Fortis Investment Management (FIM), the asset management arm of the Belgo-Dutch financial services group Fortis, has suffered a 7% fall in income in the first quarter of 2003, while net operating profit slumped by 15% on the back of weak equity markets.

However, compared with the last quarter of 2002, net operating profit rose 6% to €11m ($13.1m) thanks to strict controls on costs. Assets under management were also up slightly quarter-on-quarter, climbing from €72.8bn to €73.6bn by the end of March.