Building Trust with Transparent Financial Planning
Streamlined Onboarding, Intuitive Information Flow, Organized Document Management and Adaptive Support with Martello Investments
It’s common knowledge that saving for retirement is important, but how do you do that?
Context
Martello Investments is a wealth management firm that manages portfolios of individuals and families with a focus on retirement, tax, estate, and investment planning. With a team of two dedicated professionals, they offer personalized services to clients, ensuring that each client's unique financial goals are addressed.
Client
Martello Investments, LLC
Design Team
Sheridan Culver
Scott Kapelman
Rachel Poe
Nadia Di Trapani
Emma Walsh
Tools
Figma
Figjam
Adobe Illustrator
Google Forms
Google Sheets
Project Duration
June 2023 - July 2023
6 weeks
Designing trust and long-term client relationships
The Challenge
Martello approached the team with one clear objective: Design a client onboarding system and an investment portfolio portal for PC & Mobile. They emphasized the ability to organize and share documents, without the use of a third party, while keeping the focus on ease of navigation and understanding. Most importantly, they wanted to foster trust by creating a transparent portfolio experience for the user.
Although this seemed like an “easy peasy” task at the time, difficulties would soon arise.
Most people who want to invest are confused by its complexity
User Interviews
We kicked off the discovery phase by asking the key questions:
Why do people use wealth managers in the first place and how did their prior experiences with investing affect the way they approach it today?
We initially interviewed 10 people ages 28-66 with varying experience with investing to get a better insight.
“The challenge I originally faced was that investing was complicated and over my head. I didn’t have the time outside of work to learn it all so having a dedicated financial advisor take over, so I didn’t have to do any thinking, made it much easier.”
“We are currently unsure about what to do with money from the sale of a house and the financial advisor at the bank overwhelmed us with options.”
“Lack of knowledge, feels like it’s set up to be deceiving, I don’t want to do extensive research to know my money is working for me.”
It was clear that users were confused by the varying degree of knowledge and time that was required in order to grasp the complexity of financial markets. As the great meme goes: “Ain’t nobody got time for that!”.
We continued to conduct more interviews to help gather user preferences for setting up accounts with financial institutions. Users shared a need for simplicity and ease of use.
“I need things to be simple and as basic as possible with staff ready to help when setting up.”
“The tools on my investment app weren’t easy to navigate right off the bat which made me hesitant with the company at first.”
“It should be expected that people are starting with zero knowledge unless they have a business degree or something.”
Investing and seeking professional support
User Survey
The qualitative research that our team conducted was insightful, but to help us understand if the sentiments shared by those we interviewed were representative within larger groups of people, we created an online survey.
We collected data from 44 responses.
Most respondents have worked with or currently work with a financial advisor or use an investment service.
Respondents expect:
personalized guidance from a financial advisor
step-by-step instructions,
interactive tools to help with investment decisions
They want:
real-time portfolio performance tracking
goal setting
progress monitoring
retirement income planning & projection features
The Adventurous Explorer & Aspiring Retiree
Persona Overview
Age: 59
Tech Literacy: Moderate
Seeks support from a trusted partnership with a wealth management company that understands their needs and provides sound investment advice.
Personalized Portfolio Viewing
Desires a client dashboard with real-time data and analytics tailored to their investment preferences and travel-related financial goals.
Seamless Onboarding Experience
Expects a user-friendly onboarding process without complex procedures.
Occupation: Marketing Director
Income Level: Moderate to High
We synthesized our User Interview and Survey results with Martello’s target user to create The Adventurous Traveler & Aspiring Retiree. They are a 59-year-old accomplished professional with a successful career in marketing. They have been diligent in saving for retirement and are now eagerly looking forward to the next chapter of their life. While they have a basic understanding of investing, they prefer to rely on the expertise of a wealth management company to handle their investments, allowing them to focus on their passion for travel and exploration.
Goals
Streamlined Retirement Planning
Wants a client dashboard that simplifies the retirement planning process and provides a clear view of their investment and retirement information.
Trustworthy Wealth Management
Frustrations
Retirement Income Optimization
Feels unsure about how to effectively manage and optimize their retirement savings to sustain their desired lifestyle.
Complex Financial Jargon
Finds financial terminology and jargon complex and daunting, making it difficult to grasp investment concepts and strategies with confidence.
Inauthentic Interactions
Values meaningful conversations with wealth managers but becomes skeptical if conversations feel like sales pitches.
Feeling Overwhelmed and Intimidated
Pain Points
The frustrations that our Persona faced was a constant theme that was present throughout the entire discovery and define phase. Although users are overwhelmed by investing, and require/ seek the help of advisors, they still want a sense of control in order to feel they are on the path to achieving financial freedom. Their main pain points were:
Investing Feels Intimidating & Inaccessible
The Onboarding Process for wealth managers is too complex
Investment knowledge and strategies often feel out of reach due to overwhelming complexity and limited access to investment knowledge especially when trying to navigate wealth management site menus with too many options and financial jargon.
When setting up an investment account users found the process to be time-consuming and frustrating often requiring multiple forms, document submissions, and verification steps.
They Need Easy Access to Support
Users need the flexibility to connect with their wealth manager through their preferred communication method. Balancing client preferences with the business needs to manage time, especially for smaller teams, is essential for providing quality service.
The difficulty was in trying to filter these abstract financial terms that populated account set-up pages and portals into an accessible and simplified setup process that ultimately took our user to an user-friendly and intuitive interface.
How might we:
Create an intuitive and user-friendly investment dashboard?
Help facilitate the ease of communication and information exchange to optimize convenience for both the client and advisor?
Make filling out forms, uploading documents, and other information exchanges painless for the client especially during the onboarding process?
Current onboarding portal is not intuitive
Heuristic Evaluation
Since no one on the team was punished with a Goldman Sachs summer internship, we had to take the time to educate ourselves on industry standards within the wealth management landscape. We started with a deep analysis of what Martello was currently doing to attract prospective clients- my oh my was there a lot to fix!
Martello Current Onboarding Pain Points
Although investors we interviewed shared some general details about the onboarding process when creating an online account, most could not remember specifics nor did they have access to the onboarding portal. We looked at other types of businesses that require onboarding/input of information on desktop and mobile. Ex. job search tool, tax tool, online dating app.
Teal
Progress bar is low on the page, confusing and conflicts with visual hierarchy.
Saving
As clients fill out the form, there is no indication of whether their work is saved or not.
3rd Party Portal
This portal is a tool created by a 3rd party which could make some clients wary when having to input.
Onboarding Comparative Analysis
TurboTax
Task bar at top of page showing percentage completed
Check marks to indicate what tasks you’ve completed
Intuitive side bar navigation makes it clear where you are
Search & Help options in upper righthand corner
Clickable links to “Learn more” available to help with client understanding
The side navigation bar is only visible when clicked on making it hard for clients to understand where they are in the onboarding process.
Client Support
Options for support are hidden in side navigation bar and not clearly labeled. Pop ups with additional instructions, explanations, or information are vague.
Next & Back Navigation
Next & back navigation at the bottom right hand side of the page are small and are the only way to navigate through onboarding as the side navigation bar is not clickable.
Progress Bar
Dashboard Competitive Analysis
We then reviewed the dashboard content of several well-known investment companies to gain further insight in how they laid out information. (include overall takeaway, key visuals, important tools, navigation, difference someone working with an advisor vs. not)
Dashboard content often included
Performance Summary
List of Accounts
Insight Links
Visuals included
Graphs
Lists
Information Icons
Dashboard navigation consists of
Main Navigation
Several Sub Navigation Bars
Drop Down Menus
Badoo
Easy to navigate back an forth through onboarding via arrows
Pages and verbiage are simple without UI clutter
Progress bar tracks the user’s progress and allows the user to know where they are within the quiz
Side Navigation Bar
Creating a simplified platform with support options
Solution
To build trust with prospective clients, Martello must follow industry standards with the focus in implementing step-by-step navigation during the onboarding process, providing flexible support options, and streamlining the site's information architecture using plain language as well as integrating tools for users to monitor their investments.
Creating streamlined dashboard site navigation
Architecture
Defining the site architecture was a crucial part of the process. We needed to organize the portal in an intuitive way regardless of one’s experience with investing while showcasing the specific services that Martello offered.
We took into consideration the lengthy navigation options found on other investment platforms and distilled that information down to the most essential content using plain language as much as possible.
PC Site
Home
Summary
Accounts
Activity
Summary
Accounts
Activity
Insurance
Home
Car
Life
Disability
Long Term Care
Home
Profile
Basic Info
Goals
Family
Outside Professionals
Basic Info
Goals
Family
Outside Professionals
Profile
Financials
Income
Assets
Liabilities
Expenses
Taxes
Estate Planning
Mobile Site
Contact
Search
Will
Power of Attorney
Advance Care Directives
Mobile Onboarding
PC Dashboard
Building with a mobile first mindset
Sketches
Our team began to sketch & ideate with a mobile first mindset. This allowed us to hone in on the essential features that users expected to see when interacting with a wealth management platform. From asset allocation charts to up-to date news articles regarding investments, these preliminary drawings allowed us to explore design possibilities while addressing both client and target user needs.
Mobile Dashboard
Settings
Transparency at Martello’s Core
Wireframes
The idea of hiring a wealth manager is predicated in ceding financial control over to a trusted source. But we are humans! With the exception of health, nothing makes us more nervous than our relationship with money; and although many of our user interviewees expressed a strong desire to hand-off their portfolio to a wealth manager, they still wanted the ability to monitor the performance of their portfolio. So what did we do?
Since transparency was a core tenet of Martello’s Investment philosophy, and users also expressed the desire to monitor their portfolio, it made sense to integrate certain features that would give peace of mind to the client.
Portal Wireframes
A chart to indicate how a user’s portfolio was performing.
This acted as a way for Martello to be transparent about their handling of their client’s portfolio.
Overview of Accounts Page
Individual Account Page
An asset allocation chart would also help the user understand how Martello invested their money.
History of Trades Made by Martello
Onboarding Process Wireframes
Testing-1-2-3-Testing
Usability Testing
Usability Testing After working through wireframes, we built our high-fidelty prototype. To validate our design decisions we conducted usability testing on our mobile prototype to uncover any areas of confusion.
Where are my documents?
When toggling to the Documents page, users expressed that they expected the list of documents to be above the upload and take photo icons rather than having to scroll to see the list.
Can I scroll?
When asked to perform tasks on the Dashboard and Document screens, users were not aware they could scroll down the page due to lack of a visual affordance.
What’s with all of the buttons?
Users were confused by having a Next Page button and a Next navigation link at the top of the page. All users chose to press the Next Page button over the other option saying that it looks more official.
Additionally, users also expressed that they expected the Save button to be near the Next Page button at the bottom of the page especially so they don’t forget to save their work before moving on.
Secure Information Organization, Storage, and Exchange
Onboarding Hi-Fi Prototype
With a focus on user needs, our team crafted a user-friendly onboarding system that emphasizes the importance of streamlining the process while safeguarding data privacy. This interface allows users to seamlessly onboard onto the platform, eliminating the need for intermediaries and ensuring exclusive access to confidential information for their trusted advisors.
By consolidating financial information in one secure location, the portal empowers users with effortless organization, storage, and sharing capabilities. The outcome is a simple onboarding system that directly connects users with their advisors, simplifying financial interactions and fostering seamless communication.
Real-Time Simplified Financial Summary
Dashboard Hi-Fi Prototype
With our newfound understanding of the complexities and challenges users encounter in financial management, our team crafted an intuitive interface that presents users with a concise yet comprehensive overview of their financial status in real-time.
By leveraging interactive data visualizations, personalized dashboards, and simplified language, we ensured that users could effortlessly grasp and interpret their financial data. The result is a financial portal that empowers users with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions about their financial goals.
Prioritized Intuitive Support for Users
Support Hi-Fi Prototype
Users emphasized the importance of prioritizing support options. Our team developed an intuitive and user-friendly interface that ensures seamless access to critical support features. With the inclusion of dedicated email support and highly accessible scheduling options, maintaining direct contact is easy and efficient.
What’s Next?
A/B testing with chart visuals to see what resonates most with users.
Facilitate usability testing with our PC prototype to uncover any user pain points as we did for mobile.
Work with developer to build out portal and test with actual real life users and support through soft-launch.
Develop advisor portal to view client information.