Editor’s note: The following article, by Nikolaos Zorbas, IMSplus business unit manager at Profile Software, is published here today before tomorrow’s WealthMatters conference in London (organised by the publisher of this website). Michael Bakouris, chief operating officer at Profile, is due to speak at the conference, of which Profile Software is one of the supporting organisations. This publication is delighted to share the insights from this firm; as ever, the views contained here are not necessarily endorsed by this website. To view a recent article about Profile Software, click here.

We are all experiencing the rapid emergence of software applications running on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. A wide spectrum of mobile applications is already available for a number of operating systems (or platforms), ranging from simple, personal, autonomous applications targeting individuals, to complex, specialised business-oriented ones targeting industry professionals and their clients.

An example of the latter category includes mobile applications specifically developed for wealth managers and private bankers, as well as their wealthy clientele. But what are the high-level business, technical and other requirements that a wealth manager or private banker should take into account to select the most appropriate mobile application for his/her organisation?

An obvious point to start with and a point of special concern of such financial institutions, and their clients as well, is application security. Encrypted communications (ideally a multi-level encryption, for example, HTTPS in addition to a proprietary protocol) between the mobile application server and the devices, is the foundation on which the application’s security layer is built.

Main features

The main features that usually comply with a financial institution’s security standards and determine a given user’s access level are the use of proprietary communication protocols by natively developed mobile applications (in contrast to web-/HTML-based applications); a registration process of a downloaded mobile application with the financial institution; centralised access control (eg, through LDAP), two-factor authentication; use of one-time passwords, functional and data access levels of authorisation or even location-based services and remote device data management to lock or remove sensitive data from the device (where applicable).

Moreover, financial institutions are typically very cautious with respect to where and how their clients’ data get transmitted, appear and whether they remain stored. A generally good practice to apply is to use solely non-persistent data on the mobile device, ie data not saved and no longer available as soon as the session ends or times out. Most institutions also prefer to use aliases instead of real client personal information and account numbers. Finally, as in every financial services application, full auditability and appropriate logging of information at the application’s server back-end are important and vital application features.

Equally important is the functionality provided by the application. A wealth management mobile application may deliver a wide range of functionalities depending on the type of the financial institution and the kind of services it provides. Such mobile applications typically provide access to business or to business-related content (eg documents) through a mobile digital channel. Indicative functions which are available on a typical mobile application covering several user roles (eg wealth managers and clients) may include: access to clients’ information, holdings, transactions, portfolio profitability, performance and risk analysis reports, statements, alerts monitoring, CRM, trading/order management, watch-list, financial planning, document management, access to news and market data.

Additionally, a financial institution may decide to integrate proprietary content (like in-house research and market commentaries) alongside the above-mentioned information sourced by core systems, aiming to increase client loyalty and frequency of application usage. Thus, essential functionality for such an application should enable a wealth manager to closely collaborate with his clients, stay up-to-date with the markets and a client to have access to his portfolios and markets at any place and time.

Keep it friendly

User friendliness is another major area of interest. By definition, mobile applications have introduced an enhanced, innovative user interface with unique characteristics when compared with more “traditional” user interfaces we were used to in the past with desktop and web-based applications. Gestures and animated graphs are just a couple of examples of such enhancements. A well-designed mobile application is expected to take full advantage of the device capabilities when it comes to user interaction. User-friendly design, ease of operation, intuitive application use based on the device’s user interface standards, are also signs of a well-designed mobile application.

Other significant factors to consider when evaluating a mobile application include its reliability, performance, scalability and high availability, as well as its integration capabilities (such as through web services). With regards to technology in use, a natively-developed application is generally preferred, as it exploits in full the potential of each mobile device operating system. Maintenance and support services provided by the software vendor should also be taken into account to assure smooth and regular product upgrades, maintenance of the installation and user support.

The benefits of a mobile application are obvious: it enables industry professionals to provide value-added services, assist them to better promote their business, improve their productivity and effectiveness while being closer to their clientele. The use of mobility tools is expected to accelerate sales, simplify the new clients’ acquisition process, strengthen existing clients’ loyalty and lead to a more direct, closer and eventually, more profitable relationship with clients. On the other hand, enhanced client experience and involvement, convenience, and transparency, increase client satisfaction.

Apart from the business and technical requirements, any software evaluation should take into consideration the solution’s total cost of ownership and the vendor’s profile. A value-for-money proposition is probably better suited for today’s volatile market environment and unstable economic conditions. In addition, the engagement of an experienced, knowledgeable, and focused-on-the-specific-business-domain software vendor, is critical.

To sum up, wealth managers and private bankers should evaluate several aspects of a mobile application offering, such as security and various business, technical, and technological requirements, costs incurred, as well as accompanying services, depending on the type of the financial institution, the kind of services the institution provides, and the institution’s specific business model.

For further details on Profile Software, click here.