BUCKETS
Year
2025
Client
BTG Pactual
INTRODUCTION
It has become increasingly common for investment banking institutions to make investing simpler. When speaking with our clients, we noticed that even those who have been investing since a young age struggle to organize their assets easily. In fact, it is highly common for them to use Excel spreadsheets to categorize their investments by personal goals.
Beyond that, we also learned that many clients don't need or want to understand every single technical detail about an asset. Instead, they just want to see how much time it will take to reach a specific milestone. Some users even mentioned that the excessive volume of unnecessary information sometimes causes them to give up on investing altogether.
GOAL
Design a frictionless, goal-focused investment experience that allows clients to manage their progress and objectives directly within the app, eliminating the need for external spreadsheets. Introducing this feature helps BTG Pactual attract new client profiles, increase Net New Money (NNM), and encourage these new users to invest consistently, eventually becoming experienced investors.
MY ROLE
I worked on the end-to-end experience, including:
01. CUSTOMER JOURNEY DEFINITION
Ensuring the flow to discover, set up, and manage buckets was seamless, clear, and intuitive for our clients.
02. FLOW DESIGN
Designing the optimal path for users to complete their journey, ensuring all necessary steps and information were presented securely to build trust.
03. COMMUNICATION STRATEGY
Planning where users would discover the feature and how to articulate its benefits, which was crucial to its adoption.
04. UABILITY TESTING
Partnering with the research team to determine the best approach to validate the efficiency and clarity of our user journey.
05. STAKEHOLDER & TECH ALIGNMENT
Ensuring all product and engineering teams involved were aligned on the solution, verifying technical feasibility while meeting business goals.
MAIN CHALLENGES
Making investing feel natural and frictionless
Since BTG Pactual has traditionally been a robust bank focused on advanced investors, our existing journeys and product pages were too detailed for beginners. This level of complexity often intimidates newer investors.
Focusing on what truly matters
Our traditional investment journeys focused heavily on asset performance and fund manager credibility. However, this new segment of clients doesn’t need to see that information on repeat.
It’s all about their goals
These users need to know how long it will take to reach their targets and how much they need to save to get there sooner. Visualizing how even the smallest contribution makes a difference in the long run is key.
COMMUNICATING THE FEATURE TO NEW USERS
We mapped out and placed strategic touchpoints throughout the app to introduce the feature. The primary location chosen was the investment main screen, which all users access to make a new investment. This significantly increased the chances of new users discovering this simpler alternative.
In our messaging, we adopted a more inclusive and accessible language, helping users understand that this is a low-barrier, easy-to-use option.
LEADING THE JOURNEY BY GOALS
We designed the experience to lead users to focus entirely on what they want to achieve with their money in the future. We prompt them with simple questions: What is your goal? How much do you have to start? Do you have a target date to achieve it?
In the end, that is what truly matters to these users: understanding exactly what needs to be done to achieve their dreams.
SHOWING WHAT IS POSSIBLE
After users input their goals, the app displays a projection showing how they can achieve them. At this stage, we demonstrate how much faster they can reach their targets by setting up recurring monthly contributions.
By doing this, we emphasize the importance of continuous investing, helping users build stronger portfolios while bringing more Net New Money to the bank.
TRACKING THE PROGESS OF THEIR DREAMS
Portfolio Positioning
We ensured that Bucket investments are effortless to find by creating a dedicated space for them. Once a user creates a bucket, they can track all active buckets, total amounts, and the percentage already achieved toward their goal.
Bucket Home Screen
We designed a centralized Bucket Dashboard to aggregate all applications. This space allows us to deliver personalized insights, alerts, and relevant updates.
Goal Insights
We also created indicators that deliver insights on goal progress, making it easy to make new contributions and view updates dynamically.
TESTING OUR DESIGN
To validate the solution, we conducted qualitative usability tests with 10 clients. The feedback was highly positive:
The minimalist approach was widely accepted
Interviewed clients appreciated the focus on goals, especially the ability to track money per bucket without needing external spreadsheets.
In-journey insights proved helpful
Contextual insights along the path successfully guided users. Information regarding when a goal would be reached or how to accelerate it was well received.
The Bucket Summary drove motivation
Seeing a clear summary of their goals and how well their money was performing motivated users to contribute more money to reach their targets faster.
FEATURE RESULTS
R$160 MILLIONS INVESTED THROUGH THE FEATURE
We reached this milestone in just the first 6 months of launch, surpassing our initial goal by 160%. Out of this total, R$ 97 millions represented Net New Money (NNM) brought into the bank.
ALMOST 13K ACTIVE CLIENTS
Almost 13,000 clients adopted the feature, and for 1,200 of them, this was their very first investment with the bank.
ALMOST 16K BUCKETS CREATED
Those 13K clients created more than 16K individual buckets within the app in the first month alone.
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