Back in 2009 we helped design and launch one of Europe’s first ETF trading platforms, a joint venture between Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Time to pivot – following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, investment banks we’re looking for alternative, perhaps more stable ways of trading. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs embarked on a joint venture to create the exchange traded funds (ETF) firm, Source.
Unique interface and brand – as part of the wider work, we helped create the new name and brand for the join venture, Source, based on the idea of it being the unique genesis / starting points for ETFs. We also worked with the in-house team at Morgan Stanley to help design and shape the user interface.
Source sale – back in 2017, and ranked as the seventh largest ETF manager in Europe, with assets of £18bn, UK-based fund giant Invesco sealed a deal to buy Source. The transaction – was rumoured to be £400 million.
Given the significant nature of the joint venture between Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, it was essential that the interface was both innovative and dependable. To achieve this, we commenced with extensive user research, engaging with institutional investors and financial professionals to understand their needs, behaviours, and pain points. This research provided valuable insights that directly informed the design process, ensuring that the interface was both intuitive and sophisticated, catering to the advanced demands of its users while maintaining a user-friendly and accessible design.
In translating these insights into a practical UI, we concentrated on creating a streamlined and efficient navigation system that allowed users to swiftly access essential information, whether they were performing detailed analyses or executing rapid trading decisions. The design incorporated a modular approach, enabling the interface to be easily adapted and scaled as the platform evolved, ensuring it remained responsive to the changing needs of its users. This flexibility was crucial in maintaining the platform’s relevance and effectiveness as the market and user expectations grew over time.
We liked: Being able to work with two financial powerhouses and to help unite their thinking and bring to market such an exciting product for the time was a privilege.