Mobile investing and social media are two key industry issues we’ve recently discussed in our Consulting Insights newsletter. Wireless brokerage has been revitalized in the last few years thanks to a new generation of wireless devices, better connectivity, and stronger platforms from brokerage firms like E*TRADE and Fidelity. Social media is one of the biggest new trends in the financial services industry, one we first identified in our Spring 2008 issue and that we then covered in depth in our recent report, Social Media: Trends and Tactics in the Financial Services Industry.

Scottrade managed to tap into both of these themes recently when it released a beta version of its new Mobile Trading platform - m.scottrade.com - and asked its Online Community members for feedback. In our experience, contributors to a self-directed brokerage firm’s online community tend to be experienced, outspoken traders, i.e., the firm’s most demanding and valuable clients. It makes perfect sense then to use this group to beta test a new mobile investing platform. Feedback from these opinionated clients should help Scottrade identify any performance or usability issues before the platform goes live for the broader customer base. This also allows Scottrade to engage some of its most important clients, giving them a voice in designing the client experience.

Thus far the mobile platform has been well received. Community members feel it compares favorably to the main Scottrade website, allowing clients to view balances, positions and order status, trade stocks, ETFs and options, gather research and get quotes. In addition, community members have accessed the mobile site from a wide range of devices, everything from a Blackberry to a basic flip phone, and have reported few technical difficulties.

The most common critique of the new platform revolves around the lack of real-time streaming quotes and account alerts, features that community members think are key in a mobile platform. This probably reflects the bias of the Online Community itself, which tends to draw active traders rather than regular retail investors.

According to a Scottrade representative (reps frequently contribute to the community, another smart move by Scottrade), the firm is looking to add real-time quotes to the platform in the near future. Reps also say that Scottrade wants to make it easier for traders to receive all of their alerts (including alerts generated by the Scottrade ELITE active trader software), though it’s unclear how this will factor into future iterations of the wireless website. Either way, we applaud Scottrade’s use of its online community as a beta testing group for its new wireless platform.

Corporate Insight continues to track the evolution of mobile trading and banking, as well as social media in financial services. If you’re interested in learning more about any of these subjects, or would like to sign up for our Consulting Insights newsletter, please contact James McGovern, VP of Consulting Services, at jmcgovern [at] corporateinsight.com.