North American SnAppshot: Advisors
An Overview of Mobile Apps
Abstract
Smartphone and tablet growth remain strong, and Celent believes double-digit growth of smart mobile devices will continue. Financial advisors want to use smart devices to better serve their clients and to help them with client and prospect presentations. Many advisors are bringing their own devices to work and are looking for innovative apps to help them be more productive.
In a new report, North American SnAppshot: Advisors, Celent explores some of the technology and business issues wealth management firms are facing as they develop mobile applications for their advisors. Celent estimates that 664 million smartphones and 115 million tablets will be sold in 2012, and smart device growth is fueling advisor interest in using these devices to help manage their practices.
There are multiple demand drivers for advisor apps, and this report examines factors and trends such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and app branding that are driving demand from advisors for advisor apps.
“Advisors want access to market and client information on smartphone devices, and some of the leading wealth management firms have released apps for their advisors,” says Bill Fearnley, Jr., Celent Senior Analyst and author of the report. “Most advisors don’t have the financial and technical resources to develop their own apps so they’re asking their partners to provide them with the tools. Advisors also want to brand or cobrand these apps with their logos to show clients that they’re using the latest technology.”
In this report, Celent discusses some of the technology options available and offers recommendations for firms looking to develop apps for their advisors.