THE CLIENT
Marcado Asset Management is a retirement consulting startup that aims to disrupt this $10 trillion corner of the financial industry, which is notorious for being bloated, inefficient, opaque, and expensive. After two decades spent working in asset management and investment consulting for investment banks across the globe, Marcado's principals were disillusioned with the industry's "business as usual" mentality and wanted to do business in a way that aligned with their core values.
Where the industry is plagued with conflicts of interest, Marcado is designed to be independent. There's no cross-selling into higher margin products, and no third-party contracts.
While the industry hemorrhages billions in unnecessary fees, Marcado is unique in charging flat fees only. That means offering fair, transparent pricing that is often 50% of the industry average.
In an industry that is overly complex, Marcado focuses on simplifying plan management. They know that plan management isn't their clients' core business, but that it is still vital to the success of their companies.
In a landscape dominated by big firms and big firm bureaucracy, Marcado stays flexible and efficient. They focus on doing one thing very well: providing comprehensive retirement plan services.
THE WORK
I worked with the two principals of the company to hone the company's messaging and POV by crafting sales materials and a responsive web and mobile experience designed to combat the aforementioned issues. Having spent six years in the industry, I know firsthand how ubiquitously frustrating financial websites and apps can be for users and stakeholders alike. With pitifully few exceptions, industry tools across the board--from the global juggernauts down to the smallest credit unions--ignore the cornerstones of good design: they have prehistoric layouts (often with separate mobile sites), drag their customers through confusing and overly complex workflows, and make it nearly impossible to find and execute basic functions like viewing account balances or updating investment allocations. In short, they are the worst.
Marcado enlisted me to help them realize their vision for change within the industry.
created a responsive website built for mobile, web, and tablet
designed business cards, white papers, and sales decks
wrote and edited copy that supported all designs
