The wealth management operations of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia have starred in the company's interim profit results, underpinning a 10 per cent increase in the net result for A$2.19 billion ($1.7 billion). The CBA, Australia's second largest lender, owns the Colonial First State funds management group which posted a 27 per cent profit increase to A$232 million for the half. Colonial's assets under management rose 11 per cent to A$168 million, confirming its status as Australia's biggest fund manager. The funds unit rode on a record Australian sharemarket, with the main S&P/ASX 200 Index surging to a series of new records in the reporting period, outperforming the S&P 50 in the US and almost doubling the rise in the UK’s FTSE 100 index.