Invesco posts higher fourth-quarter profit as market rally lifts assets to record

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Asset manager Invesco IVZ.N reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday, as a market rally lifted the company's assets under management to a record, boosting investment management fees.

Shares of the company rose 4.75% in premarket trading.

Investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence-linked stocks, expectations of U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts and easing tariff worries lifted market sentiment, fueling a stock market rally.

Invesco ended the quarter with a record $2.2 trillion in AUM as of December 31, up 17.5% from a year ago.

The asset manager, with clients in more than 120 countries, saw its investment management fees rise 9% to $1.23 billion during the reported quarter.

However, the company reported a $1.8 billion non-cash intangible asset impairment charge impacting its fourth-quarter diluted earnings per share by $3.01.

The Georgia-based company's performance fees, which are earned when returns meet agreed-upon expectations, also fell over 15% in the quarter, while total net inflows slumped to $30.5 billion, compared with $60.9 billion a year ago.

On an adjusted basis, the company, which provides investment solutions to both retail and institutional clents, earned a profit of $280.9 million, or 62 cents per share, up from $237.3 million, or 52 cents per share, a year earlier.

Larger rival BlackRock BLK.N earlier this month also reported a higher quarterly profit and a record-high AUM.