Was anyone really surprised by BlackRock's (BLK) big upside earnings? There was a sense the firm might blow past expectations, which it did by announcing $2.10 a share in the third quarter earnings versus expectations of about $1.93 a share. It also topped revenue expectations, $1.14 billion versus $1.12 billion.

The results bode well for other asset managers, as the strong markets draw back clients. Risk is vogue again, apparently, and money market funds are out. Invesco's reported results that matched expectations, but got a boost from the news that it had inked a deal to buy Morgan Stanley's (MS) retail asset management business, including Van Kampen Investments, for $1.5 billion. That was enough to send the stock upward. 

For more:
- here's a Reuters article on Invesco
- here's a MarketWatch article on BlackRock

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