Franklin Templeton's profit rises as market rally boosts income from fees

Jan 30 (Reuters) - Investment manager Franklin Resources BEN.N, better known as Franklin Templeton, reported a jump in first-quarter profit on Friday as rallying equities markets boosted investment management fees.

The company's shares rose 1.8% in premarket trading.

Markets have notched a series of record highs as artificial intelligence-fueled optimism and falling interest rates outweighed geopolitical and macroeconomic concerns.

Investment managers like Franklin Templeton benefit from higher market levels as their fees are tied to the value of assets under management.

Earlier this week, peer Invesco IVZ.N also reported higher quarterly profit as investment management fees jumped.

Franklin Templeton ended the quarter with $1.68 trillion in assets under management, up 7% from a year ago.

The company's total investment management fees, which is the largest contributor to its total operating revenue, rose 3% to $1.85 billion in the quarter.

Franklin's quarterly profit was $255.5 million, or 46 cents per share, for the three months ended December 31, up from $163.6 million, or 29 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company saw total net inflows of $26.8 billion in the quarter, compared with outflows of $50 billion a year ago.