Ares Management is an alternative asset manager running private credit, private equity and real estate investment strategies on behalf of pension funds, insurance companies and other institutional investors, with a particularly large direct lending business. Private credit, where firms like Ares lend directly to companies rather than through traditional bank loans or public bond markets, has grown substantially as banks have pulled back from some corporate lending following stricter regulation after the financial crisis. Like other alternative asset managers, Ares earns management fees on the capital it oversees and performance fees tied to investment returns, a model that scales with how much capital it can raise and deploy successfully. The firm has grown its assets under management significantly over the past decade, benefiting from the broader institutional shift toward allocating more capital to private credit and other alternative investments beyond traditional public stocks and bonds.