In terms of client satisfaction, last year saw an increasing gap between the top quartile firms and the rest of the financial services industry, according to research by UK strategy consultancy MDRC.

MDRC’s Client Satisfaction benchmark 2008 found that the client satisfaction had fallen to 57.5, compared to 61 the year before. Moreover, MDRC also found that this 5.8 per cent drop, which brought the 2008 benchmark short of the “Good” rating of 60.0, was not uniformly distributed.

Using the MDRC model, an institution with an index rating of over 75 would be considered to be excellent, 60-75 would be rated good, 50-60 would be acceptable and below 50 would be poor.

According to MDRC’s breakdown of its findings, the 2008 top decile firms had a largely unchanged average score of 77.8, while top quartile firms increased their scores by an average 6 per cent to 70.3. At the same time, the scores of the bottom quartile firms fell by nearly 11 per cent.

Among UK-domiciled clients, C Hoare & Co - with a rating of 82.0 - was ranked top of this year’s client satisfaction index, having also achieved the top spot in 2007 with the same score.

The highest client satisfaction score for a multinational private bank was achieved by HSBC Private Bank. Meanwhile, Cazenove Capital Management and Berry Asset Management both achieved the highest score for private client investment management.

The industry average score of 57.5 suggests that most clients consider the service they have received to be acceptable, and that investment products usually meet their expectations, MDRC said. However, the 2008 study does identify areas where clients are not satisfied with all aspects of the product or service mix on offer.

The top five areas of particular concern identified were: the availability of financial advice; the frequency and quality of communication; the level of fees (particularly for mediocre investment performance) and the impact that non-wealth management activities of might have on institutions' wealth management business.

“The reduction in satisfaction across the industry is more complex than at first appears. It is not simply a reflection of poor investment performance, lower interest rates or tighter credit control. Our research suggests that much of the decline has been driven by a fall in the perceived reputation of the organisation and an increase in the weighting given to business reputation,” said MDRC.

MDRC's research was carried out between 1 October 2008 and 31 January 2009, during which period 2,900 respondents were surveyed on 41 institutions.

MDRC works across all sectors of financial services, consulting on client management, marketing strategy, operating structure, and product and corporate development. The consultancy has offices in London, Guernsey and Switzerland along with associates covering all EU states and global financial centres.