A number of trends are converging to make apps for smart devices an increasingly important offering for wealth managers, according to a new report from Celent.

Financial firms that offer apps today are “leaders,” says Celent, because an increasing number of customers now expect institutions they deal with to offer these. Meanwhile, double-digit growth in smart devices is set to continue, the report predicts, meaning that this trend towards apps forming part of consumers' expectations is likely to grow.

This year, Celent expects smartphone units to grow 35 per cent to 620 million units (compared to 2011 estimates of 52 per cent growth to 460 million), according to the report, North American SnAppshot: Capital Markets and Wealth Management.

In terms of the operating system institutions are selecting, financial firms are focusing on iOS from Apple and Android from Google, while the Blackberry OS from RIM and Windows from Microsoft remain ones to watch, the report says. Celent expects more Android financial apps in 2012.

A report last year from MyPrivateBanking, a private client forum, criticized banks’ app provision for having a lack of Android-compatible options, despite the operating system's popularity globally. Most banking apps are only available for the iPhone, and there is even a lack of specific apps for the iPad, the report said.

Looking at the wealth management sector alone, only six of the top 40 firms in the Barron’s Wealth Managers List for 2011 have client apps available, according to Celent.

The report’s sample group of wealth management apps focused on giving investors access to account information including balances, holdings, and historical transactions.

Most also provide data and trading tools, and going forward more wealth managers are expected to offer trading in their apps to compete with brokers and other competitors, says the research and consultancy firm.

Celent found that some wealth managers that also have capital markets research do not offer this to individual investors. The firm expects this to change over time, however, as most wealth managers will start offering capital markets research to individual investor clients as well.

Celent also studied six of the largest online brokers separately from wealth managers, as these firms are more focused on trading, and found that they all offer apps with account access, market data, charts and trading tools. For brokers, this is a competitive issue and a make-or-break factor for clients who want to trade through smart devices.

In the wealth management space, clients also expect their advisors to have access to smart mobile devices, according to the report.

Last December, UBS Wealth Management Americas became the latest firm to embrace the trend of mobile technology, equipping its roster of around 6,000 financial advisors with tools and applications. This was accompanied by the launch of a national pilot of UBS FA Mobile, an application for the iPad allowing the firm's financial advisors to work with clients by accessing desktop and proprietary tools while away from their offices. The pilot program started on 1 December and lasts for three months.