Overview.
Ares is a Delaware limited liability company that was initially established in 1997 and became an
independent company in 2002. Ares is a subsidiary of Ares Management Corporation (“Ares
Corp”), a publicly traded, leading global alternative investment manager. The indirect principal
owner of Ares Corp is Antony P. Ressler who, together with certain other members of the senior
management team of Ares Corp, indirectly controls Ares Corp through intermediate holding
companies. For purposes of this brochure, “Ares” may include (where the context permits)
affiliated general partners of the Clients (as defined below) and other affiliates that may provide
advisory, management or other services to the Clients.
We are a leading global alternative investment manager, managing a range of investment strategies
that seek to deliver attractive performance to our advisory clients, which are comprised of various
pooled investment vehicles, including, among others, public and private investment funds, single
investor funds, co-investment vehicles, joint ventures, collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”),
collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”), and other structured investment vehicles, special
purpose vehicles, alternative investment vehicles, feeder vehicles (collectively, the “Funds”), and
other separately managed accounts and institutional clients, including insurance and reinsurance
companies (together, with the Funds, “Clients”).
In addition to providing investment advisory services to Clients, Ares serves as manager of various
co-investment vehicles structured to facilitate participation by third party co-investors in portfolio
investments alongside its Clients, as well as collateral manager or administrative manager,
administrative agent, servicer or in other capacities, to CLOs, CDOs and other structured
investment vehicles. Ares, or an affiliated entity of Ares, serves as general partner, managing
member, investment adviser, sub-adviser or manager of each Client. The Clients’ underlying
investors are generally either accredited investors and qualified purchasers (as noted in Item 7
below) or non-U.S. persons, depending on the applicable eligibility requirements of the respective
Client. We refer to these investors as “Underlying Investors.”
Ares provides investment and portfolio analysis services as required for the benefit of its Clients,
and tailors its advisory services to the specific investment objectives and restrictions of each Client
pursuant to the investment guidelines and restrictions set forth in each Client’s confidential private
placement memorandum, prospectus, limited partnership agreement, advisory agreement,
management agreement and other governing documents (collectively, the “Governing
Documents”). Investment advice is provided directly to its Clients, subject to the discretion and
control of Ares or the applicable general partner, and not individually to the Underlying Investors.
Current and prospective investors should refer to the applicable Governing Documents for
complete information on the investment objectives, investment restrictions and risks related to the
applicable Client. Prior performance, while illustrative of Ares’ investment philosophy and
experience, is not indicative of future performance and there is no assurance that any investment
objectives will be achieved.
In accordance with common industry practice, Ares or a Client’s general partner, managing
member, investment adviser, sub-adviser or manager routinely enters into “side letters” or similar
agreements pursuant to which certain Underlying Investors are granted specific rights, benefits or
privileges (including, without limitation, with respect to differences, including discounts to and/or
sharing of, management fees, performance allocations, performance hurdles, withdrawals, access
to information, minimum investment amounts, co-investment opportunities, reporting obligations,
and other rights or terms including those that may be requested in light of particular investment,
legal, regulatory or public policy characteristics of an investor). These rights, benefits or privileges
are not always made available to all Underlying Investors nor in some cases are they required to
be disclosed to all Underlying Investors. The disclosure and extension of any such rights, benefits
or privileges are governed by the corresponding Governing Documents.
Our Business.
Since our inception in 1997, we have adhered to a disciplined investment philosophy that focuses
on delivering strong risk-adjusted investment returns through market cycles. Ares believes each of
its distinct but complementary investment groups in Credit, Private Equity, Real Assets,
Secondaries and Strategic Initiatives is a market leader based on assets under management and
investment performance. Please see “Item 8. Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk
of Loss” for further discussion of Ares’ investment groups and strategies.
Ares was built upon the fundamental principle that each of our distinct but complementary
investment groups benefits from being part of our broader platform. We believe that our strong
performance, consistent growth and high talent retention through economic cycles is due largely
to the effective application of this principle across our broad organization of over 2,550 employees.
The management of our operating businesses is currently overseen by our Executive Management
Committee which meets frequently to discuss strategy and operational matters and includes as
representatives our Holdco Members Michael Arougheti, David Kaplan, Antony Ressler, Bennett
Rosenthal, Ryan Berry and R. Kipp deVeer, as well as other senior leadership from our investment
groups and business operations team. We also have a Partners Committee comprised of senior
leadership from across the Firm that meets periodically to discuss our business, including
investment and operating performance, fundraising, market conditions, strategic initiatives and
other Firm matters. Each of our investment groups is led by its own deep leadership team of highly
accomplished investment professionals, who average approximately 25 years of investment
experience in managing, advising, underwriting and restructuring companies. While primarily
focused on managing strategies within their own investment group, these senior professionals are
integrated within our platform through economic, cultural and structural measures.
We do not participate in any wrap fee programs.
As of December 31, 2022, the amount of assets we managed was approximately $351,997,117,190
(“AUM”). AUM refers to the assets of the Clients, alternative asset companies and other entities
and accounts that are managed or co-managed by Ares, including capital committed for
management by our subsidiaries and other related investment advisers who file separate Form
ADV filings with the SEC, Ares Capital Management LLC (“ACM”), Ares Capital Management
II LLC (“ACM II”), Ares Commercial Real Estate Management LLC (“ACREM”), and CION
Ares Management, LLC (“CION”). It also includes funds managed by Ivy Hill Asset
Management, L.P. (“Ivy Hill”), a wholly owned portfolio company of Ares Capital Corporation
(“ARCC”), and a registered investment adviser. For our Clients other than CLOs, our AUM
represents the sum of the net asset value of such Clients, the drawn and undrawn debt (at the Client-
level including amounts subject to restrictions) and uncalled committed capital (including
commitments to Clients that have yet to commence their investment periods). For our Clients that
are CLOs, our AUM is equal to initial principal amounts adjusted for paydowns. For more detailed
information on the related parties described herein, please refer to “Relationships with Related
Persons” in “Item 10. Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations.” Of the
$253,185,903,529 of regulatory assets under management (“RAUM”) we manage directly,
$13,497,201,282 is managed on a non-discretionary basis.