HNW individuals are far in front of the general investor population in the race for using financial services mobile apps, a survey shows.

In the race for adopting financial services mobile apps, high net worth individuals are far in front of the general investor population, according to a recent US survey.

The Investor Touchpoints study, conducted on behalf of Cogent Reports, found that 28 per cent of those with $2 million or more in investable assets had interacted with at least one firm’s mobile technology app over the past year, compared to a mere 16 per cent of those with a minimum of $100,000 in investable assets.

The results came as a surprise for its authors. Typically, when liaising with high net worth clients, interaction tends to lean towards personalized contact over a focus on technology.

Despite expectations of Gen Y investors flocking towards mobile app innovations, less half of younger investors asked interacted with firms in this manner, at only 47 per cent.

Respondents also highlighted that the most desired feature of a provider-based mobile app must be ease of use and simplicity.

“Firms must balance functionality with ease of use or else they risk all their bells and whistles adding too much complexity and actually backfiring,” Julia Johnston-Ketterer, senior product director and author of the Investor Touchpoints report, said.

Cogent Reports interviewed a sample of 4,170 investors that were recruited from the Research Now opt-in online panel. Respondents were required to have at least $100,000 in investable assets, excluding real estate.