Crédit Agricole Asset Management, the investment arm of the French bank, has posted a 16% rise in third-party assets to €395.8bn ($495bn) in the first half of 2005 as it benefited from strong inflows in bonds and alternatives.

The growth resulted from net inflows of almost €21bn in the six months to June 30, including €12bn in the second quarter and a positive market effect of €20.7bn.