GLOBAL – Barclays Global Investors gained £33bn (€47bn) of net new assets in the first half of 2005, parent Barclays Plc said in its earnings statement.

“Total assets under management increased 10% (£72bn) to £781bn,” the bank said. “The growth included £33bn of net new assets, £32bn attributable to favourable exchange rate movements and £7bn as a result of market movements.”

Indexed assets rose to £517bn from £429bn a year before. Active assets rose to £169bn from £134bn.

Pre-tax profit at BGI rose 60% to 242m. It said this reflected, “substantial income growth coupled with tight cost control and focused investment spend”.

Assets under management at its exchange traded funds arm iShares rose 62% in the year to £84bn.

Te number of institutional clients rose to 2,700 from 2,600 before. Headcount rose by 200 to 2,100.

Last month BGI launched 16 new pooled liability driven investment (LDI) funds aimed at UK and European pension funds that want to outperform their liabilities.