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Figures since 1 April, seen exclusively by Financial Adviser, show complaints looking set to fall over the current financial year, compared to the previous 12 months.

In the past five-and-a-half months the ombudsman has been contacted just 3052 times regarding mortgage endowments, compared to nearly 14,000 in the year up to April 2008.

Personal pension complaints stood at 2486 for the half year, compared against 5297 in the whole of 2007/2008 and whole of life savings endowments at 1284 against last year’s 3211.

Stockbroking looks set to register a slight increase with 422 so far this year against 776 in the whole of the last financial year, while with profit and unit-linked bonds look set to increase significantly, with 966 complaints since April, compared to just 1192 in the whole previous year.

However, the Fos has claimed it expects to see other investment types to follow bonds with an increased number of complaints in the next six months as investors pay closer scrutiny to their money and become more likely to spot examples of perceived bad practice by investment houses and advisers.

Emma Parker, spokesman for the Fos, said: “We do expect to see investment complaints rising in the coming months, as we have started to see already with bond complaints.”

Poor stock market performance “often counts as a trigger which makes people question their advice”, where they may not have done while markets were rising, she added.

Darius McDermott, managing director of London-based Chelsea Financial Services, said the ombudsman’s concerns were “absolutely fair comment”.

And he warned investors not to buy products they do not understand, even if their portfolios had been performing well.

Mr McDermott said: “People should always scrutinise their investments before they buy them. Not just because things are a bit more difficult.” And he added people losing money were also likely to “be looking for someone to blame” and claimed he expected “more complaints in the next six months” because of “human nature”.

Of the mortgage endowment complaints made to the Fos since the start of April, 51 per cent were about life insurers and other investment product providers, 22 per cent about IFAs and 21 per cent about banks. For pensions, nearly three-quarters complained about product providers, compared to just 13 per cent advisers and 7 per cent against banks.

And with all the other investment types 57 per cent complained about providers, 24 per cent banks and 10 per cent IFAs.

Ms Parker also claimed the number of investment complaints upheld was “broadly in line with last financial year,” adding: “We uphold between 30 to 40 per cent of investment complaints, including complaints about mortgage endowments, in favour of the consumer.

“The exception to this is pension complaints, where so far this year we have upheld around 18 per cent of complaints in favour of the consumer.”