French fund managers have been on a roll in the past 12 months and Axa Investment Managers has been leading the way. The Paris-based manager, with offices in the UK and US, almost tripled business wins in the six months to the end of June this year, pushing earnings up by 25%.

It won €16bn ($19.3bn) of new money in the first half this year, compared with €6bn in the same period last year. Total assets under management jumped by €37bn from the beginning of the year, when market appreciation is added, to reach €382bn.