Ares raises record $36 billion as private credit boom accelerates

Ares Management pulled in a record $36.4 billion in gross new capital commitments in the second quarter of 2026, its largest fundraising haul yet. July inflows added about $1.5 billion more, extending a run that has pushed private credit deeper into the U.S. financial system as banks keep retreating from some forms of business lending. The second-quarter total topped Ares’ previous peak of $35.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025 and exceeded the $29.5 billion it raised in the first quarter.

The money is coming from pensions, endowments, sovereign wealth funds and other large institutions that still want yield and diversification in a high-rate world. It is also coming from companies that want flexible financing without relying only on banks or public bond markets. That combination has turned private credit into one of the most important corners of global finance and given large managers such as Ares more power to finance U.S. companies outside the traditional banking channel.

The firm’s momentum built on a record first quarter, when it said it had raised about $30 billion. Fee-related earnings were $464.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, and assets under management climbed 18% to $644.3 billion after that quarter. By July, assets under management had risen to $671.3 billion, up 17%, while fee-related earnings were 20% higher.

The fundraising surge comes as the broader credit market is still working through stress. Earnings across private credit have held up even as defaults and redemptions remained elevated, a sign that investors are still pouring money into the asset class despite signs of strain beneath the surface. That makes underwriting standards and transparency more important, because a larger share of lending is now happening in funds and bespoke financing structures that are harder for outsiders to scrutinize.

Ares has described itself as an early leader within one of the world’s largest lending platforms, and the latest numbers reinforce why scale matters in private credit. Bigger managers can raise capital faster, write larger checks and compete for deals that once would have gone to banks or public markets. For regulators and policymakers, the challenge is that more of the credit system is moving into less transparent private markets just as the asset class keeps growing faster than the public oversight built around it.