It stands to reason that as the stock market rises, so too could the revenues and profits of those publicly traded investment firms that manage mutual funds and the like for average Americans and 401(k) plan participants.

But does it stand to reason that those firms would be good investments themselves? A rising tide lifts all boats, right? But the real answer is yes in the case of some, and no for most others.

The reason this: Assets under management are rising at some, but not all firms. Money is flowing into some of these firms, but not all. Margins are being squeezed almost everywhere. And many investment firms -- where investors were hoping for better quarterly results -- are taking it on the chin.

Still, there are some firms worth looking at.

Consider, Zacks Equity Research this week upgraded its recommendation on T. Rowe Price Group (TROW) to outperform from neutral, citing the company's debt-free position and steady profit trend. And Morningstar recently issued a glowing report on the company, noting how inflows reached a record high for the company in the first quarter ($12 billion). And, Morningstar analyst Greggory Warren, CFA charterholder, raised the fair value estimate to $64 a share.

Another firm to consider is Invesco (IVZ), which just raised its dividend 41% and reported inflow of $8 billion for the quarter, $2 billion more than Morningstar's forecast. Zacks upgraded in April its recommendation on Invesco to outperform, citing its sustained earnings and healthy assets under management.

Many analysts are also fairly bullish on BlackRock (BLK), which, with $3.7 trillion in assets under management, is the world's largest asset manager. In April, the company reported solid first-quarter results and strong inflows into its iShares stock and bond exchange-traded funds. Analysts have a consensus target estimate of $215.63.

Analysts seem to like Franklin Resources (BEN), which has $725 billion in assets under management and is the fifth-largest asset manager in the U.S. That company announced this week that assets under management rose, though perhaps not enough to satisfy investors. Still, Zacks has a short-term buy rating and a long-term neutral rating on Franklin Resources. And Morningstar has a fair value estimate of $145.

For the record, one asset management that stands out in Zacks' universe of publicly traded investment firms is Calamos Asset Management (CLMS), a manager of convertible securities. It's the only investment company for which Zacks has a strong buy for the short term and an outperform rating for the long term. The average target price among analysts who follow Calamos, however, is $13.50.

Bearish to neutral

Those asset managers aside, analysts are mostly neutral to bearish on other asset management firms that have not witnessed as significant inflows as T. Rowe Price Group.

For instance, AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB) this week reported that lots of good things happened in the first quarter: Gross sales were up by double-digits both sequentially and year-over-year, assets under management grew as a result of both market appreciation and retail net inflows. Plus, the company reduced expenses and improved our adjusted operating margin in the quarter.

But despite that, AllianceBernstein's profits fell 38.9% from the year-earlier quarter. Now truth be told, Wall Street was expecting much worse. AllianceBernstein reported adjusted net income of 29 cents per share and Wall Street's mean estimate was 23 cents per share.

Still, the stock is trading fairly close to the average target price of $14.28 of the 11 analysts who track AllianceBernstein. For the record, Zacks Equity Research has AllianceBernstein listed as a hold for the near term and a neutral for the long term.

And Janus Capital Group (JNS) is another one of the publicly traded mutual fund firms that have been hurt by outflows in 2011. According to Zacks, Janus has reported outflows from its funds in every quarter, since the middle of 2009. And that continued in the first quarter of this year. In late April, the company said net income fell 40.4% from the year-earlier quarter and that revenue fell 17.7%.

Janus, for the record, is trading about $1 below the average target price of $8.38, hardly a bargain.

Diamonds in the rough

And then are the diamonds in the rough such as Legg Mason (LM) , which has $643 billion in assets under management. The company this week reported that revenues and profits outpaced the Zacks estimates. "The upbeat performance was attributed to higher revenues aided by rising investment advisory, distribution and services fees, partially offset by increased operating expenses. Improved assets under management were also a positive factor for the quarter," Zacks said.

And those quarterly results suggest, at least according to Zacks, "Legg Mason has the potential to outperform its peers in the long run, given its diversified product mix and leverage to the changing market demography."

In the near term, assets outflows will remain a significant headwind, according to Zacks. But with the restructuring initiatives and the cost-cutting measures, Zacks expects "operating efficiencies to improve, and dividend payments to continue to inspire investors' confidence in the stock."

Others, however, don't share that opinion. "We continue to take a more measured view of Legg Mason's turnaround efforts, believing it will take years for the firm to overcome the damage done during the financial crisis," Morningstar's Warren in a recent report. For the record, Wall Street analysts have a consensus target price of $30.07, and you might consider buying at $18 according to Morningstar.

So what happens to asset managers from here on in? Well, a rising market won't lift all boats, so you best consider carefully the boat you choose to ride. A leaky boat will sink whether the tide is ebbing or flowing.