Ares Raises Over $7 Billion for Leading Credit Secondaries Strategy
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Key Terms
credit secondariesfinancial
Credit secondaries are the buying and selling of existing debt holdings — such as loans, bonds or slices of loan pools — between investors after those instruments have already been issued. They matter because they let investors change their exposure to credit risk or raise cash without waiting for maturity, and they create real-time market prices for those loans much like a used-car market shows what buyers will pay for a vehicle in its current condition.
lp equity commitmentsfinancial
LP equity commitments are pledges by limited partners (investors) to provide capital to a private equity, venture capital, or similar investment fund when the fund manager requests it. They matter because these are legally binding promises that determine how much money a fund can call on for deals, affect an investor’s cash planning and risk exposure, and indicate a fund’s practical capacity to pursue investments—like agreeing to chip in for a group purchase when the bill arrives.
senior securedfinancial
Senior secured describes a loan or bond that has first claim on a company’s assets and is backed by specific collateral, like a mortgage on property. For investors, that means they are paid before other creditors if the company struggles or is liquidated, reducing the chance of loss compared with unsecured or junior debt. Think of it as a front-of-the-line, collateral-backed claim that typically carries lower interest because of that added protection.
floating-ratefinancial
A floating-rate is an interest rate on a loan, bond or other debt that moves up or down over time based on a regularly published reference number, so the payments change as market rates change. For investors, that means income and interest costs track current market conditions—like a thermostat that adjusts with room temperature—offering protection when rates rise but adding uncertainty about future cash flow.
lp-ledfinancial
LP-led describes a private fund transaction or restructuring that is initiated and driven by the limited partners—the outside investors in the fund—rather than by the fund manager. It matters to investors because it signals that the fund’s owners are seeking liquidity, changes to ownership or governance, or a new path for assets; like a group of homeowners deciding to refinance or reorganize their building’s ownership, it can change valuations, fees and who ultimately gets paid and when.
continuation vehiclefinancial
A continuation vehicle is a new investment fund set up to buy one or more assets from an older fund so those assets can be held longer under a fresh structure. For investors it acts like offering a homeowner the option to sell a house to a new landlord who will keep renting it — it can provide liquidity to some holders while letting others stay invested, but raises questions about price fairness, fees and conflicts of interest.
Marks Ares' Largest Inaugural Institutional Fundraise and Market’s Largest Dedicated Institutional Credit Secondaries Fund
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) (“Ares”), a leading global alternative investment manager, announced today that it has raised approximately $7.1 billion of capital for its Credit Secondaries strategy, inclusive of the final closing of its inaugural Ares Credit Secondaries Fund (“ACS” or the “Fund”), affiliated vehicles and anticipated leverage. With approximately $4 billion in LP equity commitments, the Fund doubled its $2 billion target and represents Ares’ largest inaugural institutional fundraise. In addition, Ares believes that ACS is the largest dedicated institutional credit secondaries fund globally based on LP equity commitments.
Through ACS, Ares aims to construct a highly diversified portfolio of predominantly senior secured, private equity-backed and floating-rate private credit portfolios by tactically allocating across LP-led and continuation vehicle transactions in collaboration with leading asset managers.
“The success of this milestone fundraise underscores our early-mover advantage in credit secondaries and the power of the Ares platform,” said Blair Jacobson, Co-President of Ares. “ACS builds on the critical foundation of our broader Secondaries business, which has accelerated its global market leadership through exceptional talent, data-driven insights and a comprehensive offering across asset classes. As investors’ liquidity needs evolve, we will continue to develop innovative GP and LP solutions that leverage our decades of investment experience and extensive relationship networks.”
“We are deeply grateful to our global investor base for the confidence they have placed in our team,” said Dave Schwartz, Head of Credit Secondaries at Ares. “The final closing of ACS reflects the strength and market leadership of our Credit Secondaries strategy, which is supported by one of the largest purpose-built teams in the market. Our business combines Ares’ multi-decade credit and secondaries experience and global scale to employ a disciplined investment approach, underpinned by our focus on diversification and downside protection. We are excited to execute on our significant pipeline in a rapidly growing and attractive market opportunity.”
Alongside Mr. Schwartz, the Ares Credit Secondaries strategy is led by Partners Sebastien Burdel, Chrissy Lamont Svejnar and Luca Salvato and is part of the Ares Secondaries Group, which has established a more than 30-year track record investing across private equity, real estate, infrastructure and credit and managed $38 billion of assets as of September 30, 2025.
About Ares Management Corporation
Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, real estate, private equity and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to advance our stakeholders' long-term goals by providing flexible capital that supports businesses and creates value for our investors and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of September 30, 2025, Ares Management Corporation's global platform had over $595 billion of assets under management, with operations across North America, South America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com.
