There are many opportunities for financial advisors to use mobile devices for their businesses, says Kevin Cork, a financial planner with the Absolute Group and a technology writer based in Calgary. As discussed in yesterday’s article, you can use a tablet for interacting with clients, planning, checking email or reading reports.
But a tablet or smartphone is only as powerful as the apps it uses. Cork recommends the following five apps, which, he says, every advisor should have to get the most out of his or her mobile device. (They are free of charge unless noted otherwise):
1. Flipboard (iPhone, iPad)
Use the Flipboard app to organize all your online reading in one location.
Flipboard takes everything you read on the web, whether it’s a Twitter post, a report on mutual funds or an RSS feed from a newspaper, Cork says, and turns it into an online magazine.
For instance, if you read a Twitter post of an article, he says, Flipboard will post one-third of that article and allow you to click on it or stroke across the tablet’s screen to turn the pages just as you would for an online magazine.
Flipboard is free to download at http://flipboard.com/
2. Evernote (all platforms)
The Evernote app lets you create a virtual archive of all your documents and keep it at your fingertips.
You can use Evernote to simply write notes, Cork says, but its real strength is in its storage capabilities. The app allows you to store word documents, PDFs, emails and websites in a permanent file system that can be edited and searched easily.
Cork likes to use Evertnote when he receives a large email from a fund company that he plans to read and search through at a later time.
Evernote is available to download at www.evernote.com
3. Vlingo (all smartphones)
Go hands-free when crafting notes and sending emails by using the dictation app on your mobile device.
Vlingo allows you to dictate text messages, notes and emails, Cork says, and that is great if you are in a hurry and need to make a quick note about a client meeting or you need to send an email while in your car.
Download Vlingo at www.vlingo.com.
4. Repligo (Android and BlackBerry)
RepliGo Reader app makes PDFs easier to read on your smart phone.
RepliGO changes the format of a regular PDF from two columns on your screen to one column, says Cork. That change allows you to read the text by scrolling down continuously instead of having to move from side to side. Even if you zoom in, it will reformat the text to fit the screen.
RepliGo can be downloaded from http://www.cerience.com/. It costs US$14.95 for Blackberry and US$4.49 for an Android device.
5. Goodreader (iPad, iPhone)
As an alternative to Repligo, Cork recommends GoodReader for for iPad and iPhone users. It is available on iTunes for $4.99.
This is the second instalment in a two-part series on using mobile devices.