Non-Traded Business Development Company Expands Ares’ Leading Private Credit Platform Through New Offering Targeting Retail Investors

Fund to Be Distributed Through Ares Wealth Management Solutions

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) (“Ares”), a leading global alternative investment manager, announced today the launch of Ares Strategic Income Fund (“ASIF” or the “Fund”), a perpetual capital, continuously offered, non-traded business development company, which seeks to primarily invest in directly originated, senior secured, floating-rate loans to U.S. middle-market companies. The Fund has launched with approximately $1.5 billion in initial investible capital, including more than $847 million of equity commitments raised from certain existing institutional relationships in a private placement, and approximately $625 million in credit facility commitments.

ASIF is designed to leverage the scale, breadth and depth of the Ares Credit Group’s extensive, cycle-tested platform, which had over $214 billion in assets under management and more than 355 dedicated investment professionals as of December 31, 2022. ASIF will have a core allocation to senior secured directly originated loans within Ares’ leading U.S. Direct Lending strategy and the flexibility to invest in, and benefit from, the adjacent investment strategies within the Ares Credit Group. The Fund has access to Ares’ extensive origination capabilities and expects to benefit from the platform’s information advantages and proprietary transaction sourcing.

The Fund will be distributed through Ares Wealth Management Solutions, LLC (“AWMS”) and will be available through registered investment advisers and financial advisors across the United States.

“We believe that ASIF offers a compelling value proposition as a product that has the potential to deliver attractive levels of current income with relative downside protection throughout market cycles,” said Mitchell Goldstein, Partner, Co-CEO of ASIF and Co-Head of the Ares Credit Group. “As high-net-worth investors seek alternative sources of income, we believe that ASIF provides investors a differentiated opportunity to benefit from Ares’ leading credit investment platform and cycle-tested investment approach. Further, we appreciate the strong initial support from Ares’ institutional relationships in the private placement, which we believe underscores their confidence in ASIF and Ares’ credit capabilities.”

“The Ares Credit Group and our global direct lending platform bring decades of experience and a highly developed relative value lens when investing in middle-market companies,” said Michael Smith, Partner, Co-CEO of ASIF and Co-Head of the Ares Credit Group. “We believe Ares Credit Group’s broad credit platform and flexible capital uniquely position us to construct high-quality and diverse portfolios. We are excited to launch ASIF as we seek to build on Ares’ demonstrated track record of generating attractive risk-adjusted returns for institutional and retail investors.”

“ASIF is a strong complement to Ares’ perpetual capital offerings across the credit, private equity and real estate asset classes,” said Raj Dhanda, Partner and Global Head of Ares Wealth Management Solutions. “At AWMS, we continue to execute on our commitment to provide financial advisors and their clients with greater access to differentiated private market solutions while also supporting investment allocation decision-making through innovative research and educational tools.”

The Fund’s prospectus (the “Prospectus”) can be found www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0001918712/000110465923048953/asif-20230202xn2.htm.

About Ares Management Corporation

Ares Management Corporation is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset classes. Ares Management Corporation seeks to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create value for its stakeholders and within its communities. By collaborating across its investment groups, Ares Management Corporation aims to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of December 31, 2022, Ares Management Corporation's global platform had approximately $352 billion of assets under management, with over 2,550 employees operating across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com.

Ares Wealth Management Solutions

As a global brand of Ares Management Corporation, Ares Wealth Management Solutions oversees the product development, distribution, marketing and client management activities of investment offerings for the global wealth management channel. With a team of approximately 115 professionals and backed by the power and scale of the Ares platform, AWMS represents one of the most resourced wealth distribution and client service teams in the alternatives industry. AWMS’ mission is to provide advisors and their clients access to innovative, solutions-oriented investment opportunities across Ares’ platform of industry leading credit, private equity, real estate and secondaries strategies. Through its range of institutional and retail structures, coupled with excellent client service and educational resources, AWMS helps investors diversify their portfolios with private market solutions that seek to deliver consistent, long-term growth. For more information, please visit www.areswms.com.

*The Fund is restricted from residents of certain states and is not available to persons located in: Arkansas, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

This press release is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. An offering is made only by a prospectus to individuals who meet minimum suitability requirements. This press release must be read in conjunction with the Prospectus in order to fully understand all the implications and risks of the offering of securities to which it relates. Please read the Prospectus and consider the Fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses and other information described therein prior to making any investment decisions. A copy of the Prospectus must be made available to you in connection with an offering. No offering is made except by a prospectus filed with the Department of Law of the State of New York. Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Attorney-General of the State of New York nor any other state securities regulator has approved or disapproved of the Fund's securities or determined if the Prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

AWMS, LLC is a member of FINRA and is a broker-dealer whose purpose is to distribute Ares’ managed or affiliated products. AWMS provides services to its Ares affiliates, not to investors in its funds, strategies or other products. AWMS does not make any recommendation regarding, and will not monitor, any investment. As such, when AWMS presents an investment strategy or product to an investor, AWMS does not collect the information necessary to determine, and AWMS does not engage in a determination regarding, whether an investment in the strategy or product is in the best interests of, or is suitable for, the investor. You should exercise your own judgment and/or consult with a professional advisor to determine whether it is advisable for you to invest in any Ares strategy or product. Please note that AWMS may not provide the kinds of financial services that you might expect from another financial intermediary, such as overseeing any brokerage or similar account.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain words such as "anticipates," "believes," "expects," "intends," "projects," "estimates," "will," "should," "could," "would," "likely," "may" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to the Fund as of the date on this press release. Except as required by the federal securities laws, the Fund undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking statements in this press release are excluded from the safe harbor protection provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Fund's actual results and condition could differ materially from those implied or expressed in the forward-looking statements or from the Fund's historical performance for any reason, including the factors set forth in "Summary of Risk Factors" and the other information included in this content and in the Prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference into the Prospectus.

Suitability Standards

The Fund has established suitability standards for investors in its registered offering which require that an investor have either: (a) a gross annual income of at least $70,000 and a net worth of at least $70,000; or (b) a net worth of at least $250,000. Certain states have higher suitability standards, please refer to the Prospectus for full details.

Risk Factors

Investing in the Fund's common shares of beneficial interest ("Common Shares") involves a high degree of risk. An investor should only purchase Common Shares if the investor can afford to lose its complete investment. Potential investors should read the Prospectus, including the “Risk Factors” section therein, which contains a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that the Fund believes are material to its business, operating results, prospects and financial condition.

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