Well publicised losses of trust in wealth managers by their UK clients has not yet galvanised firms to improve customer satisfaction, at least according to a survey of clients by UK-based Ledbury Research.

A poll of 500 clients of wealth managers late last year showed that 44 per cent of customers were satisfied with their service, compared with a reading of 49 per cent when the same question was put 12 months ago when the financial crisis was still raging.

The survey, meanwhile, also revealed that 39 per cent of people who suffered a bad experience either did nothing or just moved their funds to another wealth firm. “This 'silently disappointed' group represents more than 1 in 9 UK wealth management clients across the industry as a whole,” Ledbury said.

Among the kind of comments Ledbury unearthed were: “They charged me to withdraw my own dollars from my own dollar account”; “Our contact moved to another position in the bank. This is our third contact in four years”; “Lack of advice when our investments went 'south',” and “Failed to carry out vital instructions, and then denied having received them.”

The report highlighted a factor it dubbed the “Moment of Truth” – an instance where the wealth management provider has either given a positive or negative surprise to the client.

Negative shocks had greater influence on driving the overall level of client satisfaction than positive events. The biggest negative factor cited was “poor advice”, with 17 per cent of respondents citing this issue. Some 16 per cent said lack of communication was a negative issue, and 16 per cent cited the issue of firms being slow to follow instructions as an adverse event. Some 12 per cent cited poor investment performance; 10 per cent cited rising fees; six per cent mentioned change of advisor/banker; five per cent mentioned errors in trades and just two per cent cited paperwork mistakes.

The report also highlighted how a long-standing UK trait - unwillingness to complain about shoddy service - remains an issue. Of those who said they had suffered a negative event, 36 per cent did nothing about it and only 39 per cent complained, while 10 per cent moved funds and 3 per cent said they were looking to move. Some 13 per cent were covered by the category “other”, which did not signify any specific course of action.

To view more Ledbury Research reports, click here.