Ares Raises $1.6B for Japan Industrial Fund as AUM Hits $644B

Ares Management drew $1.6 billion in equity commitments for its latest Japan industrial development fund, the fifth in a series inherited from the US alternative asset manager’s acquisition of GLP’s ex-China business last year.

Ares expects to hold a first closing for the vehicle this spring and reach the hard cap later this year, CEO Michael Arougheti told analysts on a first-quarter earnings call. Fundraising across all strategies rose 46 percent year-on-year to a record $30 billion during the quarter, as the Los Angeles-based firm reported continued expansion across its global platform.

Total assets under management climbed 18 percent from a year earlier to $644 billion, while fee-paying AUM rose 19 percent to $400 billion, supported by inflows into Japan real estate strategies, US and European direct lending funds and open-ended infrastructure products, according to stock filings by NYSE-listed Ares.

“We are on track for another record year of fundraising as we continue to see broad-based investor demand across our platform,” Arougheti said in a release. “We also continue to see strong fundamental performance across our investment portfolios despite the volatile market environment.”

Dry Powder for Real Estate

Ares said it raised $6.2 billion for real assets strategies, including $5 billion for real estate and $1.2 billion for infrastructure, with investors backing both development and income-oriented vehicles. The haul came as rival Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, booked $68.5 billion in capital inflows during the first quarter, led by credit and insurance funds, despite market turmoil triggered by the Iran war.

Ares deployed $32.3 billion in capital during the quarter, broadly in line with year-earlier levels, with $17.2 billion invested through drawdown funds and the remainder through perpetual capital vehicles. Deployment centred on US and European direct lending, alongside real estate and alternative credit, reflecting what executives described as a robust investment pipeline and continued opportunity in private markets.

Ares reported fee-related earnings of $464.4 million and after-tax realised income of $452.4 million, as management fees rose 25 percent year-on-year on the back of higher AUM and deployment.

The firm ended the quarter with $158 billion in dry powder, positioning it to pursue further deals across credit, infrastructure and real assets strategies amid what management characterised as a volatile but opportunity-rich environment.

Executives also pointed to momentum in infrastructure and digital assets, including data centres and energy investments tied to AI and electrification.

Last year’s $3.7 billion GLP acquisition included Ada Infrastructure, a global data centre platform through which Ares closed on $2.4 billion in equity last year for projects in Japan, including $1.3 billion contributed by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

On the Marq

Ares has been expanding its Asia footprint, including credit and real assets strategies targeting Japan and broader Asia Pacific opportunities, in a push to diversify its geographic exposure. In March the fund manager doubled its office space at Hongkong Land’s Gloucester Tower, the 48-storey building in Hong Kong’s Central district where it has been a tenant since 2017.

In its corporate strategy, Ares has been integrating the funds business acquired from GLP into its Marq platform. Last month an Ares fund acquired three fully occupied warehouses in Japan — with at least one of the properties purchased from Tokyu Land’s Logi’Q logistics division — bringing third-party acquisitions alongside GLP-developed assets into the vehicle’s strategy.

The three assets were rebranded under the Marq emblem, as Ares seeks to consolidate its real assets capabilities under a unified identity with a focus on scaling strategies across logistics, digital infrastructure and real estate.