Aviva Investors saw assets under management pass £350bn last year as the investment business of the UK insurance giant continued its push to bring in more third-party money.

The investor said on Thursday that assets grew 2.3% to hit £353bn, thanks to positive foreign exchange movements and higher net inflows of £1.6bn. The bulk of this new money — £1.1bn — was gathered from external clients and this helped offset the impact of its disposal of a £700m real estate fund.