Profits at UBS Asset Management, the investment arm that includes Phillips & Drew in the UK, fell 39% in the first half of this year but managed to gain ground in new business wins.

The firm's pre-tax profit slumped from Skr93m (€61.37m) at the end of the second quarter last year to Skr57m this year. However fund management profits rose 9% between the first and second quarter of 2001. At the beginning of the year, UBS Asset Management attributed much of its 26% profits squeeze to a rise in staff costs following acquisitions and reorganisations.