The number of Dutch households that invest increased to 1.6 million in 2023, with an 11% year-over-year growth. With the rise of digital investment platforms and mobile-first broker apps, investing is more accessible than ever. Yet, the regulations meant to guide the masses towards a healthy investment behavior still rely on legacy frameworks dating back over 15 years.
In 2023, the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) released a pivotal report titled “Observing Online Investment Platforms.” This research delivers key insights into how platform design shapes investor behavior, particularly for retail users acting without financial advice. AFM interviewed six platforms and surveyed 850 investors on a wide range of topics related to digital investing.
The study finds that 32% of investors demonstrate suboptimal investment behavior: taking on excessive risk, failing to diversify portfolios, and engaging in frequent trading. This translates into more than 500,000 Dutch households potentially being led to financial decisions that are not in their best interests—often due to the way investment platforms are structured and designed. The report draws on behavioral science to analyze how interface features, defaults, and nudges shape investor actions.
At Private Investor Alliance (PIA), this kind of research directly informs our Online Broker Evaluation Framework (OBEF)—especially Category 6: Investor Behavior. This area focuses on how platforms influence decision-making through design, education, and user engagement.
1. Platform Design has a Signifficant Effect on Investment Behavior
AFM emphasizes that interface design isn’t neutral—it actively guides investor choices. Even small details like payment and trade execution options have a measurable impact on investment behavior. Some platforms default to credit card payments, nudging users to invest borrowed money—raising financial risk. Others default to market orders, which execute at the best available price, often instantly.
The AFM recommends using limit orders as the default, prompting users to set a target price and slow down the trading process. These interface-level choices influence investor behavior, encouraging more frequent trades and increasing exposure to loss—especially among beginners.
2. Information Isn’t Always Education
The AFM found that while most platforms provide legal and technical documentation, true financial education is often lacking or hard to find. Some platforms offer tooltips, pop-ups, or emails to promote learning, but most don’t tailor the experience based on the user’s knowledge level.
Information is often buried under dense, overly technical content that overwhelms rather than empowers. Users are more likely to skip or ignore content that isn’t immediately relevant to their investment decisions. This overload of poorly structured information discourages long-term learning and risks leaving investors uninformed about key products and risks.
3. Visual Cues Drive Short-Term Thinking
AFM highlights how visual design can push users toward speculative behavior. Red/green price flashes, leaderboards, and real-time updates encourage FOMO-driven reactions. Platforms often display short-term historical returns, which can mislead users about long-term investment value.
Some platforms use trust-enhancing visuals (e.g., bank-like branding or security symbols) to project credibility without clarifying actual protections. A well-designed investment platform should align visuals with long-term investor goals—not replicate the urgency of social media or trading games.
4. Notifications & Nudges Can Fuel Overtrading
Behavioral nudges—push notifications, alerts, and promotional messages—are commonly used to re-engage users. But the AFM warns. Alerts are often emotional (“Big move happening now!”) and not based on investor profile or strategy. Inadequate onboarding means many users don’t understand the implications of trades triggered by alerts.
These nudges may be aligned more with platform engagement than investor success. Designing notifications responsibly means focusing on personalized, relevant prompts that aid—not distract—long-term investing.
5. Responsible Platform Design: A Call to Action by the AFM
Rather than issuing hard rules, the AFM urges platforms to apply responsible design principles—what behavioral economists call “choice architecture.” Key recommendations include:
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Default Options: Use defaults that reduce risk and promote thoughtful investing (e.g., limit orders, bank transfers).
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Choice Set: Structure asset listings to encourage diversification, not just popularity.
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Information Layout: Present relevant data clearly and reduce complexity where possible.
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Historical Returns: Display longer-term performance with clear disclaimers about risk.
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Interface Design: Avoid flashy effects, urgency tones, and visual overload.
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User Flow: Make onboarding, deposits, withdrawals, and account closing seamless and transparent.
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Communications: Send notifications that are timely, user-aligned, and free of marketing bias.
These design recommendations aim to reduce unintentional harm and help users invest with confidence and clarity.
Conclusion: How PIA Applies These Insights
At Private Investor Alliance, we apply the AFM’s findings directly in our Investor Behavior category—part of our 14-category Online Broker Evaluation Framework.
This category evaluates:
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Whether platforms avoid manipulation through emotional design or constant nudging
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Whether onboarding includes meaningful profiling and knowledge checks
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How defaults and UI elements support responsible investment decisions
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Whether platforms deliver useful, digestible educational content
This category draws on 8 distinct criteria. Together with 250+ total data points across our framework, it ensures that platform design is assessed as a key driver of investment behavior. By anchoring our work in regulatory research and academic evidence, PIA offers broker rankings that emphasize transparency, long-term outcomes, and investor protection.
