Three in five (61%) investors with £10,000 or more investable assets who have transferred their ISA, GIA, SIPP or pension to another provider have experienced an issue during the process, CMC Invest has revealed.

A study of 2,000 investors by the UK investment platform found that over half (54%) have never transferred their investments to another provider.

For those that have, a third (32%) said they experienced increased stress about their money during the process.

CMC Invest said that an “unsurprising finding” was that a third (32%) also cited experienced delays in the transfer process.

The platform added that investment transfers are “infamously tricky to manage” offering poor visibility of the process.

The research revealed that of the third of investors who have transferred funds, 30% experienced issues contacting customer service, 28% felt there was poor communication throughout the process, and a quarter (25%) could not track the process.

The data also showed that investors who have been investing for more than 10 years were least likely to have transferred providers, with 63% having never transferred their investment before.

Investment operations manager at CMC Invest and chair of CMC Group’s ISA governance committee, said: “The data points to an industry-wide issue. When moving money, investors shouldn’t have to accept that the process is going to be troubling, or stressful. Money is personal, and it’s no wonder that losing sight of it is stressful.

“It’s especially worrying if transfer woes are stopping people from moving platforms. To know that nearly two-thirds (63%) of those surveyed investing for longer than 10 years have never moved platforms presents a burning question. Are they missing out on lower fees, higher returns, and newer features that could be better suited to their needs?

“All providers need to address the issues investors are facing, otherwise we not only risk investors missing out on higher returns but potentially sacrifice industry innovation due to a lack of competition.”

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