A survey of UHNW clients found that failure to return calls promptly was their biggest reason for sacking advisors.

It pays to return those phone calls quickly if you want to retain the custom of your ultra high net worth client. That’s one of the more eye-catching messages of a survey of individuals by the Spectrem organisation.

A failure to return phone calls rapidly is the primary reason people may sack their advisor, with 57 per cent of more than 400 UHNW ($5 million to $25 million) people questioned by Spectrem saying this was their reason for doing so, with 49 per cent saying they would fire an advisor for inadequate ideas and advice.

Long-term (one year or more) losses on a portfolio were only cited by 29 per cent of the Spectrem survey as a reason for shedding a manager, which suggests a relatively high level of advisor-client loyalty during a period of stress.

The significance of keeping clients happy was signified by the fact that 60 per cent of people surveyed said they would move with their advisor if the latter changed jobs; the other 40 per cent said they would stay with the firm in the event of a change to their RM.

But the report, “UHNW Investors, Vol III”, although it contains some causes for concern, will be seen as generally positive by the industry as it found that 80 per cent of clients are satisfied with their advisors; some 84 per cent take the same view of the knowledge and expertise of these professionals, although 70 per cent are satisfied with the ideas presented during the recent recession, suggesting that almost a third are unhappy.

And perhaps not surprisingly given the grim headlines of recent years about Madoff and other high-profile crimes and shortcomings, some 99 per cent of ultra high net worth clients say honesty and trustworthiness is the most important reason for choosing an advisor.

The report also explores issues such as advisor feedback to clients: 49 per cent of advisors contact customers at least once a month; 33 per cent do so semi-annually, 11 per cent do so on a weekly basis and 4 per cent do so only once a year. Astonishingly, 3 per cent of clients said they never hear from an advisor.

“The UHNW [clients] are primarily satisfied with their advisor relationships, however, continued proactivity is an expectation. Advisors should continue to pursue monthly contact with their UHNW clients and should be aware of the changes to tax laws that may impact the investment offerings,” the report said.

Fieldwork for the survey was carried out in the fall. The 2011 UHNW Investor report is fielded each month with the rotation of questions changing on a quarterly basis. For this quarter (3rd Quarter) for the third quarter, 419 respondents qualified based on the aggregate total of the household's indicated net worth. The surveys were completed by the person primarily responsible for making the day-to-day financial decisions within the household.