October 11, 2022 | Stamford, CT — Three-quarters of portfolio managers and financial analysts globally use mobile apps multiple times a day for work. This heavy usage is part of a broad embrace of mobile apps by financial services professionals that only accelerated during the movement to remote and hybrid working arrangements and shows no signs of abating. 

Not long ago, mobile apps were mainly the domain of retail investors, but today, they are critical components of capital markets infrastructure for professionals. 

“Mobile apps have progressed rapidly from simple read-only data aggregators to fully functioning applications that facilitate communication, collaboration and transactions among financial professionals and their colleagues, clients and counterparties around the world,” says  David Easthope, Senior Analyst for Coalition Greenwich Market Structure & Technology and author of The Modernization of Mobile Apps—Financial Markets Professionals Seek Continuity of Experience. 

New research from Coalition Greenwich estimates that adoption of communication and collaboration technology platforms in financial services has accelerated, reaching rates anticipated to take five years or more in the space of the past 12-24 months.  As a result, institutional capital markets professionals have become heavy users of mobile applications, as have financial advisors and compliance personnel. These professionals are using mobile apps as an extension of the desktop experience, allowing even the most desk-centric analysts, portfolio managers, traders, and salespeople to effectively work from anywhere at any time.

“With hybrid work arrangements here to stay and an increasing need across financial markets for uninterrupted connections, we expect mobile apps to continue to proliferate in the industry at a rapid pace and for institutional professionals to become even more heavy users,” says David Easthope.

The Modernization of Mobile Apps - Financial Markets Professionals Seek Continuity of Experience highlights the use of mobile apps by financial service organizations and professionals, including an analysis of usage within individual asset classes and across professional functions. The report identifies the features and functionality valued most by financial professionals and shows which apps and providers are used most often by professionals in a variety of roles. The report concludes by presenting three guiding principles for mobile app developers looking to deliver the optimal experience to financial services professionals.