Assets under management for fund manager Jupiter Fund Management hit a record £60.3m, despite an increase in net outflows to £2.3bn (H1 2020: £2bn outflows).

The outflows were overpowered by the strong gross inflows of £9.6bn.

Underlying profit before tax increased 38% to £78.2bn (H1 2020: £56.6m). This represents underlying earnings per share of 11.5p (H1 2020: 10p)

The firm’s financial results benefited from the acquisition and integration of the Merian business which completed in July last year, adding £16.6bn in assets under management. Earlier this year, Jupiter announced it would cut up to 90 jobs as part of a restructure as it beds in Merian. 

Last July Jupiter announced in interim figures that the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic had cut pre-tax profits by 50% to £40.8m. Assets Under Management had also declined from £45.9bn June 2019 to £39.2bn in June 2020.

Andrew Formica, chief executive at Jupiter, said: “We have reported record gross inflows for the period, with a number of strategically important products performing very well, which highlights our positive momentum going into the second half of the year.

“That said, it is disappointing to see net outflows for the half year, which were concentrated in a small number of strategies and have been driven primarily by a shift in asset allocations. The medium to long term investment performance of these funds remains strong.

“With Merian now fully integrated, cost synergies have been achieved and significantly exceeded our original expectations. We also have a number of key funds reaching their three-year track record which, along with our successful focus on cost management, mean we continue to be well positioned to return to growth."