MBA Systems, the UK supplier of internet-based information and transaction systems, has launched Portreport, a new service which allows investment and wealth managers to transmit client valuations and reports to portable handheld devices.

The new service is an extension of MBA’s existing Speedreport client reporting facility. Highlights from these reports can now be delivered to devices including the Apple iPhone, BlackBerry and Motorola Milestone, with information transmitted in a format which is customised to fit each firm’s individual corporate identity.

With internet fraud and identity theft an ongoing hot topic, information security is naturally a top concern within wealth management technology, and to address this MBA has taken privacy measures beyond simple user passwords. To gain further security and anonymity clients can choose their PDA reports to be addressed to an alias of their choice; additionally, the report’s contents can be a summary of the investment portfolio, or a specific aspect of it, for example, confirmation of a specific transaction.

While MBA expects that a typical user of the PDA service will go on to examine an in-depth Speedreport valuation at their computer, or in hard-copy format, Portreport would still seem to offer clients a relatively in-depth level of information: a standard Portreport summary will consist of a number of screen images containing both text and graphic material such as pie or bar charts, the firm said in a statement.

The rising use of mobile technology looks set to revolutionise the way financial services firms do business as time-poor clients increasingly demand “anywhere, anytime” access to their banking services. A report by Juniper Research, for example, estimates that over 150 million people worldwide will use their mobile phone to view their bank details by 2011.

In November of last year Killik & Co, the UK stockbroker, launched a mobile website to enable clients to keep track of their investments on the go, citing the increasing use of smartphones as a deciding factor in establishing the new service. The site is free to use and is available as a secure website or as an “app” on iPhones and Android phones.

At around the same time, across the Atlantic, New York-based technology firm Innovest made its InnoVue product accessible via the iPhone. Following the development, Innovest’s client firms and their customers can access its trust and wealth management platform, InnoTrust, via their mobile phones – allowing them to view account and portfolio information on the move.