Wealth managers need to speed up in their use of mobile technology, US financial research organisation Aite Group has warned in a new report.

At a time when even a few days’ outage for hand-held devices such as BlackBerrys becomes front-page news, the use of mobile technology by financial professionals is now a widely accepted fact of business.

“Wealth management firms are clearly late to the game, and most firms still struggle to define a fitting mobile strategy,” said Alois Pirker, research director at Aite Group.

Aite Group reached its conclusions from a survey of 402 financial advisors and is a revised study of its January 2009 report, entitled Efficiency in Wealth Management: Increasing Advisor Mobility.

The purpose of the report was to highlight developments in mobile technology services since 2008, Aite Group said. 

While the dawn of Smartphones and tablets has been wholly embraced by consumers who are able to connect with people and businesses from virtually anywhere, some US wealth management companies now recognise that they, however, are disadvantaged.

Specialists who rely on a range of information such as client and prospect data, market information, and portfolio and performance details, remain confined to their desks. Subsequently, firms are beginning to design suitable applications and establish which mobile platforms to support.

"At a time when switching firms has become a frequent occurrence for financial advisors, wealth management firms must be sure to understand advisors’ technological needs in order to retain valued producers,” added Pirker.