The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that BlackRock's fourth-quarter profit surged past Wall Street estimates on Thursday while a rally in markets boosted fee income and lifted the company's assets under management to a record $14-trillion (all figures U.S.). Shares of the world's largest asset manager, which also hiked its quarterly dividend by 10 per cent and raised its share buyback authorization, jumped more than 4 per cent on Thursday. U.S. stocks rallied last year on enthusiasm around artificial intelligence, easing interest rates and steady economic growth, prompting investors to pour money back into lower-cost index strategies. As inflation eased and the job market cooled, the Federal Reserve turned more dovish, driving strong inflows into BlackRock's fixed-income products. Equity product inflow was $126.05-billion, down from a year ago, while fixed-income products saw inflows of $83.77-billion in the quarter. Long-term net inflows totalled about $267.8-billion, led by continued strength in its ETF business, the firm's main engine of organic growth. BlackRock posted a record $698.3-billion of full-year net inflows. The company's performance fees rose 67 per cent to $754-million in the quarter.