(Reuters) -Lazard ( LAZ ) reported a first-quarter profit on Thursday, compared with a loss a year earlier, buoyed by a growth in assets at the boutique investment bank.

The company's asset management revenue rose 4% to $295 million. Lazard's ( LAZ ) assets under management rose to $250 billion in the first quarter from $232 billion a year earlier.

Growing expectations of lower borrowing costs and a flurry of large deals set the stage for a recovery in dealmaking since the start of the year, even though industry executives have expressed guarded optimism.

Revenue at Lazard's ( LAZ ) financial advisory segment, which advises on stock sales and mergers and acquisitions, rose 63% to $454 million in the quarter.

Major U.S. banks including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley have reported similar gains from investment banking in the first quarter.

Profit attributable to Lazard ( LAZ ) was $36 million, or 35 cents per share, in the quarter, compared with a loss of $22 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier.