One in three financial advisors are using mobile devices in their client meetings, according to the Mackenzie Investments Advisor Online Report, a recent survey conducted for Mackenzie Financial Corp. by Environics Research Group. And, the report shows, use of mobile devices among advisors is expected to increase. Two out of three advisors who do not use mobile devices in their meetings say they expect to start sometime in the next two to 12 months.

“In our research, we found that 51% of advisors were displaying online content from fund company sites in client meetings on a PC or laptop,” says Reema Ibdah, director of social media at Mackenzie Investments in Toronto. “And 66% of them wanted the sites to be fully accessible from mobile phone and tablet.”

Advisors want access to information they can share with their clients as well as product profiles, breaking news, insights and commentaries by portfolio managers. Meanwhile, Ibdah adds, clients are looking for advisors who can readily answer their questions.

Here are five ways mobile devices and apps can help you in your practice:

1. Calculate compound interest
Compound interest apps are handy for providing quick calculations during your client meetings.

Compoundee, for example, is a compound-interest app that enables you to show the compound total for interest-paying investments on a daily, weekly, quarterly or annual time frame, Ibdah says. It follows up to five variations at once. The app also accounts for amortized interest totals per period, inflation and tax amounts.

2. Manage passwords
Passwords can be a pain to remember, especially if you change them often for security. Password management apps, such as 1Password, create and save secure, unique passwords for each site you visit. This app also acts as a “digital wallet,” by storing bank account information, receipts and secure notes.

3. Take notes
Evernote is a popular note-taking application that syncs across multiple devices, Ibdah says. In addition to creating notes and checklists, the app lets you organize web articles, important documents and photographs.

Michael Newton, a Toronto-based portfolio manager with ScotiaMcLeod Inc., uses Evernote to conduct research for his business. “It’s akin to the old days, when I used to read Fortune, Forbes, or the Wall Street Journal,” Newton says. “I would literally rip the page out or I would cut the clipping out and put a sticky note on it.”

With Evernote, Newton collects and organize articles on his devices for future reference.

4. Connect with social media
Social media platforms enable you to not only communicate with clients, but conduct research as well.

Before a client meeting, Ibdah says, you can use LinkedIn to find out what your client has been up to in his or her career and gain insights into their personal interests.

You can also read the latest news via LinkedIn Pulse, which organizes the latest industry news and analysis based on your LinkedIn interests and connections. Social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook offer their own mobile apps.

5. Offer flexibility
Mobile devices and mobile apps offer you the flexibility to catch up on key information wherever you are. “Instead of sitting at my computer,” Newton says, “I can lie down on the couch or sit in the backyard and do some reading comfortably.”