Pocket: investing in US stocks without having to pick them

Valbury was adding US stocks to its futures trading app. Many first-time investors want US exposure but get stuck on the first question: which stocks do I buy? Pocket answers it for them. A pocket is a ready-made bundle of US stocks, picked around a theme or a risk level, that you buy in one transaction.

As part of the product team, I:

• Did the competitor research: mapped how four investing apps in Indonesia present stock bundles, and broke down 25 of their bundles, to see what they did well and what Valbury could bring in.
• Turned research into recommendations: counted which stocks appear most across those bundles and proposed three risk-tier pockets.
• Wrote the PRD: personas, user scenarios, must-have features, a go-to-market plan, launch phases and success targets.
• Designed with the team: helped design the whole process, from browsing pockets to buying one, including the “Create New Pocket” flow that lets users build their own.

Here's how the story unfolds ▼

Valbury Asia Futures runs a trading app for futures and forex traders in Indonesia. In late 2025 it was expanding into US stocks and crypto. Pocket was designed as one of the first reasons to try the new US Stocks tab, especially for people who had never bought a US stock before.

Indonesia's investors are young and new, and many want a piece of the US market. But most don't have the time or knowledge to research individual companies. Investing apps let you trade single stocks, but few offer bundled, themed or risk-based collections.

• Thousands of tickers→beginners freeze→no first purchase
• Diversifying means five separate orders→it feels like work→everything goes into one stock
• Risk explained in jargon→cautious investors don't trust it→they stay out

I did the competitor research on this project: finding out what other investing apps did, and what Valbury could bring in. It had two parts.

The flows. I mapped how four investing apps in Indonesia present stock bundles: where they appear on the homepage, how you browse and buy one, how you top up, and whether you can build your own. The contents. For the two apps with the biggest catalogues, I broke down every bundle, 25 in total: its theme, the stocks inside, how they're weighted, and which returns are shown. Then I counted how often each stock appears.

1. 4

   apps' bundle flows mapped

   →

2. 25

   bundles broken down

   →

3. Top 10

   stocks by how often they appear

   →

4. 3

   risk-tier pockets proposed

1. 01

   Stories sell, not categories.

   Bundles are named after famous investors, institutions and trends, not “Tech Fund 1”.

2. 02

   The same few stocks carry everything.

   Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Amazon and Alphabet each sit in 6 of the 25 bundles.

3. 03

   Building your own is rare.

   Only one of the four apps let people build their own bundle. That gap became our Create New Pocket flow.

The business wanted a feature competitors don't do well: something that makes US investing simple enough for first-timers, brings investors back to track and buy again, and raises the average transaction size. Investors wanted to own US stocks without researching companies, spread their risk without placing many orders, and understand what they're buying in plain words. The PRD captured them as three personas:

The frequency analysis became three starter pockets, one per comfort level:

We designed the whole process as a team; I brought the research into every screen.

For investors like Andi who know what they want, I designed Create New Pocket: curated pockets for people who don't want to choose, your own for people who do.

1. Phase 1

   Beta

   The most active investors first, to test usability and trust.

2. Phase 2

   Soft launch

   Everyone, led by 2–3 pockets with strong appeal.

3. Phase 3

   Scale

   More themes, then price alerts and recurring buys.

I defined how the team would measure Pocket, across the whole funnel from discovery to revenue:

1. 01

   Research should answer a decision.

   One benchmark gave us both the stocks for our first pockets and the case for building the feature.

2. 02

   The hard part of simple is choosing.

   Deciding which pockets to launch and how to describe their risk was the real product work.

3. 03

   Next time, test the names.

   Competitors win with memorable themes; we chose clarity. I'd test which earns more trust with real users.

Thanks to Valbury's Sr. UI/UX Designer, Lead Product Manager and VP of Product.