Ares Management

CEO Michael Arougheti shares his top takeaways from Ares’ Q1 performance and the firm's goals for the year ahead. More below.

This morning, CEO Michael Arougheti and CFO Jarrod Phillips presented Ares’ earnings from Q1 2026—inclusive of record Q1 results across total deployment and fundraising and total AUM growth to over $644 billion (+18% YoY). Find more on Ares' quarterly performance in our full earnings presentation, including particularly strong results from our credit, infrastructure and wealth businesses, and how we are on track for record fundraising in FY 2026: https://ir.aresmgmt.com/

Whether in golf or investing, success is built on trust, discipline and the strength of the team around you. The positive impact of teamwork was perfectly reflected at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, where Ares partnered with Intersport to host an experience for our wealth partners at the Double Eagle Club. We were fortunate to be joined by golfer Min Woo Lee and legendary caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay, who shared their unique perspectives on competing at the highest level, as well as the wealth partners who joined us for a meaningful week.

We are pleased to announce that funds led by Ares Infrastructure Opportunities have acquired a 32.4% stake in the Rover Pipeline from funds managed by Blackstone Energy Transition Partners.    Rover is a large-scale natural gas transmission pipeline spanning approximately 700 miles across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan and provides critical connectivity from the Appalachian Basin to high-value end markets across North America.     More on this announcement in the full press release: https://lnkd.in/exVvwvWv

We are thrilled to share that Peter Ogilvie has been appointed as Ares’ Chief Operating Officer and Head of Strategy, where he will support the firm’s strategic growth initiatives and help scale its global operating capabilities as Ares enters its next phase of innovation. Congratulations to Peter on this expanded role! More here: https://lnkd.in/eupsPqqQ

We are proud to celebrate Bryan Donohoe, Head of U.S. Debt in Ares Real Estate, for being named to Commercial Observer’s Power Finance 2026 list, recognizing the most influential players in the commercial real estate finance industry. Bryan was named for his role in driving the continued growth of Ares Real Estate’s lending platform in the U.S., which included the oversight of approximately $5.7 billion of loan commitments across 40 deals in 2025. Congratulations on this recognition, Bryan! More here: https://lnkd.in/gjUEydsC

Ares was recognized across five categories at the Alternative Credit Awards North America 2026, placing us as the most recognized manager at the awards and reflecting the strength of our credit platform and our team’s leadership across the industry. Ares category wins included Fund Manager of the Year, Market Commentator of the Year and BSL CLO Manager of the Year, as well as Direct Lending Deal of the Year (mid cap) for SESAC Music Group and Interval Fund of the Year. 

Congratulations to X-energy, an advanced nuclear reactor and fuel company, on its official debut as a #NasdaqListed public company under the ticker $XE! We’ve had strong conviction in the opportunity for X-energy’s advanced small modular reactors and proprietary fuel technologies since our initial investment in 2022, and the need for safe, efficient and lower-cost nuclear energy has grown significantly. We are incredibly proud to be part of X-energy’s journey and look forward to supporting the team in its mission to be a leader in addressing the world’s most complex energy challenges.

We believe Q3 2024 marked the trough of the most recent real estate cycle as the lingering effects of the Federal Reserve’s 2022–2023 tightening campaign began to fade. Recovery cycles typically span five to eight years and drive returns averaging ~400 basis points above long‑term norms, meaning favorable supply/demand balance, improving liquidity, increasing transaction volumes and fundraising activity and attractive pricing of REITs. Today’s backdrop underpins our view that the real estate recovery is not only underway but still has meaningful room to run. We expand on this view in our latest Chart of the Month: https://lnkd.in/eKG4Z4-P

Private equity secondaries are stepping into a new era, with 2025 volumes surging to record levels and GP-led transactions becoming true portfolio management tools. As investors increasingly view continuation vehicles as strategic—not just as liquidity solutions—the asset class is moving from niche to mainstream. We explore this transition, how stakeholders are rebalancing their portfolios and the trends we expect to see in 2026 as secondaries continues to develop: https://lnkd.in/eqTHjF8z