Award-winning thesis: Young investors want influence
A concept for an investment app for young people won two students from Digital Media and Design the FA bachelor thesis award 2018. They received the award in connection with Finance IT Day on Wednesday 14 November – and the winners are naturally planning to invest the DKK 30,000 prize.
Digital Design DepartmentEducationawardsfintechapps
Written 14 November, 2018 11:22 by Vibeke Arildsen
Investing may be seem like an activity reserved for the older and wealthier parts of the population, but millenials are in fact also interested in placing part of their savings in stocks.
In their bachelor project, Emil Malthe Bæhr Christensen and Mathias Rose conducted a survey among more than 300 young people between 18 and 29 years about their experience with and views on investment.
Their study showed that while only few in the age group already are investors already, no less than 76 percent are interested in getting started. However, the majority feel that they lack knowledge about the stock market, and many do not think they have enough money to invest.
Investment app for beginners
So how should one go about designing an investment service targeting the young crowd? According to two students' survey and follow-up interviews, having a say on where their savings are placed is important for millenials.
For young people, going to the bag with a bag full of money and asking them to manage it is not enough.
Emil Malthe Bæhr Christensen, BSc in Digital Media and Design
"For young people, going to the bag with a bag full of money and asking them to manage it is not enough. They find investing fun because they can influence the outcome. What is problematic about investing, of course, is that you also risk losing your money," says Emil.
The two students decided to develop a concept for an investment app that both meets young people's wish for influence and minimizes the risk of making beginner’s errors.
Emil Malthe Bæhr Christensen received the award on behalf of the group, as Mathias Rose is currently studying in London.The app, called Peanuts, provides the user with a clear overview of investment opportunities. Unlike existing investment apps like Danske Bank’s June, the user can choose to invest in index funds with specific themes such as innovation, green energy and real estate. At the same time, the app offers the opportunity to invest very small amounts so that the user can learn to invest without betting it all - learning by doing.
Technically, the concept embraces the opportunities of the EU's new open banking directive, PSD2, which allows third party developers to access bank data with the customer’s consent.
Convinced the jury
The Peanuts concept was so convincing that the project won this year’s FA's bachelor's assignment award.
”The jury found that the thesis demonstrated a deep understanding of the business challenges in the financial sector and what customers want. You showed an ability to drive a design method all the way through from information gathering to the creating of Peanuts using few resources to testing the prototype on the relevant target group,” said FA Director Mariane Dissing at the award ceremony.
The award-winners of course intend to invest the cash prize of DKK 30,000.
"I'm going to invest in an index fund," Emil says.
Vibeke Arildsen, Press Officer, phone 2555 0447, email viar@itu.dk