Ares Management has once again restricted withdrawals from its flagship Ares Strategic Income Fund, limiting investor access to capital at a time when demand to exit is surging.
The private credit manager imposed the gating measures at the end of June, responding to a wave of redemption requests that have intensified throughout the second quarter.
4% of the fund’s total value during the quarter, according to reporting from Wiwo.
Investors sought to pull shares worth 14.4% of the fund’s total value during the quarter, according to reporting from Wiwo.
The scale of the outflow pressure forced Ares to invoke contractual provisions that allow it to temporarily suspend or limit redemptions to preserve liquidity for remaining shareholders.
This is not an isolated incident for the firm, which has repeatedly tightened gates on the fund in recent months as market conditions have deteriorated.
The development highlights a structural vulnerability in the private credit market, an asset class that has long been marketed as a stable, high-yield alternative to public bonds.