BlackRock's quarterly profit beats estimates

(Reuters) - BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager, reported first-quarter profit above Wall Street estimates on Thursday, benefiting from higher volatility in global markets.

Investment advisory, administration fees and securities lending revenue rose 17 percent to $2.95 billion from $2.52 billion a year earlier.

Global markets have been under pressure since February and investors have moved between asset classes, adding to volatility amid fears of an overheating economy and a potential trade war.

BlackRock said its iShares family of ETFs added $34.65 billion in new money in the quarter, down from $64.48 billion a year earlier.

The New York-based company's net income rose to $1.09 billion, or $6.68 per share, in the quarter ended March 31 from $859 million, or $5.21 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, BlackRock earned $6.70 per share. Analysts on an average expected BlackRock to report $6.39 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Total revenue rose 15.88 percent to $3.58 billion.

The company ended the quarter with $6.32 trillion in assets under management, up from $6.29 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter.

(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)