Case Study 02
Reimagining how clients discover their next investment.
Explore
I led the design and experience of a brand new product that allowed clients to discover and consider new investment ideas. Partnering with research, analysts, and engineering, we built a curated browsing experience for clients who needed inspiration, not just a search bar.
Clients were trying to find investment ideas to build wealth in today's market. The only experiences available required clients to know which ticker and which criteria to search for ahead of time. Self-directed investors who came in with conviction were served. The clients who needed inspiration had nowhere to go.
The previous experience funneled every client through a single "Find Investments" tile. Once inside, they landed immediately on the screener tool, which assumed a high degree of investment knowledge. We saw consistent drop-off here.
To understand what a great discovery experience looks like, we studied companies outside the financial industry. Streaming platforms face the same core problem: helping users discover something new when they don't yet know what they want. The shared pattern is curation, categories, and editorial framing over filters.
As a brand new experience, we needed to test directions. We knew we wanted to surface lists or categories of ideas, but we didn't know which framing would resonate. We tested three:
Testing also surfaced a second insight. More novice investors wanted to feel grounded before starting their journey. We drafted an education layer called "Find out more" that lives alongside each list. It outlines how the list is compiled, what's important to know, the risks involved, and key metrics. The goal is for clients to leave the experience a little more confident about what they're considering.
A discovery-first home, analyst-curated and strategy-based lists, and an embedded education layer for clients who want to go deeper before they commit.
A discovery-first home with the curated lists surfaced immediately.
Browse by asset class and curated category.
Methodology, risks, and key metrics, available in context.
Ranked, sortable, with one tap to a quote.
In 2025, J.P. Morgan Self-Directed Investing was awarded Best Online Brokerage in the Real Simple Smart Money Awards. The screen Real Simple chose to feature is from the Explore experience I led.
