Ares Management Corporation closed a $9.8 billion capital raise for its Opportunistic Credit strategy, including the final closing of Ares Special Opportunities Fund III LP on March 31 2026. The fund secured $8.3 billion in equity commitments, surpassing its $7.1 billion target and exceeding the size of previous vintages.
The new capital adds to a track record of successful fundraising: Special Opportunities Fund II closed $7.1 billion in autumn 2022 and the inaugural fund raised $3.5 billion in June 2020. Institutional investors such as CalPERS ($1.5 billion), the Virginia Retirement System ($275 million) and the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana ($150 million) were among the largest contributors. The fund has already deployed more than $1.8 billion to deals including FTAI Infrastructure and Leaf Home, and Ares has deployed over $17 billion across the strategy’s history, realizing more than $11 billion in proceeds with a de‑minimis loss ratio.
Aaron Rosen, Co‑Head of Opportunistic Credit, said, "We are proud of the strong global institutional investor demand for our strategy, which we believe reflects our team's performance and differentiated market position." He added, "For nearly 10 years, we have scaled our Opportunistic Credit platform to deliver bespoke capital solutions to a broad set of middle‑market businesses, and we look forward to continuing to execute on our strategy for the benefit of our portfolio companies and Limited Partners." Craig Snyder, Co‑Head of Opportunistic Credit, commented, "We believe current market volatility is contributing to a pipeline of attractive relative value opportunities for managers with the discipline to invest across private and public companies and experience delivering liquidity solutions."
The capital raise comes amid heightened scrutiny of private credit and broader market volatility, yet the strong demand from institutional investors signals confidence in Ares’ ability to capture attractive spreads in a tightening credit environment. The firm’s opportunistic credit platform focuses on high‑yield, high‑quality middle‑market loans and opportunistically purchases stressed corporate debt, positioning it to benefit from relative value opportunities that arise during periods of market stress.
With the expanded capital base, Ares is better positioned to scale its opportunistic credit strategy, increase fee generation, and reinforce its standing as a leading alternative asset manager. The additional liquidity will enable the firm to deploy capital more aggressively, potentially accelerating growth and enhancing returns for limited partners while maintaining disciplined risk management in a challenging credit landscape.
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