(Reuters) - Asset manager T Rowe Price ( TROW ) reported a 17.4% rise in third-quarter profit on Friday, helped by a jump in advisory fees as strength in U.S. equities boosted assets under management (AUM) at the firm.

The Baltimore, Maryland-based company's total investment advisory fees jumped 11.5% to $1.63 billion.

A string of encouraging U.S. economic data and expectations of more interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve have sparked a rally in equity markets.

On a sequential basis, the company's AUM increased by $61.8 billion to $1.63 trillion during the quarter.

Adjusted profit rose to $586.5 million, or $2.57 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with $499.5 million, or $2.17 per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava and Jaiveer Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)