Lazard Ltd. (LAZ Quick QuoteLAZ - Free Report) recorded a 4.4% rise in preliminary assets under management (AUM) as of Aug 31, 2020, from the prior month. Total AUM came in at $232.3 billion, up from the July 2020 figure of $222.5 billion.

The August AUM displayed an $8.2-billion market appreciation and a favorable foreign-exchange impact of $1.1 billion. These positives were supported by net inflows of $0.5 billion.

Lazard’s equity AUM at the end of August grew 4.9% from the prior month to $187.3 billion. Also, other assets increased 2.2% to $4.6 billion. Further, fixed income AUM climbed 2.5% on a sequential basis to $40.4 billion.

Lazard is well positioned to grow organically on the strength of its Financial Advisory and Asset Management segments. However, the absence of continued growth in equity markets and stringent regulations are headwinds.

Shares of the company have gained 28.3% in the past six months compared with 37% growth registered by the industry.

Currently, Lazard carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Competitive Landscape

Cohen & Steers (CNS Quick QuoteCNS - Free Report) reported preliminary AUM of $72.1 billion as of Aug 31, 2020, up 2.8% from the prior-month level. Market appreciation of $1.2 billion and net inflows of $1 billion were partially offset by distributions of $211 million.

Franklin Resources (BEN Quick QuoteBEN - Free Report) announced preliminary AUM by its subsidiaries of $1.44 trillion for August. Results display a 0.7% increase from the $1.43 trillion recorded as of Jul 31, 2020.

Invesco’s (IVZ Quick QuoteIVZ - Free Report) preliminary month-end AUM of $1,245.8 billion for August represents a 4.2% increase from the previous month.

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