ARES, APO, BLK, BX and OWL face pressure as $13B in private credit exits strain liquidity, leaving $4.6B trapped and exposing cracks in the $2T market.

Ares Management has begun limiting withdrawals from its Strategic Income Fund as redemption requests rise across the private credit industry.

Investors in an Ares' private credit fund asked for 11.6% of their shares back in the first quarter. The firm limited redemptions to 5%, citing its design and plan to continue investing.

Ares Management, a US-based global alternative investment manager, is now a $33 billion (by market cap) alt asset giant. To date, ARES has increased its dividend for seven consecutive years, with a five-year dividend growth rate of 22.9%. The company advanced its revenue from $4.2 billion in FY 2021 to $5.6 billion in FY 2025, a compound annual growth rate of 7.5%.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management global co-head of private credit Vivek Bantwal discusses the private credit market amid rising concerns over risky loans and artificial intelligence disruption on ‘The Claman Countdown.'

Ares Management is rated Buy as market panic creates a rare yield and growth opportunity. ARES offers a 5.3% dividend yield, recently hiked by 20%, with a 22.87% 5-year dividend CAGR and investment-grade rating at "A-" from Fitch. Fears over AI and private credit have driven ARES to a historically high yield, despite record AUM and fee-related earnings growth. AUM reached $623 billion.

I'm deploying cash into high-quality BDCs, alternative asset managers, and select ETFs to lock in attractive, sustainable yields after a sentiment-driven selloff. ARES, BX, and BAM offer scale, strong management, and secular growth in alternatives, with current valuations reflecting panic rather than fundamentals. HTGC and TRIN present double-digit yields with robust underwriting, low non-accruals, and discounted valuations, despite limited evidence of credit stress.

Ares Management Corporation (ARES) Presents at RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference 2026 Transcript

Ares Management offers a compelling mix of income and growth, trading roughly 30% off highs with a 4.8% yield and strong fee growth. ARES benefits from its origination-led model, high asset selectivity, and minimal direct credit risk, supporting double-digit annual fee and dividend growth. Western Midstream remains undervalued, yielding 8.8% with a robust business model, integrated water assets, and a distributable cash flow yield of 11%.

The recent spike in private credit redemptions highlights the risks in bringing higher-yielding, illiquid assets into the mainstream retail wealth space. But Blackstone COO Jon Gray told CNBC that most investors do understand the product.