According to a poll commissioned by private bank Kleinwort Benson and conducted by YouGov, 11% of professionals, including barristers, lawyers and accountants, want to invest more in stocks and shares and a further 11% want to increase their investment in property, but 25% want to increase their cash savings.

While recognising the importance of having some cash, experts at Kleinwort Benson warn of the dangers of having too much exposure.

Michael Magnay, executive director at the firm, said: “While keeping a percentage of your portfolio in cash is important, it shouldn’t form the bulk of your investments. The sustained low rate environment we have seen over the past eight years means that cash is definitely not king and it’s unlikely that savings rates will improve any time soon.

“While we never suggest clients take on levels of risk they are unhappy with, over the long term markets tend to produce better returns than savings accounts.”

Magnay said savers should make the most of tax efficient savings schemes, including pensions, ISAs, VCTs and EISs.

“Ideally, people should be saving half of their age as a percentage, from as young an age as possible. This is particularly important today as while interest rates remain low, the real value of cash is being eroded by inflation even at current levels.”

In addition to prioritising saving cash, the research also found that 11% of senior professionals who have a financial plan for 2016 intend to spend less on either luxury items or events and a further 7% will give more money or gifts to family members and friends.

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