April 30, 2012
--- Many retirement plan advisers are joining the iPad craze and discovering opportunities for their business. ---
In fact, twice as many financial professionals used mobile
devices (22%)—like iPads and other tablets—compared with usage a year ago (11%), according
to results in American Century Investments’ third annual “Financial
Professionals Social Media Adoption Study.”
Moreton Retirement Partners has 15 iPads, which the company
uses during committee meetings. Corey Whitehead, senior vice president of
Moreton, told PLANADVISER he can
already see a difference in client meetings and cost efficiency since the
company started using iPads about 14 months ago.
Enhance Client Meetings
The iPad allows for paperless reports, which Whitehead can send to plan
sponsors for review before meetings. If something comes up during a meeting
that requires further research, the iPad can be a helpful tool, he added.
Client feedback was important to Moreton Retirement Partners when it started
using iPads. “To our astonishment, we didn’t have a single client give us
negative feedback,” Whitehead said, adding that even committee members who are
not technologically savvy appreciate the iPads. Whitehead said the team offers
a short iPad tutorial at the beginning of each meeting.
“There’s always a positive reaction when we walk in [with iPads],
especially with new clients,” Whitehead said.