Standard Life Investments, the fund management arm of UK life insurer Standard Life, increased its assets under management by 9% last year to £143.4bn (€193m) despite a difficult fourth quarter.

The growth in assets comes in the face of a dramatic slowdown at the end of the year. Net inflows for the period amounted to £283m, down from £1.5bn in the same period the previous year. UK net inflows fell from £1.2bn to £216m. In its new-business results published today, the firm blamed a "slowdown in gross inflows during the second half, which can be directly linked to the recent volatility in global financial markets".