renewed commitment to customer service are reshaping the online brokerage industry.
Avant Garde Trading’s David Gompert joins The Sunny Ray Show to discuss how artificial intelligence, experienced brokers, and a renewed commitment to customer service are reshaping the online brokerage industry.
The online brokerage industry has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade. Trading commissions have largely disappeared, sophisticated investment tools are available to everyday investors, and mobile platforms have made participating in financial markets easier than ever.
But according to David Gompert, CEO of Avant Garde Trading Securities, something important has been lost along the way: customer service.
In a recent appearance on The Sunny Ray Show, Gompert joined host Sunny Ray to discuss why Avant Garde is taking a different approach to financial technology. Rather than focusing exclusively on automating trades or developing AI-powered investment predictions, the company is using artificial intelligence to address one of the industry’s most persistent shortcomings: helping customers when they need it.
Bringing Service Back to Financial Services
As online brokerages have competed to lower costs and streamline operations, many have reduced the level of personalized support available to individual investors.
Gompert believes that represents an opportunity.
“The word financial services seems like the word financial is capitalized, but service seems to be lowercase, and we’re trying to capitalize it again,” he explained.
At Avant Garde Trading, that philosophy informs everything from the company’s experienced brokerage team to its investment in artificial intelligence.
For active investors, particularly those trading options, access to knowledgeable support can make a meaningful difference. Options strategies can be complex, and understanding execution, market mechanics, and account management often requires more than a help article or automated response.
Avant Garde’s approach is to combine the efficiency of a modern digital brokerage with the accessibility and expertise traditionally associated with full-service firms.
Meet Alex: An AI Assistant Built for Brokerage Service
One of the most interesting developments Gompert discussed was Alex, Avant Garde’s AI-powered customer service assistant.
Available around the clock, Alex is designed to help customers navigate brokerage-related questions and access information outside traditional business hours.
Unlike general-purpose AI assistants, Alex has been developed using extensive brokerage-specific knowledge, including insights drawn from thousands of hours of recorded customer interactions.
The result is an assistant designed to understand Avant Garde’s services, processes, and the questions its customers regularly ask.
Alex is also multilingual, reflecting the company’s interest in making financial services more accessible to a broader audience.
Importantly, Avant Garde believes transparency matters. When customers interact with Alex, the assistant identifies itself as AI rather than pretending to be a human representative.
The goal isn’t to eliminate human relationships. It’s to extend the availability of knowledgeable customer support.
As Gompert explained, the objective is simple: customers should be able to call at any time and receive a knowledgeable, competent, and accurate response.
Automation Should Empower Investors, Not Replace Human Judgment
Artificial intelligence is transforming financial services, but Gompert offered a perspective that challenges some of the industry’s more aggressive predictions about autonomous trading.
While he believes AI will make brokerage operations and portfolio management significantly more efficient, he remains skeptical of a future in which algorithms independently manage investment portfolios without meaningful human oversight.
His concern centers on the importance of judgment, particularly during periods of market volatility.
Gompert pointed to historical episodes of market disruption involving algorithmic trading as reminders that automated systems can amplify unexpected market movements.
For Avant Garde, the answer is a hybrid approach.
The company has developed an automated trading service that allows eligible customers to participate in strategies associated with investment newsletters. Customers establish trading instructions, and Avant Garde handles execution according to those parameters, with human involvement in the process.
This model is particularly relevant for active investors who want to participate in financial markets but cannot spend their entire working day monitoring trading screens.
By combining automation with experienced brokerage professionals, Avant Garde aims to provide both convenience and accountability.
Building a More Comprehensive Trading Experience
The conversation also explored Avant Garde’s broader vision for its trading platform.
While equities and options remain central to the company’s expertise, Gompert discussed expanding access to additional asset classes, including futures, commodities, cryptocurrency, and other digital assets.
The motivation is straightforward: customers increasingly want flexibility in how they manage their investments.
Rather than requiring investors to maintain relationships with multiple providers, Avant Garde wants to develop a platform capable of supporting a wider range of trading needs.
The company is also exploring opportunities to serve more self-directed investors and build relationships with financial advisory firms seeking specialized execution capabilities.
These initiatives reflect a broader ambition to combine modern trading infrastructure with the institutional knowledge of an experienced brokerage team.
The Next Generation of Brokerage Will Be Built on Trust
Perhaps the most compelling takeaway from Gompert’s conversation was his vision for the next five years.
He expects artificial intelligence to improve operational efficiency across the brokerage industry. But he doesn’t believe technology will eliminate the need for trusted financial professionals.
Instead, he anticipates a future where the most successful firms use AI to make experienced teams more accessible, responsive, and effective.
That distinction is central to Avant Garde’s strategy.
Technology can streamline transactions, answer routine questions, and improve access to information. But when markets become unpredictable or investors face complicated decisions, human experience remains an important part of the relationship.
As Gompert put it, Avant Garde is an established approach to brokerage service that’s breaking new technological ground.
For investors accustomed to choosing between sophisticated technology and personalized support, the future may offer something better: both.
Watch the Full Conversation with David Gompert
How will AI change the relationship between investors and their brokers? What role should human judgment play in automated trading? And why does Avant Garde believe customer service represents one of the biggest opportunities in financial technology?
David Gompert explores these questions and more in his conversation with Sunny Ray.
Watch the full episode of The Sunny Ray Show to hear David’s perspective on the future of AI, trading automation, and customer-first financial services.
