Ares(ARES) - 2024 Q4 - Annual Results

Financial Performance - GAAP net income attributable to Ares Management Corporation was $177.3 million for Q4 2024 and$463.7 million for the full year 2024[11]. - Fee Related Earnings for Q4 2024 were $396.2 million, reflecting a 7$1.23 for Q4 2024, a 2% increase from $1.21 in Q4 2023[14]. - Total revenues for Q4 2024 were$1.26 billion, compared to $1.05 billion in Q4 2023, marking a significant increase[13]. - Realized income increased by 10$529.1 million, and by 17% for FY-24 to $1.7 billion[54]. - Fee related earnings for the year ended December 31, 2024, reached$1,568,157 thousand, up from $1,317,012 thousand in 2023, indicating a year-over-year increase of 19.1$434,685 thousand, compared to $400,382 thousand in Q4 2023, reflecting an increase of 8.6$1.30, slightly up from $1.26 in Q4 2023, marking a 3.2$484.4 billion, with Fee Paying AUM (FPAUM) at $292.6 billion[11]. - Assets Under Management (AUM) as of December 31, 2024, reached$484.4 billion, marking a 16% increase from the prior year, while FPAUM increased by 12% to $292.6 billion[17][18]. - AUM Not Yet Paying Fees was$95.0 billion as of December 31, 2024, reflecting a 28% increase from the prior year[30]. - Perpetual Capital as of December 31, 2024, was $133.6 billion, representing a 28$133.1 billion, a 19% increase from the prior year, driven by commitments to U.S. and European direct lending and real estate debt strategies[29]. - The total AUM as of Q4-24 was $484.4 billion, with Credit accounting for$348.8 billion, Real Assets $75.3 billion, Private Equity$24.0 billion, and Secondaries $29.2 billion[84]. Capital Raising and Deployment - Ares raised$28.3 billion in gross new capital for Q4 2024 and $92.7 billion for the full year 2024, with capital deployment of$32.1 billion and $106.7 billion respectively[11]. - Total gross capital deployment in Q4 2024 was$32.1 billion, compared to $24.0 billion in Q4 2023, and for FY 2024, it was$106.7 billion, up from $68.1 billion in FY 2023[46]. - Gross new capital commitments for Q4 2024 totaled$28.3 billion, with a full year total of $92.7 billion, reflecting significant equity and debt commitments across various funds[16]. - Capital deployment by drawdown funds was$14.0 billion in Q4-24, a decrease of 9% from $15.4 billion in Q4-23, while deployment by perpetual capital vehicles increased to$17.2 billion from $8.2 billion, a growth of 109$25.8 billion in Q4-24, representing a 25% increase from $20.7 billion in Q4-23, and$87.6 billion for FY-24 compared to $70.5 billion in FY-23[50]. Management Fees and Earnings - Management fees for Q4 2024 were$779.2 million, up from $697.8 million in Q4 2023, representing an 11$585.6 million, compared to $514.7 million in Q4-23, and by 17$2.2 billion[50]. - The effective management fee rate remained stable at 1.02% for both Q4 2024 and Q4 2023[14]. - Fee related performance revenues for FY 2024 were $231.5 million, primarily generated from U.S. and European private equity secondaries strategies[42]. - Fee related earnings increased by 18$39.2 million, and by 21% for FY-24 to $126.2 million, driven by management fees and net fee related performance revenues[68]. Investment Performance - The Credit Group reported net returns of 2.3$275.25 million for Q4 2024, compared to $226.33 million in Q4 2023, reflecting a 21.6$196.17 million, significantly up from $76.75 million in Q4 2023[109]. Strategic Initiatives - Ares completed the acquisition of Walton Street Capital Mexico, increasing AUM by$2.5 billion[11]. - The company plans to continue expanding its market presence through strategic acquisitions and new product developments[110]. - The overall investment performance reflects a strong recovery and growth trajectory, positioning the company favorably for future opportunities[110]. - The company has a focus on expanding its managed accounts and commingled funds that meet perpetual capital criteria[126]. - Future strategies may include further development and distribution of investment offerings through the OMG[125].