An unexpected pivot impacting over 3.8M clients

Overview

The Self-Directed Investing web dashboard was portfolio-centric and built on legacy code, making it both outdated and misaligned with how clients used the product. Most bypassed the dashboard entirely, heading straight to their positions page to monitor holdings; a clear signal that the dashboard wasn’t supporting core jobs to be done.

At the same time, the firm was eager to pursue an ambitious “Portfolio Insights” vision: advanced tools for analyzing strategies and scenarios. But through research and co-design sessions, we successfully made the case that these insights would fall flat without strong fundamentals.

As JPMorgan prepared to migrate the dashboard into a modern React framework, I led design work to ensure we didn’t just modernize the old experience but reimagined it, re-centering the dashboard around everyday investing needs and laying the groundwork for future insights

How we approached it

We began with research tied to JPMorgan’s “Portfolio Insights” vision. In early sessions, we asked clients to design their ideal dashboard and ran a co-design workshop where I guided them through a whiteboard ideation exercise. The output made the gaps in the current experience clear. Clients wanted a dashboard centered on core jobs like monitoring holdings and performance drivers, which led us to pivot the project.

Since we now had a good idea of the core elements of a desirable dashboard experience, we sketched multiple directions and partnered with engineering and research to test feasibility and viability, three of which we took into concept testing. Clients reviewed low-fidelity designs in real time, giving us rapid feedback on what worked and what did not.

Based on the results, we refined the output of concept testing into a consolidated low-fidelity design that combined the strongest elements across concepts. This was shared with senior leadership to align on direction and secure sign-off before moving forward to delivery.

The solution

The redesigned dashboard elevated core client jobs and simplified the overall hierarchy across affluent and retail client segments:

• Clients can now track indices and manage watchlists directly in the dashboard, supporting both monitoring and opportunistic trades.
• A positions summary anchors the dashboard, giving immediate visibility into holdings and performance drivers.
• Top metrics were clarified to highlight account value, day’s gain/loss, total gains/loss, estimated annual income, and cash balances.
• Asset allocation is still present, but no longer the focal point, treated as supporting detail.

What’s next?

The dashboard redesign is set to launch with the React migration. Success will be measured across both engagement and business outcomes:

• Do more clients start their investing journey from the dashboard instead of bypassing it?
• Are pinned securities and watchlists being used as “reasons to return”?
• Does the redesigned zero state lead to more new accounts being funded after first login?
• Do clients take advantage of new flows that let them browse asset classes, select an investment, and fund directly from that context?
• Do clients describe the dashboard as more intuitive, relevant, and confidence-building?

Longer term, the dashboard serves as the foundation for Portfolio Insights, enabling deeper analysis, scenario modeling, and personalized insights once fundamentals are proven.