Chicago-based BMO Global Asset Management (BMO GAM), the global investment management arm of Toronto-based Bank of Montreal, launched a free new iPad app for its financial advisors and other investment professionals on Thursday.

The app, which is available only in the U.S., allows advisors to follow the performance of their selected funds and store documents such as fact sheets and white papers that can be shared with clients. The app also provides offline file storage.

“Users can save and organize materials with the ‘my briefcase’ tool — and carry all that information on their iPad. Financial advisors can then decide what information is most important and how to present it to their clients,” says Ben Jones, managing director of intermediary distribution, BMO GAM, through a statement. “Using the login feature, users can share those bundled updates, insights and analyses, as each piece of content can be easily emailed to their clients.”

Canadian advisors with BMO and its investment arms will not have access to the app as it is not being released north of the border. The firm is currently examining whether this type of tool will make sense for the Canadian market, says Nini Krishnappa, a spokesman for BMO’s private client group.

If BMO does decide to go forward with an app for Canadian advisors, a different one would have to be developed to conform to Canadian regulatory requirements, he says.