Net earnings were up at Winnipeg-based IGM Financial Inc. in the third quarter, as investment returns increased assets under management.

IGM reported Q3 net earnings on Friday of $202.5 million, or $0.85 per share, compared to $198.2 million and $0.82 per share the previous year.

Assets under management on Sept. 30 of $162.5 billion were a record high for the end of a quarter, up 1.8% from the same period in 2018 due to favourable investment returns, the company said.

Investment fund net sales of $103 million showed an improvement from $364 million in net redemptions in Q2, but lagged the $137 million in net sales in the third quarter of 2018.

IGM president and CEO Jeff Carney said in a statement that the results reflected “improving high-net-worth client acquisition at IG Wealth Management and continuing sales strength at Mackenzie Investments.”

IG Wealth Management’s mutual funds saw net redemptions of $291 million in the quarter, bringing year-to-date redemptions to $842 million. That compares to net sales of $610 million over the first nine months of 2018.

Mackenzie Investments’ mutual fund net sales totalled $139 million for the quarter and $494 million for the year to date. Its ETFs saw $597 million in Q3 net sales, bring the nine-month total to $913 million.

Investment Planning Counsel saw mutual fund redemptions: $60 million in the quarter and $158 for the nine months up to Sept. 30.