In an indication of just how seriously investors regard institutions' reputations following the credit crisis, new research has found that feeling comfortable with an investment provider - not past performance - is clients’ top concern when deciding which products to choose.

Legal and General Investments found that for 29 per cent of investors feeling at ease with the product provider is their prime consideration today. This proportion has however fallen 2 per cent since 2010, suggesting that confidence in providers is perhaps stabilising.

The factor, performance, that one might have assumed would be most important, past performance, in fact came in second place with 21 per cent of the votes. This consideration has also slipped slightly in its importance, having scored 23 per cent in 2011’s poll and 22 per cent in 2010.

In contrast, fund fees and charges are rising in importance in investors’ minds, with this factor being singled out by 9 per cent of investors this year but only 7 per cent in 2010. Increased clarity has of course been top of the agenda due to the regulatory changes being made internationally to up the objectivity and transparency of the advisory industry.

Among other trends identified by Legal & General Investments’ What Matters Investment Index was a slight loss of faith in actively-managed funds. While 76 per cent of respondents were invested in these vehicles in 2010, this year the figure had fallen to 68 per cent. Furthermore, when asked the likelihood that they would invest in actively-managed funds in the next six months 44 per cent said that this was “very unlikely.” 

That said, investors still seem to prefer active over passive funds since at present only 31 per cent are invested in such vehicles and 44 per cent say it is “very unlikely” that they will invest in a passive fund in the next six months.