Private clients most value objectivity in their relationships with wealth managers, but only a small minority believe that this is being delivered in the service they actually receive, a new report by SEI has revealed.

It emerged from SEI’s research, undertaken in conjunction with Scorpio Partnership, that 72 per cent of private clients view an unbiased, client-centric approach in their relationships with wealth managers as most important, but just 16 per cent believe that objectivity is a feature of the service that they receive.

This finding is obviously at odds with the way many wealth managers position themselves, the phrase client-centric being ubiquitous in much of the marketing literature seen across the industry.

The findings also suggest that while wealth management firms appear confident they can deliver an investment process that is reasonably free from bias, they are less confident in their abilities to put client needs objectively at the centre of that process, SEI said in a statement.

Having carried out qualitative research with what it calls a broad-based sample of 25 private clients, SEI found that those surveyed broadly define objectivity as a “feeling of shared experience and shared information” and the majority of respondents view an unbiased understanding of their personal circumstances as key to a successful wealth management.

One respondent cited by SEI highlighted risk profiling as a particular area of concern. "The risk profile is so blasé. It is not constructive. It should not be a tick-box exercise that puts you into a certain category. It should be about understanding clients’ objectives and obtaining information on an ongoing basis," they said.

"What is clear from these survey results is the value that private clients place on objectivity in the context of the relationship they form with their wealth manager. The emphasis on creating and maintaining an unbiased and flexible relationship between client and wealth manager is becoming increasingly important in the current investment environment, and will continue to be important in the future,” Joseph Ujobai, executive vice president within SEI’s Private Banks segment, said in a statement.

"Wealth management firms are in the process of coming to grips with the far-reaching consequences of the Retail Distribution Review, and our research reveals that objectivity in asset allocation and financial planning processes is where wealth managers can distinguish themselves from the field.”

To view a full copy of the report, entitled Objectivity And The Client Experience, click here.