While mutual fund companies in general are not embracing mobile technologies to the degree that banks, credit cards and self-directed brokerages are,
This is one of the key findings in Corporate Insight’s new report, “Money on the Move: Mobile Finance Review 2011,” which details the industry leaders and best practices in the mobile finance space as well as the findings of a survey of asset management executives on their plans for mobile technologies in the future.
Vanguard offers clients the ability to trade the firm’s mutual funds, as well as access information for a variety of account types, including brokerage, as well as to research investments. In addition to a mobile-optimized website and iPhone app, Vanguard recently introduced an iPad app.
Corporate Insight said that TIAA-CREF is one of the few asset management firms to offer access to client accounts, funds and commentary via mobile. The firm also integrates a number of educational tools and calculators in its app.
“The benefits offered by a strong mobile platform are clear,” said Dan Wiegand, senior analyst at Corporate Insight and author of the report. “By embracing mobile, companies can reduce servicing costs, improve client satisfaction and position themselves as industry innovators. While the logistics of mobile finance pose an array of development, support and security challenges to financial services, firms, there’s no denying that we have entered the mobile era. Financial service firms do not want to be left behind.”
In its survey, Corporate Insight found that 68% of financial executives said mobile has already had a positive impact on their business. Eighty percent agreed that a mobile offering is a very important element of their firm’s customer service strategy. And 100% expect the quality of their mobile offerings to improve in the future.
Corporate Insight recommends that firms expand the reach of their mobile offerings by making them available across all devices and operating systems, and that they ensure their main websites can be viewed on mobile devices. Further, Corporate Insight notes that today’s mobile devices are capable of supporting advanced market data, such as streaming real-time quotes and interactive charts, as well as multimedia research and commentary in the form of podcasts and video.
Corporate Insight said that these features can be easily incorporated into a smartphone’s touch screen viewing area and should be programmed so that they can be expanded on a full-sized tablet such as the iPad.
The firm also suggests that asset managers should automatically offer mobile access to customers who have signed up online, using their same username and password.
“Mobile services are still gaining momentum,” Wiegland said. “In fact, May 2011 was one of the most active months we’ve seen in the mobile space yet. As consumers become increasingly mobile-focused in their daily lives, it’s reasonable to expect financial firms will continue to invest in the mobile channel, improving existing platforms and launching apps to support additional devices in the months to come.
