Envestnet Tamarac launched a new mobile app for registered investment advisers to engage with their clients on iOS and Android devices, in the first of dozens of expected adviser technology announcements due this week out of the Technology Tools for Today (T3) conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
The app provides a client-facing dashboard, portfolio reports, net worth updates and access to documents via a digital document vault. By this summer, Tamarac also will add budgeting tools to the mobile technology, the firm said on Wednesday morning as the adviser technology conference formally opened.
Clients also can use the app to view, add and edit assets and liabilities held with the adviser, as well as to link outside accounts using Envestnet Yodlee's
data aggregation capabilities.
(More: Envestnet Tamarac overhauls adviser software)
Tamarac, which has 900 RIAs managing $900 billion in assets using its platform, is offering two versions of the app: standard and premium. The standard app, called Wealth View, is free for RIAs and clients but uses Tamarac-branded images and naming. The premium edition costs $2,500 a year and allows advisers to customize the app with their own branding.
While most of the functions are for clients, advisers can use the mobile version to view what a client sees in the app and ensure the information is presented accurately.
The company developed the mobile app with information security and ease-of-use in mind, said Stuart DePina, president of the Envestnet Tamarac team, in a statement. It incorporates security measures like dual-factor authentication, and the iOS version can use Apple's facial recognition security.
The mobile app automatically ports over existing client portal settings and adviser preferences and clients just need to download the app and login using their same credentials, Mr. DePina said.
"Mobile's now a necessity for advisors looking to demonstrate their value to clients in today's digital environment," Mr. DePina said in a statement.
Although the app allows clients to contact an RIA's support team by tapping phone numbers to call, it does not support compliant text messaging tools like those recently rolled out by
Redtail,
Merrill Lynch and
Securities America.
Envestnet Tamarac will be demonstrating the app to advisers at the T3 conference, which organizer Joel Bruckenstein said is the 15th and largest-ever iteration of the wealth management technology conference.
"We all know the next-generation of clients for sure live and die by their phones," Mr. Bruckenstein said regarding the Tamarac announcement.
In addition to mobile tools, Mr. Bruckenstein expects several large companies to be making announcements or revelaing products that involve cybersecurity,
financial planning, data analytics and artificial intelligence.
The mobile app is the latest enhancement Tamarac is making to its technology suite. The company announced
a total overhaul of its technology, formerly known as Advisor Xi, in November. More recently, the firm
made improvements to its document-storage capabilities to eliminate the need for a third-party provider.
