Schroders reported its assets under management (AuM) increased by 15% in 2020, up from £500.2bn in 2019, to rise to a record high of £574.4bn, in its annual results released this morning

Net income was, however, down YoY. Schroders' net inflows for the year dropped from £43.4bn in 2019 to £42.5bn.

The company posted a slight rise in pre-tax profit to £702.3m from £701.2m in 2019.

Schroders also reported its partnerships, notably in Asia, generated £12.4bn of net inflows which increased the total net flows to £54.9AuM including partnerships reached £663bn.

In its outlook Schroders said: "The pandemic continues to pose macro-economic uncertainty and will provide an environment which is favourable for active investment decision-making,"

Peter Harrison, group chief executive (pictured), commented: "The strength of our investment performance showcases the benefits of active investment management and our ability to deliver good outcomes for our clients. I would like to thank our employees for their hard work and ongoing dedication to our clients which helped us to deliver a strong financial performance in 2020 despite the challenging environment."

Harrison told Reuters: "If you had offered me these results at the start of the crisis, I would have bitten your hand off."

"What we saw was a broad-based performance across fixed income and equity - it was a great time for active managers," he added.

The company's shares were down 2% to £3.51 in early trading this morning in London.