Asset manager BlackRock's quarterly profit rises 31 pct

BlackRock Inc , the world's biggest asset manager, reported a 31 percent rise in quarterly profit helped by higher investment advisory fees and securities lending revenue.

The company's net income rose to $862 million, or $5.23 per share, in the first quarter, from $657 million, or $3.92 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned $5.25 per share.

(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)