How might we engage clients so that they know every step of their financial journey?
How might we enable clients to interact with their financial advisors and planners when needed?
Problem definition
Charles Schwab created a Financial Planning Action Center; a digital platform that allows clients who work with a Schwab Financial Consultant, Schwab Private Client Advisor, or Portfolio Solutions Group Consultant to track and complete tasks within their financial plan, communicate questions, and help work toward improving financial outcomes long-term.
The current financial planning is tool is a static experience. Investors may consult an investment professional to build a financial plan for their future. Currently, clients fill out over 40 questions within a program called MoneyGuidePro. The questions are based around a client's needs, wants and wishes. After their plan is created, clients get a likelihood of success score. After getting this score, they are given a pdf and printed document of their plan. At this point, clients usually throw this away or put it in a drawer where they never see again. When life events come up, they forget about their financial plan.
Our customer needs
Discovery
Customers seek out Schwab for financial planning and understanding where how to diversify their portfolios.
Financial planning
Schwab clients need a more hands off approach and they meet with a financial advisor to manage and provide guidance with their financial affairs.
Advisor-led
Guided experience
Schwab clients need to know their next steps so that they can take ownership of their financial future.
Schwab clients need to be able to easily access and contact their financial reps when dealing with their financial endeavors.
Access to reps
The current financial planning is tool is a static experience that doesn’t provide clear actions.
Discovery
Investors may consult an investment professional to build a financial plan for their future. Currently, clients fill out over 40 questions within a program called MoneyGuidePro. The questions are based around a client's needs, wants and wishes. After their plan is created, clients get a likelihood of success score. After getting this score, they are given a pdf and printed document of their plan. At this point, clients usually throw this away or put it in a drawer where they never see again. When life events come up, they forget about their financial plan.
The best way to visualize this is by showing the Action Center flow chart:
Key features of the Schwab action center
Ideation
Digital financial planning dashboard
Clients will see tasks to be reviewed, task status updates, and curated educational content.
Help inform conversation between clients and their investment professional by displaying tasks that need to be completed and ongoing status updates.
Client engagement enhancements
Ongoing alerts, notifications and reminders
To help keep clients on track, clients will receive alerts and reminders by email and through the dashboard to keep them informed around incomplete tasks and target completion dates.
Investment professionals can spend less time on data inputs and more time during appointments on what they do best – providing quality planning experiences.
Time saving and planning efficiency
Final designs
Results
Business impact
3.6 billion digital account logins
Account logins are up 33% year over year since release
60,000 financial plans created since release (as of 2021)