Ares pulls in $31 billion in Q3 as demand holds for private credit and real assets

what happened

Ares Management, one of the largest alternative asset managers globally, collected $31 billion of new money in the third quarter. Growth came from its private credit, real estate and infrastructure units, and more than half of inflows arrived outside credit. The real assets arm brought in $11.2 billion, while the credit group added $15.2 billion.

The firm says it is on course for its best fundraising year yet, as institutional clients keep adding to alternative assets. Its purchase of GCP International last year strengthened its position in real estate and digital infrastructure. Recent vehicles include a fund of roughly $4 billion for Japanese logistics property and a $4.2 billion debut secondaries fund.

Deal activity at private credit firms stayed weak in the quarter, held back by muted buyouts and competition from the broadly syndicated loan market. Ares deployed $34.8 billion, and assets under management climbed 16% to $690.6 billion. Fee-related earnings rose 11% to $524.2 million, and after-tax realized income per Class A share reached $1.26 versus $1.19 a year earlier.

why it matters

After a recent selloff in AI-linked stocks, attention has shifted to asset managers that finance AI infrastructure, and management commentary on the topic was expected later the same day. Steady demand from institutional clients suggests fundraising has held up despite volatility in private credit among wealthy investors.

market impact

Ares Management shares: record inflows support interest, while slow private credit deals hold it back.

• ▲Ares Management shares pressure up — record inflows and rising fee income support the business

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