Narrowing down the wide world of cool apps, for work and for play
by Carly Schulaka
Sure, most of your client meetings and day-to-day business happens in the office, but would being mobile make life easier? Having immediate access to client contact information, account information, calendars, to-do lists and of course e-mail, anytime and anyplace may be your idea of bliss. If so, you need good apps for your iPhone, Android, BlackBerry or other smartphone to maximize your mobility.
The financial services industry seems well poised to adopt mobile technologies. For example, according to late 2010 data from Good Technology, a corporate mobility firm, financial services leads all industries in terms of the greatest adoption of the iPad for business use (followed by the technology and health care industries). Good Technology says iPads are appealing to financial professionals because they make it easier to perform time-sensitive and mission-critical tasks.
Most big custodians, including Fidelity, TD Ameritrade and Schwab have mobile versions readily available for retail clients, and they're now starting to roll out apps designed to give advisers mobile access to their platforms. Pershing, by the way, is already offering a mobile version of its adviser platform, NetX360.
For now, don't expect most apps to help you actually execute trades or make changes to client accounts. Instead, consider them handy pieces of technology for staying in touch, checking in on accounts and even having some fun, with more robust features to come.
While many popular software programs for planners may not be considered mobile apps, they are web-based applications that can be viewed on a smartphone, including IPS Advisor Pro, Act4Advisors, ProTracker and MoneyGuidePro. Most of the apps listed here are "native apps," designed specifically for the devices on which they run.
Apps for Work
Here are some good apps for staying in touch with the home office and your clients, and even doing a little business on the go:
Astrid Tasks (Android; $1.99 to $5): Simple task-recording tool that lets you add, organize and check off tasks as you complete them.
Black Diamond Performance Reporting's BlueSky Mobile (iPhone, iPad; free to authorized Black Diamond Performance Reporting clients): Show clients visuals of their holdings with the mobile version of this popular portfolio management and reporting platform.
Capturengo (iPhone, BlackBerry; free to FPA members): Capture business card info and have it e-mailed back so you can download it into your phone or CRM. Also, capture receipts in html or .pdf format; create expense reports by dragging and dropping. FPA members use "FPAMember" promo code for free access.
Catch Notes (iPhone, iPad, Android; free): Save notes, ideas, images, locations-then tag and organize them.
DropBox (iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry; basic is free or upgrade to more space for $9.99 a month): Access web-stored files and sync across multiple platforms.
Evernote (iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows; basic is free or upgrade for $45/year): Remember everything-the big and small stuff-capture thoughts, organize them and search for them.
Finantix's wealth management suite (iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry to come; contact the company for pricing): Portfolio monitoring including alerts and hotlists; versions for both clients and advisers.
Google Voice (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry; free): Voicemail transcription allows you to read your messages like e-mail, set up different greetings for different callers, free text messaging and more.
HootSuite (iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry; free): Stay connected to your Twitter, Facebook and other social media marketing efforts on the go.
iTimeSheet (iPhone, iPad; $5.99): Track your time by client; view activity reports, create invoices and export the data into Microsoft Excel.
JotNot Scanner Pro (iPhone, iPad; 99 cents): Turn your iPhone or iPad into a go-anywhere scanner.
Junxure Mobile (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry; $495/year): Interact with the same Junxure database you have in the office from your laptop or mobile device.
LogMeIn Ignition (iPhone, iPad, Android; $29.99): Be a touch or click away from all your computers and get to your information anytime, anywhere.
Morningstar (iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry; free): Clients and advisers can access tickers, ratings and research; apps for the Morningstar Office web-based suite reportedly in the works.
Orion Advisor Services' Orion Mobile App (iPhone, iPad, Android; free): Customized app in your RIA firm's name, enables clients to track account values, performance and market commentary along with a full reporting suite.
PdaNet (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry; free version limits secure sites; about $25 depending on device for full version): Use your phone as a wireless modem and get online in areas with no WiFi.
Pershing's NetX360 (iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Windows; additional fee required): Access to key NetX360 functionality, including client summaries, balances, holdings and account activity.
RedtailMobile (iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows; $10/month): Access around 90 percent of your Redtail CRM database's functionality from your phone.
RPNCalc (iPhone or iPad for $2.99; free on Android): A Reverse Polish Notation calculator with all the scientific and financial functions.
Thinking Space (Android; free): A great mind-mapping app for anytime brainstorming.
Vlingo (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows; costs vary depending on phone): Voice recognition meets intelligent virtual assistant; "talk" your text messages and more.
Apps for Play
Because even busy financial planners deserve a break from the daily grind, here are some fun apps for those little diversions:
Brain Genius Deluxe (iPhone, Android; free): Test your brain with 23 games to analyze your observation, memory, calculation and reasoning abilities. For BlackBerry, try Brain Up.
Compass (Android; free): Digital, analog and GPS compass; use it to note a place-such as where you parked your car at the airport-and find it again.
Groupon (iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry; free): Daily deals on everything from restaurants to concerts and sporting events.
Instagram (iPhone, iPad; free): Share your life with friends through pictures, Android version coming soon.
NFL Mobile (exclusive to Verizon; free, or upgrade for $10 a month): Scores, news and live audio streams of games for free, or subscribe to receive live streaming of the NFL Network-just in time for the draft.
Pano (iPhone, iPad; $1.99 for limited time): Take seamless panoramic photos straight from your phone.
Reeder (iPhone, iPad; $2.99): Sync with Google Reader on your phone.
TripIt (iPhone, Android, BlackBerry; free): Get instant access to all the information you need when traveling for business or pleasure, even when you can't connect to the Internet.
UrbanSpoon (iPhone, iPad, Android; free): Search for restaurants based on your proximity, or literally shake your phone and the UrbanSpoon slot machine will pick a restaurant for you.
App Directories
If you're still looking for cool apps, try AppESP from AppStoreHQ, it gives you personalized app recommendations based on the apps you already own-think of is as Pandora for your iPhone or Android. Also, you'll find a slew of app directories online. Here are a few:
For Apple:
Appboy: Browse for apps through easily navigable lists according to broad and narrow categories
Appolicious: Find and share the best apps for iPhone and iPad
Approll: CNET's dedicated blog of iPhone app reviews and recommendations
Chomp: If you know the kind of app you're looking for, head here and use the effective search function to find it
Yappler: Besides its syncing technology (share app ideas via Twitter, Facebook and e-mail), the site also offers weekly lists of hand-picked iPhone and iPad apps
For Android:
AndroidTapp: Android app reviews, news, ratings and interviews with developers
Androlib: Search for Android apps and games, and rate your experiences with apps
AppBrain: Discover Android apps via search, rankings and categories
Appoke: A social app store exclusively for Android devices
AppStoreHQ: Get what this site's developers consider the hottest apps on the web-for Android and iPhone-and a slew of helpful reviews
For All:
Freeware Lovers: Truly free apps for Android, BlackBerry and Palm OS
Mimvi: A pure-play search and recommendation engine for apps across all devices and platforms
Mplayit: Toggle to Android or BlackBerry or iPhone to get device-specific recommendations.
Carly Schulaka is the managing editor of Practice Management Solutions. Contact her at Carly.Schulaka@FPAnet.org. She couldn't have put this list together without the help of Scott Kahan, CFP®, Barry Kaplan, CFP®, Ben Jennings, CFP®, and Nathan Gehring, CFP®, who shared their ideas on their favorite apps. Share your app recommendations with your peers on the FPA LinkedIn group site.
The Numbers
Technology research firm IDC predicted that worldwide smartphone shipments in 2010 would reach 270 million, up 55.4 percent from 173.5 million in 2009. Through the third quarter of 2009, 200.6 million units had been shipped, up 67.6 percent from the same period a year earlier.
According to comScore Inc., which measures the digital world and provides digital business analytics, RIM (the developers of BlackBerry) continues to dominate the U.S. smartphone marketplace with 33.5 percent of smartphone users on the RIM platform. However, BlackBerry is losing ground to Google Android, which ranks second with 26 percent of the market, followed by Apple, with 25 percent of the market. The remainder of smartphone users is on the Microsoft and Palm platforms.
By 2014, 90 percent of organizations will support corporate applications on personal devices, according to Gartner's "Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users for 2011 and Beyond." Gartner, a technology research firm, also predicts that by 2013, 80 percent of businesses will support a workforce using tablets.
Where to Start?
If reading about cool apps has you ready to upgrade to a smartphone but the task seems daunting, think again. The New York Times' personal technology editor Sam Grobart writes that getting a smartphone doesn't have to be complicated (see "10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Technology," from Dec. 29, 2010.)
Grobart's advice: Stick with your existing carrier and upgrade your phone; once you're an advanced beginner on your new smartphone, start comparison shopping the carriers. If you're currently with AT&T, consider a refurbished iPhone. If you're with Verizon, check out their refurbished iPhones or Droid Incredibles (you'll find prices of refurbished smartphones are greatly reduced). If you're a Sprint customer, consider the Android phones LG Optimus S or Samsung Transform, and T-Mobile users should check out the LG Optimus T.
Security Is Improving
You may have concerns about data security on your iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry or other smartphone, and those concerns are legit. Compliance expert Ash Bhatnagar, CFP®, president of RIA Independence Corp., says putting a password on any smartphone you use for work is the first precautionary step you should take.
"Although I have not looked into the security of each of these products, the news does tell me a lot," says Bhatnagar. "In August, three countries banned the BlackBerry due to encryption issues-not because the encryption was not working, but because they could not read the encrypted e-mails, and therefore it was a security risk. So for now, my opinion is simply to use the BlackBerry as its encryption method is very good." For more on data security, read Bhatnagar's article on page 9.
Technology expert Bill Winterberg, CFP®, recently wrote on his Financial Planning Technology Blog that Apple's iOS 4.2 operating system brings stronger security and encryption to the iPad than previous incarnations and that chief compliance officers should be much more willing to allow the use of iPads as a result of these improvements.
