Wealth managers who fail to embrace mobile technology will lose the race for clients, as tablet computers revolutionize the dynamics of the advisor-client relationship in the wealth management industry, say consultants.

According to an exclusive report from Swiss-based consultant Capco, banks who fail to adapt their services to include mobile banking will be shunned by future generations of young itinerant entrepreneurs, who will soon carry out all of their business on an iPad or a laptop.

“For many, tablet technology could become their main computing device as a result of multi-functional capability potential," said Christine Ciriani, a Partner at Capco and co-author of the report. The release of the iPad in April 2010 had a transformational impact on the banking industry, she added, and last year 14 million iPads were sold.

There will be nearly a billion users of mobile devices by 2014, according to Berg Insight, a huge opportunity for private banks which will inevitably result in winners and losers.

“Tablet computing will undoubtedly be a game-changer in wealth management and financial advise,” said London-based Capco Partner Mark Jenkinson and co-author of the report. He pointed to the prediction from New York-based consultant TowerGroup, that by the end of 2011 tablet technology will form a part of all wealth managers’ mobile strategy.

“Every enterprise is actively considering how best to approach this disruptive technology. Doing nothing is not an option,” added Jenkinson.

Capco named several wealth managers who are leading the pack on the mobile technology front, including Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, St. James’ Place, Citi Private Bank, Barclays Wealth and JP Morgan Private Bank.

Wealth managers are approaching mobile banking in different ways. While Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has a mobile brokerage application for iPad, iPhone, and Blackberry models, Barclays Wealth, has an iPad application to guide clients through their financial personality.

However many of their peers are proving slow to follow their lead. A recent study by Swiss research group MyPrivateBanking showed that only half of the world’s most prominent wealth managers offer mobile applications for their clients. Only 10 per cent of the 30 providers surveyed go beyond applications related to online banking.

None of the banks surveyed offered a comprehensive mobile application with real time access to a client’s portfolio, said MyPrivateBanking.