SimplyWise AI
Your Personalized Financial Guide
Problem Statement
“How might we provide clear, personalized, and trustworthy financial guidance for Wealthsimple users so that they feel confident, informed, and engaged with the platform?”
Problem Background
The current economic uncertainty has led many individuals to seek accessible ways to diversify their finances, turning to platforms like Wealthsimple. However, despite the availability of educational resources and advisory services, users often feel underserved due to impersonal support, inconsistent explanations, and poor communication about key services. Additionally, Users of the platform find it mistrustful amid constant reviews about hidden charges and unclear explanations, making it difficult for users to confidently engage with the platform.
These issues create a critical need for a personalized, interactive AI tool that provides real-time financial guidance, helping users navigate Wealthsimple with clarity, transparency, and confidence.
Research Insights
Given the broad scope of this research, three key hypotheses were developed to address the problem statement:
Hypothesis 1: Clear, personalized financial guidance and better financial education would enhance user confidence, engagement, and trust, leading to a better user experience.
Hypothesis 2: Users experience confusion regarding Wealthsimple’s fees, investment strategies, and tax processes, undermining their trust and confidence.
Hypothesis 3: A real-time, AI-driven financial literacy tool would empower users to make informed decisions, improving satisfaction, trust, and retention.
Surveys and Reddit analysis revealed that 75% of respondents found Wealthsimple confusing, especially around fees. 66.7% struggled with market volatility and tax implications, and many new investors lacked personalized guidance and clear educational content.
83% of users emphasized the need for real-time support, with many expressing interest in AI tools to provide instant answers on fees, portfolio and investments strategies.
Landing on the Solution
Based on our target users’ pain points and research findings, three goals were set:
- Provide personalized financial guidance to users, taking into account their unique financial goals, risk tolerance, and preferences: Tailored financial plans based on user goals, financial situation, and risk tolerance.
- Enhance user confidence and satisfaction by offering clear, transparent financial advice in an easily digestible format: Clear investment guidance and simplified financial concepts through educational content.
- Improve customer engagement by introducing AI-driven tools for proactive financial planning and investment advice: Proactive notifications and progress tracking to keep users aligned with financial goals.
These goals allowed us to come up with a number of features that were prioritised according to level of importance and urgency.
User Flows/Mockups
Our designed flow matched each use case’ journey with a goal, a requirement, and a feature/user story to fully illustrate the simplyWise AI experience. The experience was showcased on a mobile platform, considering that our target users spend more time on their devices and are very tech-savvy. Low fidelity Mockups were designed in detail to elaborate
Future Steps
With SimplyWise AI's entry into the fintech space, there are several opportunities to expand its capabilities. Future enhancements could include deeper integration into Wealthsimple’s onboarding process, and adding personalized tax optimization within portfolio recommendations. For advanced investors, the AI could also evolve to offer more sophisticated scenario modeling and tax-loss harvesting guidance.
LOW FIDELITY MOCKUP
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Stephen Erigbe
Building SimplyWise AI gave me valuable insight into user trust dynamics in fintech. It challenged me to design an AI-driven solution that simplifies complex financial information into clear, actionable guidance. I also gained hands-on experience working with AI, shifting my perspective on its role from just technology to a practical tool for solving real user problems. This project has been both eye-opening and rewarding, and I’m excited to apply these learnings in future work.
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
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Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
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- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.