Singer & Friedlander Investment Management, the asset managment arm of the UK financial services group, has reported a 57% fall in operating profits to £1.6m (€2.3m) for the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2002 after losing institutional mandates.

Funds under management fell by nearly a fifth to £2.6bn in the past year to the end of June. Singer & Friedlander posted a 22% fall in its group half-year operating profits to £14.6m, due largely to the slump at its investment management operation.