A smartphone app for the smart adviser: Texas Instruments hops on the iPhone bandwagon

I'm willing to bet that a number of advisers have a venerable Texas Instruments Inc.BA II calculator either sitting on their desk, or in a nearby drawer. I'd also be willing to bet that most of you are too self-conscious to be seen in public with it. Enter the BAII Plus App for iPhone and iPod Touch, which became available this week on the App Store. At just $14.99, the application will let an adviser solve everything from simple math problems to complex equations like time-value-of-money calculations, such as those for annuities, mortgages, leases and savings — all on that coolest of current platforms. "Customers told us they want fewer electronic devices to carry around, but they still want a powerful calculator handy in their day-to-day lives," Melendy Lovett, president of Texas Instruments' education technology business, said in a statement. Of course there's no shortage of other applications for the iPhone that might interest advisers as well. These include an application for Junxure CRM, optionsXpress, and Morningstar among quite a few others. For more information, visit Apple iTunes App Store. It took only nine years, but InvestEdge got its patent It took nearly a decade, but InvestEdge has inally received what it's been waiting for: A patent for its Integrated Investment Management System was awarded this month by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent application, with its 34 claims and 14 drawings, was filed back in July of 2000 and describes an overlay system concept where data is refreshed from underlying books-of-record systems, without replicating accounting functions, and provides portfolio analysis, monitoring and reporting. InvestEdge Inc. uses technology based on this patent in its online platform. Bob Stewart, chief executive and cofounder of the company, said in a prepared statement that it had indeed been a long road since the patent was originally filed. “Our success is validation that the concepts protected by our patents are a real innovation in the marketplace. Our customers and the investment industry as a whole continue to rapidly evolve and we're committed to keeping pace.” Those intrepid readers who are intrigued enough can check out the patent for themselves online. For more information, visit InvestEdge.