Fidelity Investments is making it easier for traders to manage their funds while on the go with a round of updates for its brokerage iPad application.

Among the updates, users can read articles from Fidelity Investments as well as changes to chart features. The app is available for free upgrade in Apple’s App Store.

“More and more of our customers are using mobile, and the iPad in particular to access their accounts,” said Richard Blunck, executive vice president of digital distribution at Fidelity Investments, Boston.

“Specifically for our active traders, they wanted to see new features,” he said.

“We are making sure that we have a great solution for both our regular customers and our more active traders.”

Trade on mobile
Via the app, clients have access to a redesigned trade ticket feature.

Additionally, consumers have extended hour trading options via the iPad app. The hours run from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and allow traders to access the United States equity markets.

Other additions include a full-screen option chain and five new technical indicators as charting enhancements. Examples of new charting indicators include logarithmic pricing and extended hours charts.

Clients can also read Fidelity Viewpoints inside the app, which includes articles on personal finance, investing ideas and financial markets.

Using location, clients can view nearby Fidelity Investor Centers, including seminars at each center.

As more financial institutions and firms move beyond first versions of mobile offerings, companies are making substantial updates that take advantage of the mobile screen, whether it is for smartphones or tablets.

On-the-go traders
In addition to the updates for the brokerage iPad app, Fidelity also recently added mobile deposits to its investing app to make it faster for consumers to manage their accounts (see story).

Per Mr. Blunck, the main motivation behind the most recent app updates were based on consumer feedback.

Using consumer feedback as a guide for mobile updates is a smart way for marketers to give clients an added value from mobile that cannot be found elsewhere.

For example, the extended hours trading feature makes sense for Fidelity Investment’s app because it is a function that users can access while away from a desktop.

The Fidelity exec also said that the company has seen an uptick in clients doing more than just accessing their accounts. Instead, clients want to perform complex transactions via mobile.

Going forward, the firm plans to look for new ways to include mobile, which could include bringing tablet video content to smartphones, for example.

Additionally, Mr. Blunck expects that more financial institutions and firms will begin using findings from mobile to apply back to a desktop experience.

“The adoption [of mobile] continues to be the highest-growth channel that we have,”  Mr. Blunck said.

“[Mobile] will continue to be an important channel for us,” he said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York