Overview
LPL Financial is a large wealth management institution with numerous wealth advisors. LPL needed to provide a centralized place where advisors could easily figure out where their practice stands and what they can work on next to grow/scale.
My Role
My role in this project: Senior Product Designer @ Method
Client: LPL Financial
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The Challenge
Small to mid-size advisors want to grow their practice but do not know where to start, what to focus on, and where they stand compared to other similar practices.
Net New Assets
Research
With the help of LPL's data analysts and key stakeholders, we found the metrics that more successful and experienced advisors monitor.
They were:
1. Net New Assets
2. Revenue
3. AUM (assets under management)
4. Average Age of Clients
This gave me the KPIs that we would focus on for our persona. I created an experience map and the columns listed below are the core themes from the user interviews.
This represented the thought process for small advising firms when asked to describe how they analyze their firm's current performance and plan goals. What we found is that there was a misalignment in the metrics that our target persona was filtering for. I figured that we could make their job easier if we presented those key 4 metrics up front and center.
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Ideation
I pulled together some quick inspiration, a discussion guide, and a few initial wireframes to collaborate with the team in real-time. We leveraged Miro whiteboards and documented areas where we thought we would need a technical lead to review for feasibility.
The proposed solution is that LPL would initially set a goal for each of the four metrics and then allow the user to make fine adjustments. This would help solve the biggest pain point, of advisors not knowing if their numbers are good or bad and what is a reasonable goal based on that data.
Solution
Goals were based on the S.M.A.R.T. system (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely). Advisors now could also see how their firm compares to similar-sized firms with percentile benchmarks. I tested our idea with mid-fidelity prototypes and received very positive feedback from user testing.
Summary
Advisors found this new product feature extremely helpful for growing and scaling their practice. LPL benefitted by providing advisors more value thus increasing customer LTV.
