UK wealthy investors are increasingly concerned about sliding stockmarkets, according to new research by findawealthmanager.com, an online “matchmaking” service for investors and wealth managers.

Stockmarket declines are now the top financial concern for almost half of UK high net worth investors, according to a new survey by findawealthmanager.com.

The proportion of respondents flagging concerns about falling stockmarkets almost doubled from the third quarter of 2014 to 47 per cent during the first three months of this year.

To match these worries, appetite for equities has shrunk considerably, from 77 per cent in the final quarter of last year to 47 per cent in the first quarter of 2015.

Over the same period, demand for fund investments also plummeted from 72 per cent to 39 per cent. Bonds enjoyed the effects of these concerns with a slight pick-up in investor interest from 24 per cent to 35 per cent, the firm said.

The findings come as investors anticipate next month's UK general election and adopt cautious attitudes following recent market highs. Click here to read more about wealth managers' attitudes towards the uncertain pre-election landscape.

“The FTSE 100 broke through the 7,000 barrier for the first time in history on 20 March, joining the MSCI World, DAX and other indices which have recently reached record highs,” said co-founder at findawealthmanager.com Lee Goggin.

“While some argue that the FTSE 100 and its counterparts may have further to go, we are unsurprised that our users appear to be bracing themselves for the possibility of market corrections.”