Case Study

MarketGrader

Simplifying the path to high-quality investments

Overview

MarketGrader, a global equity research platform founded in 1999, partnered with Spark to reimagine its digital experience for individual investors and financial advisors. Through comprehensive discovery research and strategic redesign, we transformed a complex, data-heavy platform into an intuitive investment research tool that empowers users to identify high-quality stocks at reasonable prices using MarketGrader’s proprietary GARP (Growth at a Reasonable Price) methodology.

Services
  • Stakeholder interviews
  • Customer research
  • Analytics reviews
  • Heuristic audits
  • Persona workshops
  • Customer journeys
  • Taxonomy design
  • UX/UI design
  • Copywriting
  • Design systems
Technologies
  • Figma
  • Google Analytics 4
  • Mouseflow
  • Semrush
Timeframe
  • 3 months
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Challenge

Cutting through complexity to unlock value

MarketGrader’s investment research platform offered powerful fundamental analysis tools backed by 25 years of proven methodology, but the digital experience wasn’t translating that value to users. The platform’s comprehensive data and global coverage, spanning 40,000+ equities across 70 countries, created a significant cognitive load. Users struggled to understand what made MarketGrader unique, how to navigate the wealth of information, and most critically, how to take action on the insights provided.

Process

Research-driven strategy meets user-centered design

Through stakeholder interviews, competitive analysis, comprehensive analytics reviews, and in-depth user interviews with existing subscribers, former trial users, and prospective customers, we uncovered 14 critical findings that shaped our entire strategy. This research revealed that users weren’t struggling with a lack of data; they were overwhelmed by it and needed MarketGrader to help them take action. We distilled these insights into a comprehensive recommendations deck that provided both immediate design-led improvements to the product UI and marketing website, as well as a strategic roadmap of future optimization activities to guide MarketGrader’s continued digital evolution.
Comprehensive discovery research identified 14 critical findings across platform usability, value communication, and user needs.
Analytics revealed navigation challenges where equal click distribution across tabs suggested users were searching for value rather than finding it intuitively.
In-depth interviews revealed users crave actionable insights, not just data.

Solution

A refined platform that turns data into decisions

The redesigned MarketGrader experience transforms complex investment data into actionable intelligence. We clarified the value proposition by elevating MarketGrader’s proprietary GARP methodology and unique scoring systems, reorganized navigation around user needs and frequent tasks, and enhanced credibility through trust-building elements such as partner logos and interactive performance charts. A new freemium model gives users 3-6 months to properly evaluate the platform, while improved onboarding, including personalized quizzes and a comprehensive learning center, helps them unlock the platform’s full potential quickly.
A new personalized dashboard surfaces users’ most important alerts, price changes, grade updates, and rating shifts for immediate action.
Dynamic stock tags and GARP-based price targets provide actionable intelligence, not just raw data.
The proprietary quadrant chart, which displays all 24 fundamental factors, now leads equity detail pages with interactive, AI-generated explanations.
SentimentGrade scoring provides unique insights that help investors understand market momentum and timing.
Proprietary features like StockGrade and SentimentGrade are now clearly labeled to show what users can only get from MarketGrader.
Streamlined navigation prioritizes the most frequently used Dashboard, StockGrader, ETFGrader, Ideas, and Watchlist features.
Clear messaging immediately communicates MarketGrader’s unique position as the leading GARP-based investment research tool.
Restructured pricing aligned with the features users value most, introducing a freemium tier with extended evaluation periods.
The redesigned methodology page makes MarketGrader’s proprietary approach more digestible and compelling for prospects.

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