# Ares Management Corp > Clarifo company profile — qualitative business description generated from > the company's filings. Financial statements, charts and ratios are > available on Clarifo (https://www.clarifo.com/en/companies/Ares Management Corp). ## Overview Ares Management Corp is a U.S.-based alternative investment manager that runs credit, real assets, secondaries and private equity strategies through a global platform. The company earns fees by managing capital for institutional clients, publicly traded funds, perpetual wealth vehicles and sub-advised accounts, while also generating performance-related income such as carried interest and incentive fees. Its business is built around long-duration investor relationships, a broad product shelf and a distribution platform, AWMS, that serves the global wealth channel. Ares also operates a substantial operating and control infrastructure to support fundraising, portfolio management, capital markets execution and client servicing across more than 25 countries. ## Products & services • Credit investment strategies across private and liquid markets • Real assets investing in real estate and infrastructure • Secondaries funds and related liquidity solutions • Private equity and opportunistic corporate strategies • Wealth distribution platform (AWMS) for retail/wealth channels • Publicly traded funds and perpetual wealth vehicles • Capital markets, financing and portfolio support services - **Credit** (40%) — Private credit, liquid credit and related financing strategies for institutional and wealth clients. - **Real Assets** (25%) — Real estate and infrastructure investing, including fee and carry-generating funds. - **Private Equity** (15%) — Corporate opportunities and other private equity-style investment funds. - **Secondaries** (10%) — Secondary market funds that buy existing fund interests and other portfolio exposures. - **Wealth Management Distribution** (10%) — AWMS and related publicly traded or perpetual wealth vehicles distributed to retail wealth channels. - Credit investment strategies across private and liquid markets - Real assets investing in real estate and infrastructure - Secondaries funds and related liquidity solutions - Private equity and opportunistic corporate strategies - Wealth distribution platform (AWMS) for retail/wealth channels - Publicly traded funds and perpetual wealth vehicles - Capital markets, financing and portfolio support services ## Customers Ares sells primarily to institutional investors that allocate capital to alternative strategies for yield, diversification and return enhancement. These clients include pensions, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, insurers, family offices and other large allocators that value long-term track records and access to differentiated private markets. The company also serves a growing retail and wealth-management audience through publicly traded funds, sub-advised accounts and perpetual wealth vehicles distributed via AWMS. In addition, Ares works with portfolio companies, real estate tenants, borrowers and transaction counterparties as part of its investment and financing activities. Investors choose Ares for its breadth of strategies, global sourcing network, operational support and ability to deploy capital across market cycles. - **Institutional investors** (primary) — Pensions, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, insurers and similar allocators buy private credit, real assets, secondaries and private equity funds for long-term return and diversification. - **Wealth management channel** (primary) — Financial advisors and retail wealth investors access publicly traded funds and perpetual wealth vehicles distributed through AWMS for more accessible alternative exposure. - **Sub-advised accounts** (secondary) — Third-party managed accounts and platform relationships use Ares strategies where clients want outsourced alternative investment expertise. - **Portfolio companies and borrowers** (secondary) — Operating businesses and sponsors receive financing, growth capital or acquisition capital through Ares credit and private equity strategies. - **Real estate and infrastructure counterparties** (secondary) — Tenants, developers, operators and transaction counterparties interact with Ares through real assets investing and property-related services. - Institutional allocators seeking alternative returns and portfolio diversification - Pensions and sovereign wealth funds that commit long-duration capital - Insurance companies and asset owners that need credit and yield strategies - Wealth-management clients accessing products through AWMS and public vehicles - Sub-advised and perpetual wealth investors seeking alternative exposure - Portfolio companies, borrowers and property counterparties that need capital ## Geography Ares operates a global platform with more than 55 offices in over 25 countries, so its business is not concentrated in a single market. The company specifically notes regulatory and operating exposure across Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Brazil, Vietnam and Australia, reflecting both fundraising and investment activity in multiple jurisdictions. The United States remains the core home market and the base for the holding company, but the firm sources capital and investments internationally through institutional and wealth channels. Geography matters because local regulation, investor preferences, tax rules and market cycles affect fundraising, portfolio deployment and the ability to launch or scale products. The firm also manages cross-border compliance and operational complexity through its shared services and capital markets infrastructure. - **United States** (45%) — Estimated from the company being U.S.-headquartered and having a large domestic investor base. - **Europe** (25%) — Estimated from the company’s stated European regulatory and operating presence. - **Asia-Pacific** (20%) — Estimated from disclosed operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam and Australia. - **Rest of World** (10%) — Estimated from disclosed activity in Brazil and Bermuda-related insurance exposure. - Headquartered in the United States, with the parent company organized in Delaware - More than 55 offices across over 25 countries support fundraising and investing - European operations are important because of SFDR and other regulatory regimes - Asia exposure includes Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan through operating subsidiaries - Recent strategic acquisitions expanded activity in Brazil, Vietnam and Australia - Global footprint matters for sourcing deals, raising capital and serving investors ## Strategy Ares’ strategy is to keep expanding assets under management by combining strong investment performance with broader product distribution. The company is investing in its wealth platform, publicly traded vehicles and perpetual wealth products to diversify away from reliance on traditional institutional fundraising. It is also expanding capital markets capabilities and the Capital Solutions Group to improve financing execution and support more complex transactions across the platform. Another priority is to deepen its global footprint through strategic acquisitions, new business lines and stronger non-investment infrastructure so it can scale across market cycles. These moves are intended to reinforce client relationships, broaden the product shelf and improve the firm’s ability to source and monetize opportunities. - **Expand wealth distribution and retail-accessible products** (short-term) — This reduces dependence on institutional fundraising and opens a larger pool of capital through advisors and retail channels. - **Improve capital markets and financing execution** (short-term) — Better financing capabilities support deal sourcing, portfolio management and transaction completion across credit and real assets. - **Broaden global platform and product mix** (medium-term) — A wider geographic and strategy footprint improves fundraising resilience and allows the firm to capture opportunities across cycles. - **Invest in operating infrastructure and compliance** (medium-term) — A larger alternative asset platform requires stronger shared services, regulatory oversight and client servicing to scale safely. - Grow AUM by sustaining investment performance across market cycles - Expand AWMS and wealth distribution to diversify the investor base - Scale publicly traded and perpetual wealth vehicles for broader access - Strengthen capital markets and Capital Solutions execution - Use acquisitions and new business lines to broaden the platform - Invest in operations, compliance and technology to support larger scale ## Risks Ares is exposed to market, liquidity and valuation risk because its earnings depend on fundraising, asset performance and performance-related fees across private markets. The firm also faces regulatory risk, especially in Europe, where sustainability disclosure rules such as SFDR can affect product classification, fundraising and compliance costs. Because Ares relies on third-party service providers for technology, administration, banking and compliance, operational or cyber failures at vendors could disrupt client service or damage confidential information. Competition is intense for both investor capital and attractive investments, so weaker performance or a less compelling product shelf could pressure growth. In addition, the business is sensitive to changes in credit conditions, interest rates, geopolitical conditions and the valuation of underlying portfolio companies and real assets. - **Sustainability regulation and greenwashing scrutiny** [high] — European rules such as SFDR can force product reclassification, increase disclosure burdens and affect investor demand if products are perceived as misaligned with sustainability expectations. - **Third-party vendor and cybersecurity disruption** [high] — The firm depends on external providers for technology, fund administration, banking and compliance, so outages or breaches could interrupt operations or expose sensitive data. - **Market and valuation volatility** [high] — Ares’ fee income and carried interest are tied to asset values, realizations and portfolio performance, which can fall in weaker markets. - **Competitive pressure for capital and deals** [medium] — Alternative managers compete on performance, fees, product breadth and relationships, which can slow fundraising or reduce returns if Ares cannot differentiate. - **Cross-border regulatory complexity** [medium] — Operating in many jurisdictions increases compliance burden and can delay product launches or investment activity. - Performance fees and fundraising depend on market conditions and investment returns - SFDR and other sustainability rules can restrict product design and capital raising - Cybersecurity and third-party vendor failures could disrupt operations - Intense competition can compress fees and reduce access to attractive deals - Valuation declines in real estate, credit or portfolio companies can hurt carry - Geopolitical and regulatory changes can affect cross-border investing and compliance ## Accounting Ares’ reported results are heavily influenced by consolidation judgments because it consolidates certain funds, co-investment vehicles, CLOs and SPACs under U.S. GAAP when it has both economics and control. That matters because consolidated funds represented about 6% of AUM but 3% of total revenues in 2025, so changes in consolidation status can affect reported revenue, expenses and balance sheet size without changing the underlying economics of the management business. The company also records carried interest, incentive fees and fee-related performance revenues, which are highly judgmental and can reverse when portfolio valuations or operating performance weaken. Fair value estimates are important for portfolio investments and performance allocations, especially in private markets where observable prices are limited. Quarterly results can be volatile because fee-related performance income, carried interest and transaction-related fees depend on realizations, valuations and fund life-cycle timing. - **Consolidation of funds and special purpose vehicles** — Reported revenue and balance sheet size can be distorted relative to fee-earning AUM - **Carried interest and fee-related performance revenues** — High earnings volatility and potential clawback/reversal risk - **Fair value measurement of private investments** — Can materially affect performance fees, carried interest and net income - **Allocation to redeemable and non-controlling interests** — Affects net income attributable to common shareholders - **Seasonality and quarterly fee volatility** — Quarter-to-quarter comparability is limited - Consolidation of funds can change reported revenue and expenses without changing AUM economics - Carried interest and incentive fees are sensitive to valuation and performance assumptions - Fair value estimates are critical for private assets with limited market pricing - Fund life-cycle timing can create large quarterly swings in performance-related income - Non-controlling interests and redeemable interests affect how earnings are allocated - Other fees such as property-related and facilitation fees can be episodic --- *Last updated: 2026-08-11T04:03:56.228997+00:00*