Lazard Ltd. LAZ 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 LandscapeCohen & Steers CNS 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 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 preliminary month-end AUM of $1,245.8 billion for August represents a 4.2% increase from the previous month.Breakout Biotech Stocks with Triple-Digit Profit PotentialThe biotech sector is projected to surge beyond $775 billion by 2024 as scientists develop treatments for thousands of diseases. They’re also finding ways to edit the human genome to literally erase our vulnerability to these diseases.Zacks has just released Century of Biology: 7 Biotech Stocks to Buy Right Now to help investors profit from 7 stocks poised for outperformance. Our recent biotech recommendations have produced gains of +50%, +83% and +164% in as little as 2 months. The stocks in this report could perform even better.See these 7 breakthrough stocks now>>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN): Free Stock Analysis Report Lazard Ltd (LAZ): Free Stock Analysis Report Invesco Ltd. (IVZ): Free Stock Analysis Report Cohen Steers Inc (CNS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.