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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 lined up $7.1 billion for its latest credit secondaries strategy. The fund size doubled Ares' initial $2 billion equity target, making it…

Executive Summary

Deal Analysis & Market Intelligence

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

The Investment

According to Secondaries Investor, Ares Management has lined up $7.1 billion for its latest credit secondaries strategy. The fund size doubled Ares' initial $2 billion equity target, making it the manager's largest inaugural institutional fundraise to date.

The Investor

Ares Management is a publicly-traded alternative asset manager, having gone public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014. The firm's investor base includes public and corporate pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, and high net worth individuals. Ares has a global footprint, with investment professionals located in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Market Context

The strong fundraise for Ares' credit secondaries strategy reflects continued robust investor demand for alternative credit exposures. As traditional fixed income yields remain low, institutional investors have increasingly turned to private credit and secondary market opportunities to generate yield. Credit secondaries, in particular, have seen surging inflows as investors seek to access illiquid credit markets.

What This Signals

This latest fundraise solidifies Ares' position as a leading global credit investor. The upsized $7.1 billion fund demonstrates the firm's ability to raise substantial capital for specialized credit strategies, even in a challenging macroeconomic environment. This positions Ares to be an active acquirer of credit assets in the secondary market, potentially helping to provide liquidity to distressed or restructuring situations. Overall, the fundraise underscores the continued investor appetite for diversified credit exposures managed by established alternative asset managers.

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

Values from Article

Chart Analysis
  • $7.1bn leads with 7.1 bn, the highest value across all 3 categories analyzed.
  • $2bn trails at the lowest position with 2.0 bn, a 72% gap from the leader.
  • The average across all categories is 5.4 bn.
  • 2 out of 3 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 Investment at 28.0%, trailing by 7.0 percentage points.
  • The remaining 1 segments collectively represent 37.0% of the total.

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