Advisor Tested: iPad proves ideal for advisors on-the-go; the surprise is the effect on clients

Elizabeth’s note: This is the first Advisor Tested, a new column idea at RIABiz in which we’ll interview one advisor in-depth about a technology that he or she uses. If you have ideas for technology and you’re willing to be interviewed, drop us a line at elizabeth@riabiz.com.

When Apple debuted the iPad last April, the tablet computer hit the market like a rock star, a thin, light weight device that enables users to do everything from reading the news to browsing the web to watching the ticker run across the bottom of the screen. Analysts have estimated its sales topped 14 million in 2010, its first year on the market.

While most people buy it for personal use, advisors are seeing value in its portability, pleasing touch screen, instant-on capability and the thousands of downloadable applications for email, web browsing, data access and document handling. It’s ideal, they say, to take on the road or to bring to client meetings where they can instantly display reports, market data, and up-to-the-minute detail on individual stocks. A growing number of advisor-specific technology firms are also offering apps for iPad, and custodians are getting in on the game, as well.

Weighing in at 1.6 pounds, the iPad is more portable than the typical five- or six-pound laptop. Moreover, its 10-hour battery life is double that of most laptops and its 16 gigabytes of memory is more than enough for most applications. Depending on the model, iPads connect to the web via WiFi or AT&T’s 3G network. Once connected and with the help of cloud programs like Dropbox and SugarSync, advisors can access and modify files and synchronize them with copies on their cell phones and home and office computers, doing away with the need to lug reams of paper to client visits or on business trips.

WiFi enabled iPads sell for $499 to $699 depending on the amount of memory they have. Those that connect to the 3G wireless network are more expensive, from $629 to $829 and also require a wireless contract with AT&T.

The iPad does have some glaring faults, such as its inability to run Flash, the Adobe program needed for viewing many web sites and for video in particular, although users can download an app that formats website content so that the iPad can read it. It has no USB ports and, for those used to a laptop keyboard, the iPad’s touch-screen keyboard can be frustrating to use.

Rumored to be on deck for a new version expected out this spring are features, such as a USB port, higher screen resolution and a front camera for video chats and conferences. Several competitors, including Samsung, Archos and ViewSonic, all using Android technology, are challenging the iPad with their own tablet computers and it would pay anyone contemplating the iPad to compare it with other products on the market.

One enthusiastic iPad user is David Wisehaupt, managing director and senior portfolio manager of Wisehaupt Bray Asset Management at Hightower Advisors in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (See: HighTower Advisors and United Capital seek to stamp out wirehouse feel by embracing Apple technology.) Four of his six team members have been using iPads since last spring and Mr. Wisehaupt calls the device “the greatest utility that I have owned in my business life.”

What made you adopt the iPad?

With business development, we’d be in the field using a paper portfolio and a pitch book. We told Hightower’s technology chief we’d really like to come up with something that’s a little more modern and allows us to keep the message the same across all of the team members. As we published a new research piece or report, we wanted everyone on the team to get that and be on message.

What are some of the features you particularly like?

The picture quality is so good that colors just pop off the screen. The resolution is close to movie quality and you can toggle back and forth to make a full screen or shrink it back down to its original size. In addition, there are so many apps, it really is the icing on the cake. It’s completely customizable and you can download apps easily from the app store.

One tool, Audiotorium, allows you to simply make notes and later on print them out so you don’t have to transcribe a handwritten note. You can write it [with a specialized stylus] right on to the app. You also have the ability to record audio. If you want to dictate something or have an audio record of a conversation with a client, you can do it easily. You click on the screen, save it under a name and email the audio and any notes you’ve taken. It goes through Outlook so it’s compliant.

How do you use it in client interactions?

We use a performance measuring service that reports the value of an account, how much money it made, how much risk was taken and generates robust reports. After we run those reports, they are emailed to me and moved into a separate iPad folder. At a client meeting, I open them and it doesn’t matter how old the person is, when I reach across to the iPad and take two fingers and zoom in, it isn’t five minutes before the client also reaches over and zooms in. If I’m with a client in his home and some question comes up, I log in and literally in less than minute, I am logged into my screen at the office and am able to do things on the computer via the iPad.

Has it improved your interaction with clients?

It’s making the client feel comfortable and helping the client understand how we try to deliver the best risk adjusted performance for them. If they feel more comfortable and relaxed, they are more likely to understand more of it and more likely to keep all their assets with us. One person said to me, “What’s great about this is it proves you are up to date with latest technology.”

What apps do you find particularly useful?

CNBC has a very good app specifically for the iPad with a ticker running across the bottom of the screen. The first thing I look at in morning is the pre-markets: the S&P, the Dow, Nasdaq and I can drill down to the details. All the new items driving [market] movement are right there.
I also use the Bloomberg app heavily. It allows me to sign into our account at Bloomberg and look at the performance live on managed portfolios relative to the market.

A free app, Kayak, is the best thing I have found for booking hotels, fights, rental cars, checking status at airports. I also use Zinio, a magazine app. Now I get my Economist magazine and other magazines [on the iPad]. It’s saved me money.

Has it made you more efficient?

We’re getting more done with the same number of people. I don’t carry a laptop anymore and I know we’re killing fewer trees.

An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Audiotorium.