Nuveen Results Beat Estimates

Money management firm Nuveen Investments(JNC Quote) reported a 17% increase in first-quarter profits, slightly exceeding Wall Street expectations.

The company today reported a net income of $52.3 million, or 63 cents per diluted share, in the latest quarter, compared with $44.8 million, or 54 cents per diluted share, in for the same quarter in 2006. According to Thomson, analysts had been looking for $52.1 million in earnings, or 61 cents per share.

Assets under management grew by $4.5 billion to $166.1 billion during the quarter, due to $3 billion in net flows and $1.5 billion of capital appreciation. Institutional business saw $2.2 billion worth of net flows. For the second quarter in a row, mutual funds generated more than $1 billion dollars in flows, driven largely by interest in high-yield and value equity funds.

The (JCE Quote)Core Equity Alpha Fund, Nuveen's new closed-end offering, raised $300 million in March. Chairman and CEO Tim Schwertfeger says more closed-end funds are on the way. "This product category has seen strong demand in the market," he said on the conference call.

Nuveen stock was $1.22, or 2.4%, to $53.20 in midafternoon trading.