More than a third of wealthy investors are considering changing their private bank to get a better service, and half are thinking about changing their investment managers, according to research by a website for high-net-worth families and their advisers. So now, both the website and some of the banks themselves are aiming to make it easier for clients to switch to more suitable services.

Family Bhive, the online wealth management forum launched in April this year, has revealed that many of the UK's wealthiest people are now dissatisfied with the service they receive from private banks. In its survey of 300 individuals worth in excess of £5m, 90 per cent of respondents said they used a private bank to manage their money - but 40 per cent of these clients said the banks did a poor job of meeting their expectations and providing the right level of service. Worse still, 50 per cent of those using a fund manager to run their investments said they had reason to take their business elsewhere.

According to Caroline Garnham, founder of the Family Bhive website: "Private banks and investment managers must improve their marketing and levels of service if they are to convince the UK's high-net-worth community that their expertise is worth paying for."

Some high-net-worth families aren't willing to wait, though. Scorpio Partnership, an adviser to the wealth management industry, already reports evidence of wealthy clients seeking alternative solutions. It cites the creation of up to 250 new family offices in Europe in the past year - staffed by dedicated investment managers hired directly by wealthy families - as an indication of the dissatisfaction with private banks.

"There is proof that they are acting," argues managing partner Seb Dovey. "At the very top end, we're seeing the international growth of family offices - the emergence of separate businesses funded by families to provide separate advice. The private banking industry doesn't listen to the client voice enough. So clients are making a choice and questioning whether they should remain."

But certain private banks have been beneficiaries of account switching. Barclays Wealth reports an "increasing trend" of wealthy customers moving to its private banking service. "Predominantly, they are coming for advice rather than products," says managing director Mark Kibblewhite.

Citi Private Bank's business development director David Poole also says: "Clients switching from other private banks is a normal and frequent occurrence - most of our larger clients are multi-banked to avail themselves of the best ideas and services in the market and so switching between banks is a common process."

And PSigma Investment Management estimates that approximately 700 to 800 bank clients worth in excess of £400m have transferred their portfolios to PSigma since 2003.

Even so, some clients are staying put for the wrong reasons. "Most alarmingly, clients today think switching is too much hassle," says Dovey. "We sometimes say the best client for the private banks is Mr & Mrs Inertia."

So the banks are trying to make the process easier. "We've invested £400m over the last 3 years in new 'back-booking' platforms, so we can value all kinds of assets across the spectrum, says Kibblewhite of Barclays. "That means we can offer clients advice regardless of whether their assets sit with other banks." Citi will even help new clients make the switch. "We facilitate what has become an increasingly cumbersome paperwork process by ensuring the private banker sits with the client to navigate the forms," explains Poole.

Family Bhive is now aiming to ensure wealthy individuals choose the right service in the first place. It is devising an online 'matrix' of firms' competencies.

This will rate the ability of private banks, and family offices to provide services such as investment management, tax planning and trustee services - giving them scores ranging from 'core strength' to 'due diligence required'. Members will be able to access the matrix at www.familybhive.com later this summer.