Exploring UX in Investment Products for Young Professionals

This is a User Experience (UX) research project focused on a banking product designed for young professionals. The product’s aim is to facilitate the initiation into investing and foster financial wellness for those recently entered the job market and just started their investment journey with no or little experience in it.

Target Audience: The Young Professionals

Our primary audience comprises young professionals experiencing their first earnings. These individuals typically lack significant investment knowledge but are eager to learn and start their financial journey.

Persona representing the target group

Initial Assumptions

We began with five key assumptions:

  1. Guidance Requirement: Users need help understanding investment options to boost their confidence and investment activity.
  2. Small Investments: Users prefer making frequent, small-scale investments.
  3. Educational Resources: There is a demand for educational materials like articles, podcasts, and videos to encourage investing.
  4. Instant Transactions: Users need to be able to transfer money immediately and withdraw as often as they want as they have little patience and sometimes run out of money on their current account.
  5. Transparency: Users need everything to be transparent, because they are not used to using investment services and don’t trust them yet.

The assumptions chart

Research Methodology

Survey and Screening

The research commenced with a survey to identify potential interviewees fitting our target group. We focused on stable income, age, interest in investment, and existing investment experience. The survey, distributed via social media, yielded 41 responses.

The screening survey in Google Forms

Interview Setup

From these responses, around ten participants matched our target criteria. Using Calendly, we arranged interviews with the most suitable candidates, resulting in six positive responses.

Interview Process

Out of these, four interviews were conducted digitally, and two in person. The interviews included both warm-up and targeted questions to test our assumptions, alongside a card-sorting exercise to prioritize eight different banking features.

Card sorting exercise in Trello

Some examples of open questions are:

What kind of guidance do you think you need in order to invest with more confidence?

What was the last educational source you used in order to educate yourself about investment?

What kind of banking reports do you usually generate and how often?

Findings and Insights

Assumptions Revisited

Analysis revealed that only two out of five assumptions were correct:

– Users indeed sought guidance for more confident investing.
– Participants preferred no minimum investment limits.

Trust in Expertise

A significant finding was the preference for human or expert guidance over automated systems, though participants were open to trying AI-driven advice.

When it comes to AI-driven advice, I think I would definitely start small than what I would otherwise do if it was an investment expert, or someone who has experience in the field.

-Sai

According to the research, users would rather trust a personal advisor than an AI-driven service

Investment Limit Preferences

Interestingly, the preference for no minimum investment limit stemmed not from frequent small savings but from the desire to test services with minimal risk before committing more funds.

If the lower limit is now too high, it is a problem, because often you need to test the service with smaller amounts of money.

-Adam


Feature Relevance

Participants showed less interest in instant transfers or tutorials. However, they desired accessible, understandable banking reports, indicating current reports aren’t meeting their needs.

A table showing the percentage of respondents per feature and it’s importance to them

Recommendations for Improvement

  1. Workshop on Guidance Preferences: Organize workshops to understand users’ preferences for personal guidance and how to increase trust in automated advice.
  2. Confidence Building: Explore strategies to enhance user confidence for higher investment amounts.
  3. Report Customization: Investigate the types of reports users find most beneficial.
  4. Podcast Potential: Assess whether an investment-focused podcast could motivate users or increase confidence in the product.

Conclusion

This UX research provides valuable insights into the preferences and needs of young professionals stepping into the investment world. By addressing these findings, the banking product can be tailored to better serve this emerging market segment.

Shopping Basket