Providing advisors with custodial technology designed to make a real difference in their practice.
Custodial technology can be a vital slice of any advisor’s tech stack. Despite its obvious importance, it often seems like not every custodian gives advisors the solutions they deserve.
Custodial technology is the nexus that provides advisors with security, transparency, trading, and portfolio management information, not to mention serving as a conduit for details that can populate CRM platforms, planning tools, and billing calculators. It needs to be designed to support a wide range of personas, from tech-savvy advisors to enterprise-level directors to lightning-fast traders and money movement specialists.
Despite the obvious importance of custodial technology, it often seems like not every custodian makes it a priority. Advisors might be left to struggle with disparate solutions or criticized for their approach to new software — but it’s often the case that certain custodial technology doesn’t actually reflect the realities faced by advisors.
At TradePMR, we take our technological responsibilities seriously. Really seriously.
We understand advisors. And we know that the technology we build for you needs to be designed to stand up to the varied workflows, demanding hours, and important tasks that you undertake every day.
To explain our distinct approach to technology, we sat down with Laura Villanueva, Senior UX Product Designer at TradePMR. At TradePMR, she’s been reunited with Chief Product Officer Jon Patullo. The two previously built out technology at TD Ameritrade.
Laura brings an expert’s touch to our advisor solutions. She’s a specialist in the intricacies inherent in custodial technology and brings more than 20 years of practice in developing digital experiences.
Laura, we’re excited to introduce you to our advisors, because you are so perceptive in your understanding of what advisors are looking for in custodial technology. Why are advisors and their technology needs so often misunderstood by other custodians?
Senior UX Product Designer, Laura Villanueva: The way I see it, Advisors are a unique group of users and the technology they interact with needs to act more like an enterprise application than a web site.
Advisors are on our platforms all day, constantly pivoting between different applications. They have a lot to do and worry about, and so they need our technology to be simple, perceptive and exact.
At TradePMR, we focus on ease and simplicity to help reduce the cognitive load that other, unintuitive digital experiences might bring. At the end of their 10-, 11-, even 12-hour day — we want Advisors to continue to feel vivacious for their families and down time. This is why we are committed to making our technology as seamless and predictable as possible.
You factor empathy into your development workflow. Why is that?
LV: Although I don't do the important job of advisors, I’ve been fortunate to engage with many of them through conferences and research interviews. Their feedback combined with my visualization skills enables me to clearly and vividly put myself in their shoes, so I can understand how they might interact with our solutions, like Fusion. If I can understand and anticipate their pain points, then I can create a plan.
Much of what I do as a product designer resembles architecture. There are many benefits to starting a build out with a blueprint. Having a tangible representation of written requirements is one of the best ways to help ensure needs are being met.
An architect can take a client through a three-dimensional space to experience their potential living conditions before any effort is put into building. If something doesn’t work or feel right, they can more easily pivot, compared to a contractor who might have to demolish and rebuild.
Just as an architect needs a vision for a building, a product designer needs a vision for advisor software.
Product design is integral in all software development, but custodial technology brings a unique set of challenges because there are many different personas to take into consideration.
You have the Trader, who requires speed in execution; the Principle or Manager, who worries about the success of the business; the Operations Specialist, who needs to be exact; and the client-facing advisor, who needs to be informed, and so on.
Then you have the Advisors, who in most cases, do it all. Their demands can vary drastically but we must try to accommodate for all.
To return to the architect analogy: you’re laying out a building plan for a variety of different occupants. For example, if you are designing a home where one of the family members uses a wheelchair, you have to pay close attention to the width of hallways and the height of counters – so everyone’s needs are accommodated.
A good UX designer needs to know the personas of who will use their product, and the specific needs they have. It can make a difference as to how the platform and products are constructed.
It’s a big puzzle and it’s incredibly challenging. It’s something I’m very passionate about.
You’re a big proponent of advisor research, to get advisor feedback and incorporate it quickly into our software. Why is this research so important?
LV: User research is vital, and we would like more advisors to participate in it.
I want TradePMR advisors to know that they're in very good hands. We are serious and focused on engaging with them early and often. Delivering on their unique and exact needs is our top priority versus simply working to compete with other custodians.
In early December, we conducted a Client Experience Panel where the Product team, Advisor Services, Marketing and I brought a handful of Advisors together for a 2-day event in Florida. We shared solutions that had recently been released, initiatives that are currently underway and then we dove into the future. We were able to collect incredibly useful feedback and get a better understanding of Advisor’s priorities.
This was an in-person event, but user research can be conducted in many more convenient ways, including remote interviews and simple online surveys. This allows us to share an interactive design (blueprint) and determine next steps.
We would like more Advisors to participate in all kinds of user research. They can start by expressing interest to their Advisor Services team member.
Laura, once again, we’re so excited to have you involved with our technology solutions. And we think Advisors are really going to benefit from your careful vision and expertise.
LV: It’s my pleasure. One of the best parts about TradePMR is that we are all owners in being committed to delivering the best experience for our advisors, and we work hard to turn solutions around quickly. We see speed to market as critical for our advisors.
Digital product design may seem abstract, but, in my opinion, it really matters in all of our everyday lives. It’s something I want Advisors to feel they have a big stake in, so they can ultimately help drive us to continue providing advisors with a quality experience.
Disclosure:
Securities offered by TradePMR, member FINRA/SIPC
