I wrote my Master’s in cooperation with Smartbroker AG.
Titled Trading in the capital casino - How design can act as an influencer on the capital market, I investigated the influence user interfaces have on risk behaviour in modern trading apps.
My thesis was simple and yet very hard to prove: Modern neobrokerage interfaces lead their users into taking risks—meaning trades—by using interface methods, for example gamification.
Unfortunately, the thesis is protected by an NDA and I can’t share it in full here, but here’s the abstract:
“This master thesis investigates the influence of interfaces on the risk behavior of investors in modern trading apps. The design of the interfaces of neobrokers can lead investors to passively execute trades that do not fit their investment strategy. A combination of the increasing popularity of neobrokers and the fundamentally growing interest in the capital market creates a potential influence on the risk behavior of many millions of investors.
To answer the research question about the potential influence, an analysis of seven trading apps of neobrokers available on the German market was conducted. A following comparison shows a discrepancy between the information offered in trading apps and the information actually needed for healthy and conscious trading.
The results show that, through the use of gamification and other design methods, investors are passively enticed to adopt riskier trading behaviors than their investment strategy envisages. The lack of hurdles before buying a security results in investors not having the opportunity to think through and consciously make an investment strategy.
As a proposed solution, seven design drafts were created in the form of click prototypes that use friction to create a hurdle for conscious action. In usability tests with test persons from the target group, four designs are identified that can demonstrate a concrete influence on the risk behavior of investors.
These designs can be a basis for interface models that focus on the legally required consumer protection for capital investors. The designs can also be used in particularly vulnerable contexts on the capital market, such as junior custody accounts.”
