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General Dealmaking Shifts as Markets Evolve
2 min read
Investment

General Dealmaking Shifts as Markets Evolve

The InvestmentAccording to Secondaries Investor, Ares Management has raised $7.1 billion for its latest credit secondaries strategy. This represents the asset manager's largest inaugural institutional fundraise, doubling its initial $2…

Executive Summary

Deal Analysis & Market Intelligence

The InvestmentAccording to Secondaries Investor, Ares Management has raised $7.1 billion for its latest credit secondaries strategy.

The Investment

According to Secondaries Investor, Ares Management has raised $7.1 billion for its latest credit secondaries strategy. This represents the asset manager's largest inaugural institutional fundraise, doubling its initial $2 billion equity target.

The Investor

Ares Management is a publicly-traded alternative asset manager listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The firm has a diversified investor base that includes public and corporate pensions, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, and high-net-worth individuals. Ares has a global footprint, with investment professionals located across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Market Context

The credit secondaries market has seen significant growth in recent years as investors seek to rebalance their fixed income portfolios. Low interest rates and the economic disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic have led many institutions to reevaluate their credit exposures. This has created opportunities for specialized managers like Ares to acquire discounted loan and bond positions from sellers looking to optimize their holdings.

What This Signals

Ares' successful fundraise signals strong institutional demand for credit secondaries strategies. The size of the new fund, which exceeds the firm's previous fundraising efforts, suggests investors see value in Ares' ability to source and manage complex credit portfolios. This positions Ares as a leading player in the growing credit secondaries space, with the scale and expertise to capitalize on market dislocations.

General Dealmaking Shifts as Markets Evolve

This $7.1bn transaction represents significant deal activity. This fund activity signals continued strategic positioning in the sector.

Updated Jan 15, 2026

Deal Value Comparison

Chart Analysis
  • YTD High leads with 9.9 bn, the highest value across all 4 categories analyzed.
  • YTD Low trails at the lowest position with 2.5 bn, a 75% gap from the leader.
  • The average across all categories is 6.2 bn.
  • 2 out of 4 categories perform above average.

Deal Characteristics

Chart Analysis
  • Fund dominates with 35.0% market share, representing the largest segment in this distribution.
  • The second largest segment is Portfolio at 28.0%, trailing by 7.0 percentage points.
  • The remaining 2 segments collectively represent 37.0% of the total.

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