Most independent financial advisors say a fall in service levels would be a dealbreaker with regards to their relationship with a discretionary fund manager.

A 61 per cent majority of financial advisors would fire their discretionary fund manager if the quality of service dipped, according to new research by UK-based Investec Wealth & Investment.

Correspondingly, 67 per cent of advisors deemed the quality of service as the most important factor when selecting a fund manager. This was followed by consistent investment performance (54 per cent) and value for money (51 per cent). 

Size of the firm was at the bottom of the list of important factors for advisors when outsourcing to a discretionary fund manager.

The industry outlook appeared to be favourable with almost three quarters of advisors expecting demand for bespoke discretionary fund managers to remain steady or rise over the next five years.

“Successful advisors know only too well the importance of providing a high quality service to their clients and it follows that they expect a similar focus on this area among their DFM partners,” said IW&I's head of intermediary services, Mark Stevens.

“IFAs have a very clear understanding of the type of relationship they want with their DFM and are rightly focused on ensuring that it remains.”

Investec Wealth & Investment, part of London-listed Investec Group, conducted its research among 102 intermediaries.