Profits at M&G Investment Management, the funds arm of UK insurer Prudential, rose two-fifths in the first half of the year to £140m (€206m), as a continued focus on higher-margin retail products and alternative investments paid off.

M&G attracted a net £3.4bn of new funds overall in the first half, 6% down on the same period last year. The drop was due to reduced flows into some institutional funds, such as segregated bond mandates.