Distro User Research Case Study
Distro – Financial Advisor Planning Tool
Context
Distro is a B2B tool designed to streamline wealth advisors’ workflows by automating routine tasks and generating accurate, compliant plan reports. It addresses a gap in financial planning software by helping advisors create tax-efficient retirement distribution plans while meeting regulatory compliance. The goal was to integrate Distro seamlessly into advisors’ existing workflows and deliver clear insights that align with both market demands and advisors’ needs.
My Role
I led the user research efforts, including conducting desk research, planning and moderating user interviews, and synthesizing findings. My work informed the design strategy by highlighting user needs and pain points, ensuring the product design remained user-centered and evidence-based
Problem Statment
Many individuals planning for retirement struggle to create tax-efficient distribution strategies. Existing financial tools are either too complex, fragmented, or fail to provide tailored insights that align with both regulatory requirements and personal financial goals. Financial advisors are often forced to use a mix of disconnected tools, re-enter client data manually, and deliver generic reports — all of which reduce efficiency and personalization. Distro aimed to bridge this gap by providing advisors with a seamless, integrated tool to build compliant, customized retirement distribution plans for their clients.
Target Users
Financial Advisors
F\Professionals in wealth management who regularly use modern B2B financial software. They need tools that integrate with their daily workflow (e.g. CRM systems, financial planning suites) and help them deliver compliant, high-quality financial plans to their clients without extra overhead.
Research Process
Desk Research
Hypotheses...
Understand the problem space: Financial advisors need a tool that simplifies retirement distribution planning, addressing common pain points and reducing manual calculations.
Understanding Needs for the New Software: Advisors value easy-to-use software that generates clear reports and integrates with existing workflows.
Evaluate Distro’s Platform: Advisors will pay for software that improves client retirement distribution planning.
In-Depth Interviews
Hypotheses...
Understand the problem space: Financial advisors spend a lot of time manually calculating retirement distribution strategies. There's a lack of effective retirement distribution planning tools in the market.
Understanding Needs for the New Software: Financial advisors want retirement distribution software that is easy to use, generates clear reports, and integrates with their existing workflow.
Evaluate Distro’s Platform: Financial advisors will pay for software that improves client retirement distribution planning.
Key Insights
From the research, several major insights emerged that guided our design direction:
Advisors want integrated solutions: Advisors are reluctant to adopt tools that cover only a narrow part of the financial planning process; they prefer an all-in-one platform that integrates every part of a client’s financial plan. This indicated Distro should broaden its scope or seamlessly connect with other tools to fit into the end-to-end advisor workflow.
CRM is mission-critical: Advisors rely heavily on CRM systems (like Salesforce) to organize client information and track communications, using them alongside planning tools. Any new planning software must integrate with or complement existing CRMs to avoid duplicating efforts and ensure information stays synchronized.
Report customization is a pain point: Advisors struggle with current software when creating client-ready reports. Interviewees found it difficult to extract the information they needed and customize reports without tedious trial-and-error. This underscored the need for Distro to offer flexible, easy-to-customize reporting features so advisors can present information clearly and professionally to clients.
Data migration is cumbersome: There was unanimous frustration about the lack of easy data transfer between financial tools. Advisors currently resort to manual re-entry of client data when moving between platforms, which is time-consuming and error-prone. This highlighted an opportunity for Distro to enable hassle-free data import/export to save time and reduce mistakes.
Key Insights
Alternative Solution Provider
Transitioning from B2B to B2C:
Tailoring retirement solutions for self-directed individuals who do not engage financial advisors.
Prioritizing more UX research for informed decision-making.
Learning from the Competition
Providing Training and Material Support:
Equipping financial advisors with training and resources for seamless adoption and proficiency.
CRM Integrations:
Leveraging CRM tools as indispensable assets for financial advisors in modern business operations.
Enhancing UX & Personalization
Giving Flexibility on Customized Reports:
Customized reporting improves clarity, builds trust via personalized communication, and fosters collaboration between advisors and clients.
Hassle-free Migration of Client Data:
Financial advisors struggle with transferring client data between software. Prioritizing seamless migration prevents manual entry, saving time, avoiding errors, and reducing frustration.