TowerGroup expects demand for mobile offerings in the United States to rise as the online brokerage market grows from 28 million accounts in 2009 to 33.1 million by the end of 2012.
Including mutual fund, brokerage, 401(k), IRA, and other retirement accounts, the current total market potential for a mobile Web portal or client application in the United States is 465 million investor accounts.
Mobile applications range in sophistication from static Web page renderings of balances and quotes to the leading offerings from E*Trade and TD Ameritrade, which include streaming data, account management features, and improved graphics.
The rising popularity of smart phones means online broker-dealers must move from flat, uncompelling Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)-based offerings to richer, more engaging mobile client-based applications.
As the first online broker-dealer in the United States to deliver a rich application-based mobile offering, E*Trade has achieved first-mover advantage with the launch of MobilePro.
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