Deutsche Bank Asset Management

AI-Powered Robo Advisor

Launched “WISE”, Germany’s first AI‑powered robo‑advisor for mass market retail investments, transforming DWS from a technology led, desktop only pilot into a responsive, user centred digital white label product.

Overview

Role

Led end‑to‑end UX, research, wireframes, userflows, information architecture, prototypes, functional specifications, developer hand over.

Tools

Sketch, InVision, Miro, Confluence, Jira

Team

Lead UX Designer (me), Senior UX Designer, Senior UI Designer, Product Owner, Front‑end Developers, QA Testers.

DWS Group had just spun out of Deutsche Bank and embarked on an ambitious digital transformation. The initial robo‑advisor MVP was technology driven and desktop only, ignoring tablet and mobile users, which was a challenge and a concern as the product is aimed at mass market investors.

Apart from product gaps, UX maturity and understanding was low: many German colleagues saw design as cosmetic. My first task was to demonstrate and champion user centricity as a success driver, turning sceptical stakeholders into advocates while ensuring full MiFID II compliance and aligning with an evolving tech stack.

The Challenge

Approach

1. Research & Discovery

Conducted 18 stakeholder interviews to understand business requirements, analysed competitors’ investment platforms, discovered that partners valued Chief Investment Officer (CIO) advice over pure algorithm detail.

2. Mind‑shift & Education  

Ran UX workshops with product leadership secured senior management sponsorship, creating a user centric culture.

3. Responsive Strategy  

Teamed with BAs, devs, scrum master to craft a mobile first roadmap. Prototypes plus effort estimates convinced stakeholders to change from desktop only to fully responsive.

4. Information Architecture

Card-sorting exercises to streamline navigation; sitemap rationalised, risk profiling wizard mapped to 5 model portfolios.

5. Usability Testing  

Hamburg sessions: High-fidelity prototype testing with customers from key parters like Basler and Monviso.

6. Implementation & Handoff

Functional specifications, working side-by-side daily with developers, supported QA with zero defects at launch.

  1. Shifted programme from technology‑led desktop MVP → user‑led responsive platform.

  2. Onboarding time reduced by  75 %.

  3. Won sponsor’s praise: “WISE sets a new benchmark for retail investing in Germany.”

  4. Sparked organisation wide UX advocacy, embedding design thinking in subsequent DWS initiatives.

Outcome and Impact

Shifting from desktop only to fully responsive approach.

Setting customer investment goals.

Integration with DocuSign for digital signatures.

Monviso

One of the many partners working with DWS offering their customers access to the WISE investment platform.

“Martin is the kind of talent and skilled person you want to help driving your project. He combines very effectively his in-depth UX talent and experience with the project objectives. Moreover, he is a great team player, truly commited and loyal. “

Kai Bald
Co-Head Digital Investment Platform

“Martin is a highly talented UX architect whom I had the pleasure to work with for over a year on DWS’ white-label robo platform WISE. I learned to admire his unrelenting focus on putting the customer first, and his work has laid the foundation for large parts of our current UX journey. “

Philipp Schäfer
Digital Offering Specialist