Rescuing Wealth Management App Ecosystem for Investment Advisory Firm

Solution Overview

The solution is a comprehensive investment platform transformed into a robust tool that empowers users to manage their investment portfolios effectively. Following a complete architectural redesign and infrastructure enhancement, the platform now offers a diverse selection of investment portfolios for American and Chinese securities. It includes ready-made investment ideas managed by professional analysts, focusing on various asset classes such as equities, including blue-chip and penny stocks. The platform tracks major global indices, stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, and other financial instruments, providing users with a holistic view of the market. 

User Functionality

Investment Portfolio

• Management provides curated access to diverse portfolios spanning American and Chinese equities, including blue-chip stocks and penny stocks. Users benefit from professionally managed ready-made strategies, global index tracking (e.g., S&P 500, bonds, commodities), real-time news updates, and daily expert analysis.

• Educational Features include simplified explanations of investment concepts and comprehensive resources covering strategies and risk management frameworks. 

• Deals and Promotions deliver timely updates on exclusive offers for investment products and subscription discounts. 

• Analytical Tools integrate advanced technical analysis (moving averages, support/resistance levels) with fundamental metrics (P/E ratios, EPS), real-time market sentiment insights, and push-notification trading signals. 

• The User Experience prioritizes an intuitive mobile interface, personalized strategies, real-time updates, and expert commentary. 

Analytics Team Functionality

• Market Analysis and Insights focus on in-depth trend analysis of equities, IPOs, and financial instruments, supported by regular expert opinions and real-time news integration. 

• Analytics and Reporting generate daily performance assessments, news-driven impact evaluations, and detailed company/industry reviews. 

• Portfolio Management tools enable the creation and curation of diversified portfolios and analyst-driven investment ideas. 

• Performance Tracking monitors portfolio outcomes and delivers data-driven evaluations of market movements. 

• User Guidance includes expert commentary and collaboration on educational content development.  

Accounting Team Functionality

• Financial Management oversees subscription revenue, expense tracking, profitability reporting, regulatory compliance, and IRS tax integration for accurate financial operations.  

Admin Functionality 

• Content Management centralizes educational resources, LMS-hosted webinars for resellers (financial media, influencers), and promotional tools for limited-time offers. 

• User Support resolves inquiries, optimizes UX through feedback, and implements analytics-driven platform improvements. 

Project Challenges

The project faced multifaceted challenges that impacted progress and outcomes: 

Vendor & Stability Challenges: Initial collaboration with the first vendor led to an unstable product with frequent crashes, unreliable data management, and critical stability flaws in core features like push notifications.  

Architectural & Infrastructure Weaknesses: Fragmented microservices caused performance bottlenecks and integration hurdles, compounded by misconfigured cloud infrastructure.  

Operational Gaps: Lack of structured CI/CD processes, inefficient incident management, unclear documentation, and knowledge transfer issues hindered team alignment and release efficiency.  

Technical Implementation Hurdles: Overly complex payment logic requiring rework, and a non-intuitive user interface that hampered navigation and accessibility.  

Migration & Resource Constraints: Data integrity risks during system transition, limited resources, and balancing stakeholder expectations under tight deadlines. 

Technical Solution Highlights

Technically, the system consists of a robust ecosystem that integrates various components to enhance the investment management experience. The project involved a complete overhaul of an existing platform that was plagued by instability and performance issues, particularly with push notifications. Itexus was brought in to address these challenges and effectively rebuild the system from the ground up.

The key components of the solution include:

Modular Architecture: Transitioned from a fragmented microservices architecture to a more cohesive modular monolith, which improved stability and performance. This restructuring allowed for better management of the application’s components and reduced the complexity of interactions between services.

Integration of CRM and CMS: Successfully integrated existing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Content Management System (CMS) solutions into the new architecture, creating a seamless user experience across web and mobile platforms.

Mobile and Web Applications: Developed user-friendly mobile applications for iOS and Android, along with a web based personal account interface, enabling users to manage their investment portfolios and access analytics easily.

Enhanced Push Notification System: Replaced the unreliable push notification service with a native solution, ensuring timely and accurate communication with users.

Payment Processing Improvements: Reworked the payment processing logic to ensure accurate and reliable transactions, integrating with payment providers such as and Cloud Payments.

Analytics and Reporting: Implemented a comprehensive analytics framework that provides daily performance reports, trading signals, and insights into market trends. This includes integration with data providers like Alpha Vantage and Yahoo Finance for real-time data.

Back-office Tool Development: Created a back-office tool that automates user management, reporting, and incident response, significantly improving operational efficiency for the client’s support team.

 User  Education and Support: Developed educational resources, including webinars and online courses, to empower users with knowledge about investment strategies and market dynamics.

 AI Integration Plans: Established a foundation for future enhancements, including the potential integration of AI driven features to assist with content generation and user support.

Overall, the project not only stabilized the existing system but also laid the groundwork for future growth and innovation, enabling the client to better serve their users and adapt to market demands.

Third-party integrations

Throughout the project, the need for effective third-party integrations was a significant focus for the team. Initially, the existing setup included integrations with various services that were poorly designed and maintained, contributing to system instability. In the course of the stabilization efforts, it was determined that some integrations, particularly those with local payment providers, were no longer viable and needed to be phased out. Itexus proposed replacing these with more reliable global solutions, such as Cloudpayments, to enhance payment processing and improve overall functionality.

Additionally, the project team recognized the necessity of implementing communication channels for user notifications. While an integration with OneSignal for push notifications was already in place when Itexus assumed the project, the team suggested transitioning away from this service in favor of native push notifications. This change was in line with the client’s desire to reduce costs while increasing system stability. The reliability of application performance was further supported by incorporating Sentry for error logging and monitoring, enabling the team to swiftly identify and address issues as they arose.

For data services, the integration of multiple data providers such as Alphavantage, Yahoo Finance, and https://www.investing.com/ allowed the application to deliver real-time market data, enhancing the decision-making capabilities of users. Furthermore, to facilitate seamless customer relationship management, Salesforce was integrated into the ecosystem.

The goal of these third-party integrations was to create a more cohesive and efficient user experience while ensuring the application remained stable and reliable. The enhancements not only streamlined existing processes but also paved the way for future functionalities, such as the development of Telegram bots to support user engagement and automate notifications, indicating a commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology in the investment management landscape.

Results & future plans

The engagement with the client yielded significant results, leading to the stabilization of their applications and a marked improvement in user experience. By addressing critical issues related to reliability, functionality, and operational processes, the client was able to regain user confidence and enhance service delivery. This remodeling resulted in a 42% increase in clientele within the two months following the launch of the new system. Additionally, the integration of natively supported push notifications, a robust CRM, and an optimized CMS paved the way for more efficient customer interactions and data management.

To further support their ongoing success, the Itexus team assisted the client in building their own in-house team to manage the system effectively. This included conducting interviews for potential candidates, providing comprehensive training and onboarding, and offering permanent consultation on system operations to ensure smooth running and continuous improvement.

Looking forward, the client has expressed a strong interest in exploring projects related to artificial intelligence in the coming year, recognizing the potential to harness advanced technologies to further enrich their platform and user offerings. This forward-thinking approach positions the client for continued growth and innovation in an ever-evolving fintech landscape as they seek to enhance their services and keep pace with emerging industry trends.