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Schroders has reported a 53 per cent increase in third quarter profits, having apparently shrugged off the impact of the global credit crunch.

In a trading update the asset management company revealed that its pre-tax profits in the three months to September 30th climbed to £98.1 million, up from the £64 million reported for the third quarter of 2006.

Schroders' pre-tax profits for the first nine months of the year subsequently stood at £283.7 million, up by 45 per cent on the £196.3 million reported last year.

The group's chief executive Michael Dobson subsequently dubbed the results the best in Schroder's 204-year history.

But while the group's third-quarter performance appears to indicate that Schroders is managing to withstand the fallout from the ongoing credit squeeze, Mr Dobson was cautious about the fund manager's outlook when addressing reporters.

"Markets are going to be tough, quite clearly. The fall-out in the credit market is still working through but there is going to be an impact on economies," he said, in comments reported by the Financial Times.

Schroders revealed that the value of funds under its management at the end of September was £137.7 billion, up from £137.6 billion at the end of June.

The group's performance over the third quarter was boosted by the asset management company's focus on selling more high-fee funds to institutional investors.

Schroders acknowledged that such investors withdrew a net £2.9 billion over the period, but stressed: "Institutional revenues have continued to grow reflecting our focus on higher margin products."

Meanwhile the group revealed that retail investors and private banking clients respectively handed over £1.5 billion and £0.1 billion for Schroders to manage during the third quarter.