A greater percentage of high net-worth (HNW) financial advisors have embraced smartphones and tablets than have advisors with smaller books, according to the 2012 Digital Experience and Attitudes Survey on advisors and mobile digital devices, conducted by Toronto-based BlueRush Digital Media Corp. in partnership with Investment Executive (IE).

“HNW advisors are more likely to be earlier adopters,” says Gary Teelucksingh, senior vice president of BlueRush, “because it is in line with what their clients are doing.

“The use of mobile devices continues to raise the bar when it comes to client services,” he continues. “The fact that the adoption rate of these devices among clients is high, and is one that continues to increase, [means that] advisors and their firms need to be leaders in this area – not followers.”

Among high-producing advisors surveyed – those who reported assets under management (AUM) of more than $125 million – 85.3% reported having a smartphone, tablet computer or both, vs 77.1% of lower-producing advisors (those with $125 million in AUM or less.)

Mike Newton, senior vice president and portfolio manager with Toronto-based Macquarie Private Wealth Inc., manages $150 million for 210 client households. He has been using digital devices since they were launched. Over the years, Newton has made a point to keep up with the times, as well as with his tech-savvy clients. He owns both an iPhone and an iPad2.

“If I know a client will be boarding a long flight and won’t have Internet access, I take that opportunity to send them some reading material that they can upload to their reader or personal iPad,” says Newton. “The stuff I send them can be general in nature or a thought-provoking piece; but I make sure it’s specific to that client.”

Another reason that HNW advisors are embracing digital devices on a larger scale than their lower-producing peers, says Anthony Morris, CEO of Toronto-based Top Advisor Program Inc., is that they are more likely to approach their firm and ask for financial backing.

Survey findings show 44% of HNW advisors have their digital devices paid for by their firms, compared with only 10% of the lower producing advisors.

“[HNW] advisors also are more likely to pay out of pocket for a third-party vendor,” says Morris, “to handle all social media content and how they are digitally embracing clients.”

As for smartphones, BlackBerrys are still the leading choice for both segments of advisors. Eighty per cent of HNW advisors carry BlackBerrys, while only 23.6% have an iPhone and 12.7% have an Android. Among lower-producing advisors, 53.8% are BlackBerry users, 28.3% use an iPhone and 17.2% use an Android.

“While the adoption rate is high for many digital devices,” says Teelucksingh, “BlackBerry, at the moment, is still the dominant digital device for business use among advisors. And even if that trend changed significantly within the next 12 months, BlackBerry would still be a platform that [IT departments] need to plan for.”

But regarding tablet preference, the iPad is the tablet of choice among all advisors. Eighty-eight per cent of HNW advisors are iPad owners, while only 18.2% own a Playbook and 6.1% own an Android. Among the lower-producing advisors, 61.6% have an iPad, while 28.3% own a Playbook and 14.5% own an Android.

These two advisor segments are tapping into mobile technology for very different reasons. HNW advisors seem to be plugging into their devices to access email, do their day-to-day banking and during client meetings; 29.8% of these advisors are using their devices when they are with clients.

For Newton, it has become second nature to use digital devices during client meetings. About 25% of his clients bring their own digital devices to meetings and request articles or research papers to be emailed to them during the meeting so they can view them on their own device.

“Right now,” says Newton, “one of the major advantages I’ve seen with the iPad is if I see an interesting article or visual that I want to use for clients, I can bookmark it and make it into a PDF.”

Lower-producing advisors are more likely to turn on their mobile devices while preparing for a client meeting, vs during the meeting: 29.1% of advisors use such devices during the preparation stage, compared with the 22.9% who use one during meetings.

Social media use still seems to be similar across the board: 30.7% of lower-producing advisors access sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn; 31.5% of HNW advisors do the same. IE

© 2012 Investment Executive. All rights reserved.