Ares Wealth Management Solutions

What Ares Wealth Management Solutions does

Ares Wealth Management Solutions is the private wealth distribution arm of Ares Management Corporation, a publicly traded alternative asset manager (NYSE: ARES) founded in 1997. The firm operates a global alternative asset management platform spanning five business segments — Credit, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Private Equity, and Secondaries — with $644 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2026, approximately 4,400 employees, and 60+ offices worldwide. Its product architecture spans publicly listed companies (ARES, ARCC, ACRE, ARDC), evergreen/perpetual strategies (ASIF, APMF, AREIT, AIREIT, ACI, AGCIF, ADCF), interval funds (CION Ares Diversified Credit Fund), and dedicated private wealth strategies covering U.S. Direct Lending, Private Credit, Private Equity, Real Estate, and Infrastructure.

The company serves more than 3,500 institutional investors, 480+ insurance companies, financial advisors, and wealth management professionals globally. Revenue is generated primarily through management fees charged on AUM across asset classes and performance-based fees/carried interest tied to investment returns. Distribution operates through three coordinated channels: direct institutional sales (2,900+ direct relationships), a financial advisor/wealth management channel targeting high-net-worth and retail investors, and dedicated insurance company coverage. Ares has increasingly emphasized the private wealth channel, attracting $48 billion from wealthy US investors into private credit funds in H1 2025 alone.

The wealth management solutions arm differentiates through its diversified multi-asset, multi-vehicle platform that spans liquidity profiles from publicly traded vehicles to evergreen and interval funds. Recent strategic priorities include expanding the wealth channel, launching thematic products (Sports/Media/Entertainment), building secondary-market liquidity infrastructure (AREX), and localizing vehicles for international markets (Australian APMF-AUT and ACI-AUT variants). Leadership includes CEO Mike Arougheti, CFO Jarrod Phillips, and Head of Real Estate Julie Solomon, with co-founder John Blumberg noted in supplementary leadership data.

Name

Ares Wealth Management Solutions

Legal name

Ares Management Corporation

Website

https://areswms.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ares Wealth Management Solutions is the private wealth distribution arm of Ares Management Corporation, distributing alternative investment strategies across credit, real estate, infrastructure, private equity, and secondaries to institutional investors, insurance companies, and financial advisors globally via a $644B AUM platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Asset Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Wealth Management (FSAEABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Insurance-Integrated Wealth Managers (RIA + Insurance Solutions) (FSAAACAI), Managed Accounts & Model Portfolios (SMA/UMA) (FSAAAAAG), Institutional Separate Accounts & SMAs (Mandates) (FSAAAGAL)

Keywords

• Alternative asset management
• Private credit investing
• Private equity funds
• Wealth management solutions
• Institutional investment management

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: Asset management fees charged on assets under management across credit, real estate, infrastructure, private equity, and secondaries strategies. Fees typically calculated as percentage of AUM.
2. Performance Fees/Carried Interest: Performance-based compensation tied to investment returns, common in alternative asset management. Ares earns carried interest when investments outperform specified benchmarks.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Ares Wealth Management Solutions distributes Ares Management Corporation's alternative investment strategies to financial advisors, wealth management professionals, and individual investors. The offering spans five core business segments — Credit, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Private Equity, and Secondaries — delivered through publicly listed vehicles, evergreen/perpetual funds, interval funds, and dedicated private wealth strategies designed for the wealth management channel.

Product overview

Ares Management is a global alternative asset management firm founded in 1997 with $644 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2026. The company offers a comprehensive platform of investment products across five business segments: Credit, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Private Equity, and Secondaries. The product architecture includes: (1) publicly listed companies - Ares Management Corporation (ARES), Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC), Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (ACRE), and Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund (ARDC); (2) evergreen/perpetual strategies including Ares Strategic Income Fund (ASIF), Ares Private Markets Fund (APMF), Ares Sports Media and Entertainment Opportunities, Ares Real Estate Income Trust (AREIT), Ares Industrial Real Estate Income Trust (AIREIT), Ares Real Estate Exchange (AREX), Ares Core Infrastructure Fund (ACI), Ares Global Credit Income Fund (AGCIF), and Ares Diversified Credit Fund (ADCF), along with Australian variants (APMF-AUT and ACI-AUT); (3) interval funds including the CION Ares Diversified Credit Fund; and (4) private wealth strategies spanning U.S. Direct Lending, Diversified Private Equity, Private Credit, Private Equity, Sports Media & Entertainment, Private Real Estate, Core/Core+ Real Estate, Real Estate Exchange, Infrastructure, and Core Infrastructure. The firm serves more than 3,500 institutional investors, financial advisors, wealth management professionals, and over 480 insurance companies globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC): Publicly listed business development company (BDC) on NASDAQ, part of Ares' publicly listed strategies
• Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (ACRE)
• Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund (ARDC)
• Ares Strategic Income Fund (ASIF)
• Ares Private Markets Fund (APMF)
• Ares Sports, Media and Entertainment Opportunities (SME Opps)
• Ares Real Estate Income Trust (AREIT)
• Ares Industrial Real Estate Income Trust (AIREIT)
• Ares Real Estate Exchange (AREX)
• Ares Core Infrastructure Fund (ACI)
• Ares Global Credit Income Fund (AGCIF)
• Ares Diversified Credit Fund (ADCF)
• CION Ares Diversified Credit Fund

Products and services

• Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) Business development company (BDC) specializing in direct lending and other credit investments, publicly traded on NASDAQ.
• Ares Commercial Real Estate Corporation (ACRE) Business development company focused on commercial real estate lending and investments.
• Ares Dynamic Credit Allocation Fund (ARDC) Publicly listed closed-end interval fund offering dynamic credit allocation across multiple strategies.
• Ares Strategic Income Fund (ASIF) Evergreen fund providing income through diversified private credit and lending strategies.
• Ares Private Markets Fund (APMF) Evergreen fund offering access to diversified private markets investments including private credit, private equity, and real estate.
• Ares Real Estate Income Trust (AREIT) Evergreen non-traded REIT focused on income-generating real estate investments.
• Ares Industrial Real Estate Income Trust (AIREIT) Evergreen non-traded REIT focused on industrial real estate properties for income generation.
• Ares Real Estate Exchange (AREX) Secondary market platform enabling liquidity for non-traded real estate investments.
• Ares Core Infrastructure Fund (ACI) Evergreen fund providing exposure to core infrastructure assets.
• Ares Global Credit Income Fund (AGCIF) Global diversified credit strategy offering international credit exposure.
• Ares Diversified Credit Fund (ADCF) Diversified credit fund across multiple strategies and asset classes.
• CION Ares Diversified Credit Fund Interval fund offering quarterly liquidity windows with diversified credit exposure, in partnership with CION Investments.
• Credit (Business Segment) Core business segment offering credit solutions including direct lending, corporate credit, and structured credit.
• Real Estate (Business Segment) Business segment focused on real estate debt and equity investments across multiple strategies.
• Infrastructure (Business Segment) Business segment providing infrastructure investment solutions across debt and equity.
• Private Equity (Business Segment) Business segment focused on private equity investments across various strategies.
• Secondaries (Business Segment) Business segment offering secondary market transaction capabilities across fund interests and portfolios.

Quantifiable outcome

• $644 billion in assets under management as of March 2026
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Blackstone: Largest global alternative asset manager with the most developed wealth channel (BCRED, BREIT, BCRED, BIP) directly competing for the same financial advisor and HNW relationships. Most directly comparable platform to Ares WMS across credit, real estate, and private equity.
• KKR & Co. Global alternative asset manager with a growing private wealth solutions business, evergreen fund suite, and institutional relationships. Competes head-to-head with Ares in private credit, real estate, and infrastructure across both institutional and wealth channels.
• Apollo Global Management: Insurance-integrated alt manager (via Athene) with a strong private credit franchise and growing wealth distribution. Closest comparable to Ares on insurance company relationships and private credit scale; competes for the same insurance-balance-sheet mandates and wealth advisor shelf space.
• Blue Owl Capital: Public alternative asset manager with GP stakes, private credit, and real estate strategies, plus a strong direct-to-wealth distribution focus. Highly comparable to Ares WMS given the explicit wealth-channel orientation and overlap in private credit and REITs.
• Carlyle Group: Diversified alt manager with credit, real estate, and private equity franchises and a growing private wealth offering. Competes with Ares for institutional and wealth allocations across the same asset classes.
• Brookfield Asset Management: Large alternative asset manager with flagship private credit, real estate, and infrastructure strategies and a growing wealth channel. Direct competitor to Ares in infrastructure and real estate, with increasing overlap in private credit.

Emerging players

• StepStone Group: Private markets investment and advisory firm with multi-manager/multi-strategy fund offerings (including private credit and secondaries). Comparable to Ares WMS on the secondaries and multi-manager SMA side, though more advisory-led than direct distribution.
• Hamilton Lane: Private markets investment manager with a strong SMA/foothold model serving wealth and institutional clients. Comparable to Ares WMS on the multi-manager private markets access side, particularly for the wealth channel.
• iCapital Network: Tech-enabled private markets platform connecting alt managers (including Ares) with wealth advisors. Less of a competitor and more of a distribution channel partner, but a relevant comparable on the wealth-private-markets infrastructure layer.
• CAIS: Alternatives platform for independent RIAs and wealth advisors offering curated private credit, private equity, and hedge fund access. Comparable to Ares WMS as a wealth-distribution intermediary, though more of a channel partner than direct competitor for branded alt products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/blackcreekgroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/black-creek-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ares Wealth Management Solutions