Ares Management Corporation (ARES) Presents at Citizens Financial Services Conference 2025 Transcript

At the Citizens Financial Services Conference on Nov. 18, 2025, Ares Co‑President Kip DeVeer and Blue Owl co‑CEO Marc Lipschultz took part in a moderated industry panel with Brian McKenna that focused on the evolution, recent growth and demonstrated resilience of alternative asset managers; McKenna highlighted strong investment performance across the sector alongside occasional double‑digit stock drawdowns. The session framed a forward‑looking discussion of the business model and market outlook for credit and alternative managers, signaling continued investor interest in the sector's performance drivers and risk dynamics.

Analysis

At the Citizens Financial Services Conference on Nov. 18, 2025, Ares Management Co‑President Kip DeVeer and Blue Owl co‑CEO Marc Lipschultz participated in a panel moderated by Brian McKenna that emphasized the evolution, recent growth and resilience of alternative asset managers. McKenna characterized the industry as resilient, noting strong investment performance alongside occasional double‑digit stock drawdowns.

Lipschultz was introduced as founder of Blue Owl's legacy credit business (Owl Rock) in 2016 and a former long‑time partner at KKR, while DeVeer was identified as Ares Co‑President who previously ran ARCC and headed credit, underscoring the session’s focus on credit expertise and management continuity. These biographies reinforce the conversation’s emphasis on credit‑driven strategies as a core performance driver for the sector.

Event signals are mildly positive (sentiment_score 0.25; market_impact_score 0.12) with a slightly favorable per‑ticker tone for ARES (0.3), indicating constructive investor sentiment but limited immediate market disruption. The takeaway for investors is a cautiously constructive view on Ares and similar managers: credible leadership and durable private‑credit demand support medium‑term prospects, while historical stock drawdowns and credit execution remain clear downside risks to monitor.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Maintain or modestly increase selective exposure to ARES given the panel's constructive tone and management continuity, but keep position sizes conservative
• Prioritize monitoring upcoming credit performance, fundraising updates and any management commentary on legacy ARCC or credit portfolio outcomes because the discussion centered on credit strategy as the primary performance driver
• Use tactical downside protection or hedges (for example options or position limits) to mitigate risk from occasional double‑digit drawdowns highlighted in the session despite the mildly positive sentiment