Ares Australia Management Launches Ares Diversified Credit Fund
Unlisted Open-Ended Fund Targets High Single-Digit Annual Net Returns and Monthly Income
SYDNEY—06 November, 2020: Ares Australia Management (“AAM”), thestrategic joint venture between Ares Management Corporation (“Ares”) (NYSE: ARES), a leading global alternative investment manager, and Fidante Partners Limited (“Fidante Partners”), is launching its second Australian product, the Ares Diversified Credit Fund (“Fund”).
The unlisted open-ended Fund presents a novel investment strategy to the Australian managed fund space and provides investors with access to Ares’ leading global credit platform through a vehicle that allows for daily inbound and quarterly outbound liquidity at net asset value (“NAV”). The Fund is designed to offer exposure to private and public credit assets and aims to deliver yield premiums and additional downside protection relative to traditional fixed income. It primarily invests in a portfolio of directly originated loans, syndicated loans, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities, commercial real estate loans and other types of credit instruments. Unlike other products in the market, the structure of the Fund allows for the pass through of all components of income, including the origination fees earned on directly originated loans for the benefit of the Fund’s investors.
AAM is proposing to launch an Initial Offer (Offer) on 16 November to seed the Fund. As set forth in the Fund’s Information Memorandum, by participating in the Offer, seed investors will receive additional loyalty units equivalent to 1% of their initial investment amount, to the extent they hold their initial units for one year. These additional loyalty units will be provided at no additional cost to investors. Once the Offer closes, the Fund will then be open for daily applications.
“At its core, the Fund provides access to Ares’ scaled credit platform, including its differentiated self-origination capabilities,” said Teiki Benveniste, Head of Ares Australia Management. “We believe that Ares’ sourcing advantages and deep credit capabilities, alongside the Fund’s structure which allows for inbound and outbound liquidity at NAV, provides Australian investors with a distinct product to meet their income and liquidity needs. Importantly, the Fund’s investors will be able to benefit from the full economics of its investments, including any income and origination fees. We believe this further distinguishes our product from other offerings in the Australian market today.”
“The Fund benefits from the full scope and scale of the Ares platform in allocating capital across the global credit markets in search of the best relative value opportunities,” said Mitch Goldstein, Partner and Co-Head of the Ares Credit Group, and a lead portfolio manager for the Fund. “We believe that Ares’ high underwriting standards, as demonstrated by our long-term track record of low defaults and strong returns across the credit platform, as well as portfolio diversification across issuers, asset classes and geographies, provides for compelling performance with meaningful downside protection.”
“As a pioneer in private credit globally, Ares has developed a trusted reputation of investing through market cycles,” said John Knox, Australia and New Zealand Chairman of Ares SSG. “Ares is well-regarded for its ability to directly originate, structure and manage credit investments across the full spectrum of private and public credit strategies.”
Fidante Partners Global Head, John Burke said: “The AAM joint venture has launched this second product to address the increasing market opportunity for global credit and to better meet the needs of Australian investors in today’s low rate environment. Everything we do centres on providing our retail and institutional customers with attractive fund management solutions and breaking down barriers to asset classes that are typically difficult to access.”
The Fund is one of several products that AAM plans to launch over the next two years. AAM’s first product, the Ares Global Credit Income Fund, was launched in May 2020.
About Ares Australia Management
Ares Australia Management is an alternative investment manager formed through a strategic joint venture between Ares Management Corporation and Fidante Partners to coordinate marketing and investment management of retail and institutional investor capital from Australia and New Zealand for Ares’ various credit, private equity and real estate strategies. Ares Australia Management aims to provide local investors with access to expertise in credit and other alternative investments to deliver high-quality diversified returns for investors’ portfolios.
About Ares Management Corporation
Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager operating integrated businesses across Credit, Private Equity, Real Estate and Strategic Initiatives. Ares Management’s investment groups collaborate to deliver innovative investment solutions and consistent and attractive investment returns for fund investors throughout market cycles. Ares Management’s global platform had approximately US$179 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2020 with more than 1,400 employees operating across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
About Fidante Partners
Fidante Partners forms long term alliances with talented investment teams to support and grow specialist investment management businesses. Through these strategic partnerships, Fidante is able to provide investors with some of the world’s most compelling investment strategies.
Fidante Partners is a global investment management business with approximately A$65 billion* under management and form part of the Challenger Limited Group, an ASX-listed investment management firm.
*September 2020
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements included herein may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (United States of America), which relate to future events or our future performance or financial condition. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (United States). None of Ares, Ares Australia Management, Challenger Limited or Fidante Partners undertakes any duty to update any forward-looking statements made herein.
Nothing in this press release constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Ares, Ares Australia Management, Challenger Limited, Fidante Partners, or an investment fund managed by Ares, Ares Australia Management, Fidante Partners or their respective affiliates.
This media release is provided by Ares Australia Management Pty Limited ABN 51 636 490 732 the investment manager of the Fund and Fidante Partners ABN 94 002 835 592 AFSL 234668 the responsible entity of and issuer of interests in the Ares Diversified Credit Fund. AAM is an Authorised Representative No. 001280423 of Fidante Partners. This media release has been prepared without taking into account any person’s objectives, financial situation, needs or residency. Any person receiving the information in this media release should consider the appropriateness of the information, in light of their own objectives, financial situation or needs before acting on the information. The Fund is only intended for wholesale investors in Australia and is not intended for U.S. persons and is not being offered in the United States or to U.S. persons. Persons receiving this information should obtain and read the Information Memorandum relating to the Fund before making any decision about whether to acquire the Fund. The Information Memorandum can be obtained from the Fidante Partners’ Investor Services team on 13 51 53.
Ares Australia Management:
FCR
Jeremy Kirk, +61 2 8264 1007
j.kirk@fcr.com.au
Ares Management Corporation:
Media:
Mendel Communications
Bill Mendel, 212-397-1030
bill@mendelcommunications.com
Ares Management Corporation
Priscila Roney, 212-808-1185
proney@aresmgmt.com
Brittany Cash, 212-301-0347
bcash@aresmgmt.com
Investors:
Ares Management Corporation
Carl Drake, 800-340-6597
cdrake@aresmgmt.com
Challenger Limited:
Sean Aylmer, +61 2 9994 7919
saylmer@challenger.com.au
