BlackRock Inc , the world's largest asset manager, reported a big jump in fourth-quarter profit and revenue on Tuesday, aided in no small measure by the global stock market rally.

Earnings, excluding certain items, totaled $670 million, or $3.42 per share, up 77 percent from $379 million, or $2.39 per share, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 61 percent to $2.49 billion.

And with markets on an upswing, the $3.6 trillion behemoth created when Chief Executive Laurence Fink bought Barclays Plc's investment unit for $15 billion just over a year ago finally appears to be paying off for investors.

People can see that they've been able to execute and integrate all these platforms now, said Elizabeth Bramwell, manager of the Sentinel Growth Leaders fund, which owns BlackRock shares. They have the ability to offer a diversity of products and geographic diversity that's just unparalleled.

Anticipating improving results, the shares of New York-based BlackRock have gained 16 percent over the past three months, closing at $193.58 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. The biggest upsurge followed Fink's comments at a conference last month that fourth-quarter profits would be very strong.

(Reporting by Aaron Pressman; editing by John Wallace)