Ares Management Corporation (ARES) 2026 Q2 法說會逐字稿

(audio in progress) listen-only mode. On Friday, July 31, 2026.

（音訊進行中）僅收聽模式。2026年7月31日（星期五）。

I will now turn the call over to Greg Mason, Co-Head of Public Markets, Investor Relations for Ares Management.

我現在把電話交給 Ares Management 公開市場共同主管、投資人關係部的 Greg Mason。

Good morning and thank you for joining us today for our second quarter 2026 conference call. I'm joined today by Michael Arougheti, our Chief Executive Officer; and Jarrod Phillips, our Chief Financial Officer. We also have a number of executives with us today who will be available during Q&A.

各位早安，感謝各位今天參加我們 2026 年第二季的電話法說會。今天與我一同出席的有我們的執行長 Michael Arougheti，以及財務長 Jarrod Phillips。我們今天也有多位主管在場，將於問答環節提供回應。

Before we begin, I want to remind you that comments made during this call contain certain forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties including those identified in our risk factors in our SEC filings. Our actual results could differ materially, and we undertake no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Please also note that past performance is not a guarantee of future results, and nothing on this call constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase an interest in Ares or any Ares Fund.

在開始之前，我想提醒各位，本次電話會議中的評論包含若干前瞻性陳述，並受風險與不確定性影響，包括我們向美國證券交易委員會（SEC）申報文件之風險因素中所列者。我們的實際結果可能有重大差異，且我們不承擔更新任何此類前瞻性陳述之義務。另請注意，過去績效不保證未來結果，本次電話會議中的任何內容均不構成出售要約或徵求購買 Ares 或任何 Ares 基金權益之要約。

During this call, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures, which should not be considered in isolation from or as a substitute for, measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Please refer to our second quarter earnings presentation available on the Investor Resources section of our website for reconciliations to these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. Note that we plan to file our Form 10-Q early next month.

在本次電話會議中，我們將提及若干非 GAAP 財務衡量指標，該等指標不應被單獨考量，亦不應替代依一般公認會計原則編製之衡量指標。請參閱我們網站「投資人資源」專區所提供的第二季財報簡報，其中包含將這些非 GAAP 指標調節至最直接可比 GAAP 指標的對照表。另請注意，我們計畫於下月初提交 Form 10-Q。

This morning, we announced that we declared a quarterly dividend of $1.35 per share on the company's Class A and nonvoting common stock, representing an increase of over 20% over our dividend for the same quarter a year ago. The dividend will be paid on September 30, 2026 to holders of record on September 16.

今天早上，我們宣布已就本公司 A 類普通股及無表決權普通股宣告每股 1.35 美元的季度股利，較去年同期股利增加逾 20%。該股利將於 2026 年 9 月 30 日支付給 9 月 16 日登記在冊的股東。

Now I'll turn the call over to Mike, who will start with some comments on the current market environment and our second quarter financial results.

現在我把電話交給 Mike，他將先就目前市場環境與我們第二季財務表現發表一些評論。

Thank you, Greg, and good morning, everyone. I hope you're all doing well. Our strong second quarter results highlight the growing diversity and durability of our global platform. The depth of our global institutional platform drove another record quarter of fundraising and our broad-based global investment capabilities enabled us to remain very active in a slower transaction environment. This drove 17% year over year increases in both our AUM and fee-paying AUM to approximately $671 billion and approximately $410 billion, respectively.

謝謝你，Greg，各位早安。希望大家都一切順利。我們第二季的強勁表現凸顯了我們全球平台日益提升的多元性與韌性。我們全球機構平台的深度帶動募資再創單季新高，而我們廣泛的全球投資能力也使我們在交易環境較為放緩的情況下仍能保持高度活躍。因此，我們的管理資產規模（AUM）與收費 AUM 分別年增 17%，約達 6,710 億美元與約 4,100 億美元。

This AUM growth translated into even healthier increases in our fee-related earnings and realized income, which increased 20% and over 30%, respectively, as we benefit from our growing scale and strong long-term fund performance.

AUM 的成長進一步轉化為我們收費相關收益（FRE）與已實現收入更為健康的增幅，分別成長 20% 與超過 30%，反映我們受惠於規模擴大以及長期基金績效強勁。

Notably, both growth rates are at the high end or above the long-term growth rate target ranges that we provided at our 2024 Investor Day. Overall, we're pleased with how we're performing, and we remain on track to achieve our financial objectives for the year. The underlying drivers of our future growth continue to improve. We now operate leading franchises in diversified credit, real estate, infrastructure and secondaries across North America, Europe and Asia.

值得注意的是，這兩項成長率均位於或高於我們在 2024 年投資人日所提供的長期成長率目標區間上緣。整體而言，我們對目前的表現感到滿意，並仍按計畫達成今年的財務目標。推動我們未來成長的基本動能持續改善。我們目前在北美、歐洲與亞洲的多元化信貸、不動產、基礎建設與次級市場（secondaries）領域皆經營領先的旗艦業務。

Beyond Direct Lending, our scale and leading businesses across asset-based finance, opportunistic credit, liquid credit, global real estate, infrastructure, insurance, and our diversified secondary strategies are increasingly contributing to fundraising, deployment, management fees and earnings growth.

除直接放款之外，我們在資產基礎融資、機會型信貸、流動性信貸、全球不動產、基礎建設、保險，以及多元化次級策略等領域的規模與領先業務，正日益對募資、資金部署、管理費與獲利成長作出貢獻。

For the second quarter, we raised approximately $36 billion of gross capital the highest quarter of fundraising in our history. This positions us with a record $170 billion of dry powder and $114 billions of AUM not yet paying fees which sets us up well for future earnings growth. We've now raised approximately $66 billion through the first half of the year, and we remain on track for another record year of fundraising.

第二季我們募集約 360 億美元的總資本，為公司史上募資最高的單一季度。這使我們擁有創新高的 1,700 億美元可投資資金（dry powder），以及 1,140 億美元尚未開始收費的 AUM，為未來獲利成長奠定良好基礎。今年上半年我們已募集約 660 億美元，並仍按計畫朝另一個募資創紀錄的年度邁進。

The breadth of fundraising across our platform is particularly notable, approximately 70% of the capital that we've raised this year is outside of our four largest credit fund families and investors committed capital across approximately 90 different funds and vehicles. This demonstrates the increasing diversification and global reach of our business.

我們平台的募資廣度尤其值得關注：今年我們所募集資本中約 70% 來自我們四大信貸基金家族之外，且投資人已在約 90 檔不同基金與投資工具中承諾資本。這顯示我們業務的多元化程度與全球觸及範圍正持續提升。

We raised our highest ever quarterly amount of contribution from our SDL and ACE franchises neither of which raised equity capital in their flagship commingled funds in the quarter. In our view, our franchise and brand have never been stronger in the eyes of our institutional investors. Institutional investors account for approximately 75% of our overall AUM and have represented more than 80% of our gross equity inflows over the last 12 months.

我們來自 SDL 與 ACE 兩大平台的單季貢獻創下歷史新高，儘管兩者在本季度的旗艦共同投資基金中均未募集股權資本。在我們看來，在機構投資人眼中，我們的品牌與平台實力從未如此強勁。機構投資人約占我們整體 AUM 的 75%，且在過去 12 個月中占我們總股權資金流入的 80% 以上。

Ares is viewed as a key strategic partner with the scale, performance and breadth of capabilities to serve a wider range of portfolio needs, during a period where global institutional investors are seeking to consolidate. We're seeing the benefits of significant investments in our broad origination capabilities, our time-tested investment approach consistent credit and investment performance and best-in-class client service.

在全球機構投資人尋求整併合作夥伴的期間，Ares 因具備規模、績效與廣泛能力，能滿足更廣泛的投資組合需求，而被視為關鍵的策略夥伴。我們正看到在廣泛案源開發能力上的重大投資、經時間驗證的投資方法、一貫的信貸與投資績效，以及同級最佳的客戶服務所帶來的效益。

Now let me provide some additional details on our various fundraising and investing activities. Starting with fundraising in credit. We continue to see very strong institutional demand across our highly diversified credit strategies and have hit the hard cap on our last two private credit fund raises.

接下來我將就我們各項募資與投資活動提供更多細節。先從信貸募資談起。我們在高度多元化的信貸策略上持續看到非常強勁的機構需求，且最近兩次私募信貸基金募資均達到硬上限（hard cap）。

In alternative credit, which is our asset-based finance strategy, we completed the higher fundraise for Pathfinder III during the second quarter, raising approximately $8.5 billion of equity commitments. The fund significantly exceeded its $6.5 billion target and had demand well in excess of its hard cap Market-leading position in the non-rated asset-backed finance sector as we now manage four of the five largest institutional ABF funds in the market.

在替代信貸（亦即我們的資產基礎融資策略）方面，我們於第二季完成 Pathfinder III 的募資，募集約 85 億美元的股權承諾。該基金大幅超越 65 億美元的目標，需求亦遠高於其硬上限；我們在未評級資產擔保融資領域具市場領先地位，目前我們管理的機構 ABF 基金規模在市場前五大中占四檔。

We believe that the addressable market is measuring trillions of dollars and our investment pipeline continues to expand as we partner with financial institutions and origination platform forms across various asset classes.

我們認為可投資市場規模以兆美元計，且隨著我們與金融機構及各類資產類別的起源平台公司合作，我們的投資案源管線持續擴大。

In US and European Direct Lending, we raised over $12 billion of debt and equity capital during the quarter across our vehicles. Institutional engagement for the next generation of our US senior direct lending strategy is very strong, including for both our traditional commingled fund and our new Evergreen core product. We continue to expect the first close for both products sometime in the fall with additional closings next year.

在美國與歐洲的直接放款方面，本季度我們透過各項投資工具募集超過 120 億美元的債務與股權資本。市場對我們下一代美國優先級直接放款策略的機構參與度非常強勁，涵蓋我們傳統的共同投資基金以及新的 Evergreen 核心產品。我們仍預期兩項產品將於秋季某個時間點完成首次交割（first close），並於明年進行後續交割。

We expect to launch our seventh European Direct Lending fund early next year. Taken together, our institutional fundraising pipeline remains robust with our two largest fund families in the market with successor funds in the year ahead.

我們預期將於明年初推出第七檔歐洲直接放款基金。綜合而言，隨著我們兩大基金家族在未來一年推出接續基金，我們的機構募資管線仍然強勁。

Within real assets, fundraising momentum was particularly strong across infrastructure and real estate. In infrastructure, our open-ended core infrastructure fund raised approximately $1.9 billion of equity during the quarter.

在實體資產方面，基礎建設與不動產的募資動能尤其強勁。在基礎建設領域，我們的開放式核心基礎建設基金於本季度募集約 19 億美元的股權資本。

Demand for the strategy has been exceptional driven by investor interest in high-yielding tax advantage real assets. At the same time, the number of power and digital infrastructure assets coming to market across a diverse set of subsectors is as high as we've seen which sets us up well for accelerating deployment. These same trends are driving strong momentum in our sixth infrastructure debt fund.

該策略需求極為強勁，主要受投資人對高收益、具稅務優勢之實體資產的興趣所帶動。同時，跨多元子產業、進入市場的電力與數位基礎建設資產數量達到我們所見的高水準，這使我們有利於加速資金部署。相同趨勢也正推動我們第六檔基礎建設債務基金的強勁動能。

The fund raised approximately $500 million during the quarter and has now raised approximately $3.7 billion. We expect to complete the final close later this year at a level above the $5 billion raised for the prior vintage, including leverage and related vehicles.

該基金於本季度募得約5億美元，目前累計募資約37億美元。我們預期將於今年稍晚完成最終關帳，規模將高於上一期（vintage）募得的50億美元（包含槓桿及相關載體）。

Recent momentum with this fund reflects an increasingly attractive infrastructure investment environment and strong performance for our infrastructure debt strategy. We're also seeing strong investor interest in our global digital infrastructure fund, driven by our seed portfolio of attractive entitled and power projects in top-tier global markets, the persistence and growing demand for computing power, the need for private capital and the differentiated nature of our operating platform. We anticipate holding a series of meaningful closings in late Q3 and into the fourth quarter and expect to complete the fundraise in 2027.

該基金近期的動能反映出基礎建設投資環境日益具吸引力，以及我們基礎建設債務策略的強勁表現。我們也看到投資人對我們全球數位基礎建設基金的高度興趣，動能來自我們在全球一線市場中具吸引力、已取得開發許可（entitled）且具電力條件之專案的種子投資組合、運算能力需求的持續與成長、對民間資本的需求，以及我們營運平台的差異化特性。我們預期在第三季末至第四季期間完成一系列具規模的關帳，並預計於2027年完成募資。

In real estate, we also had an active quarter. Our fifth Japan industrial development fund raised approximately $1.8 billion, bringing total commitments to date to $3.4 billion. We expect to hold our final close in the third quarter at our hard cap and at a level meaningfully above the prior vintage of $2.5 billion based on current exchange rates.

在不動產方面，我們本季同樣相當活躍。我們第五支日本工業不動產開發基金募得約18億美元，使截至目前的總承諾金額達到34億美元。我們預期於第三季在硬上限（hard cap）完成最終關帳，且以目前匯率計算，規模將顯著高於上一期的25億美元。

In our real estate debt strategy, we raised approximately $2.8 billion across a new global co-mingled fund and separately managed accounts. The current environment remains attractive for real estate credit, given early cycle conditions. We're also encouraged by the improving fundraising trends in our non-traded REITs, where inflows have been building each quarter since the fourth quarter of last year.

在我們的不動產債務策略中，我們透過一支新的全球混合基金（co-mingled fund）及分別管理帳戶（SMA）合計募得約28億美元。鑑於目前仍處於週期早期（early cycle）條件，現階段的不動產信貸環境依然具吸引力。我們也對非交易型REIT的募資趨勢改善感到鼓舞，自去年第四季以來，每一季的資金流入都在增加。

Within the market, gross sales and net flows are improving as property values stabilize, transaction activity remains positive, and the supply outlook is becoming more favorable across several sectors. Within secondaries, we continue to see good momentum in our global structured solutions strategy, which raised over $500 million quarter.

就市場而言，隨著物業價值趨於穩定、交易活動維持正向，且多個產業的供給展望愈發有利，總銷售額與淨流量正在改善。在次級市場方面，我們的全球結構型解決方案策略持續展現良好動能，本季募資超過5億美元。

We also expect to complete an initial close for our next real estate secondaries fund in the second half of the year. Investor interest remains strong with the current fundraising pace both faster and ahead of the level that we were seeing at the same point in the prior vintage.

我們也預期在今年下半年完成下一支不動產次級基金的首次關帳。投資人興趣仍然強勁，目前募資進度不僅更快，也領先於上一期在同一時間點所見的水準。

Within our Wealth Management platform, our diversified product line continues to deliver solid investment performance, distinguishing us in the marketplace. We raised approximately $3.9 billion in gross equity commitments in the second quarter, an increase of approximately 15% from the prior year period and roughly in line with the approximate $4 billion that we raised in each of the prior two quarters.

在我們的財富管理平台中，多元化的產品線持續帶來穩健的投資績效，使我們在市場上更具差異化。我們於第二季募得約39億美元的股權承諾總額（gross equity commitments），較去年同期增加約15%，且大致與前兩季各約40億美元的募資水準相當。

We've raised approximately $8 billion during the first half of the year, and based on our current pipeline, which includes a strong start to Q3 with approximately $1.5 billion in July, we anticipate a similar level of gross fundraising in the second half of this year.

今年上半年我們已募得約80億美元；依據目前的案源管線（pipeline），其中第三季開局強勁、7月約15億美元，我們預期今年下半年的募資總額將達到與上半年相近的水準。

Based on industry data from Stanger, Ares has picked up meaningful market share within the channel and ranks number two in gross fundraising over the last 12 months through June. We finished the second quarter with over $76 billion of AUM in our Wealth products and even with some noise in the channel, our Wealth AUM increased at an annualized rate of more than 25% quarter over quarter.

根據Stanger的產業數據，Ares在該通路中取得了顯著的市占率提升，並在截至6月的過去12個月（TTM）總募資額排名第二。我們在第二季結束時，財富產品的資產管理規模（AUM）超過760億美元；即使通路中存在一些雜訊，我們的財富AUM仍以季對季年化超過25%的速度成長。

Importantly the composition of our wealth fundraising continues to broaden. Our goal from the outset was to build a diverse product offering that meets the needs of investors seeking durable income, tax advantage, real assets and diversified growth.

更重要的是，我們財富端募資的組成持續擴大。我們自一開始的目標，就是打造多元的產品組合，以滿足尋求穩健收益、稅務優勢、實體資產及多元成長的投資人需求。

By providing quality offerings across a variety of products, we've demonstrated that we can consistently scale in the wealth channel even as investor sentiment shifts across asset classes. Our Evergreen Core infrastructure product has taken the lead in terms of monthly inflows, and we're still in the early stage of expanding our distribution partnerships.

透過在多種產品上提供高品質的投資方案，我們已證明即使投資人情緒在不同資產類別間轉換，我們仍能在財富通路中持續擴張規模。我們的Evergreen Core基礎建設產品在每月淨流入方面已居於領先地位，而我們仍處於擴大通路合作夥伴關係的早期階段。

In just over two years, the fund has raised over $5.7 billion in AUM, securing the number two rank in TTM gross fundraising for infrastructure evergreen funds through June, representing approximately 20% market share. In the wealth channel, we've made significant investments in distribution, education, technology, operations and product development with nearly 200 professionals focused on the channel. We're currently working on integral fund solutions designed for the mass affluent and model portfolio markets in the US, and we have a robust forward pipeline of additional partners in the US EMEA and APAC to distribute our current flagship funds as well as product extensions.

在短短兩年多的時間內，該基金AUM已募得超過57億美元，並在截至6月的基礎建設常青（evergreen）基金TTM總募資額中排名第二，約占20%的市占率。在財富通路方面，我們在銷售通路、教育、科技、營運與產品開發上投入大量資源，近200位專業人士專注於該通路。我們目前正著手開發面向美國大眾富裕（mass affluent）與模型投資組合（model portfolio）市場的整合型基金解決方案（integral fund solutions），同時在美國、EMEA與APAC也有強勁的前瞻合作夥伴管線，以分銷我們目前的旗艦基金以及產品延伸。

We continue to believe that we are in the early innings of capturing increased individual investor allocations to alternatives. Within our nontraded BDC, redemption themes were consistent with last quarter, with roughly 95% of investor accounts electing to stay in the fund and redemption requests primarily coming from a small number of non-US family offices and smaller institutions. These types of investors represent only approximately 10% of the vehicles NAV and we intend to make certain adjustments to new share classes that we would offer to them going forward.

我們仍然相信，吸引個人投資人提高對另類資產配置的趨勢仍處於早期階段。在我們的非交易型BDC中，贖回主題與上季一致，約95%的投資人帳戶選擇留在基金中，而贖回申請主要來自少數非美國家族辦公室及較小型機構。此類投資人僅約占該載體淨資產價值（NAV）的10%，我們計畫對未來提供給他們的新股別做出若干調整。

Looking specifically at our core US individual investor base, redemption requests totaled only approximately 2.5% of NAV and declined approximately 35% compared to the prior quarter. Together, these trends support our view that the investment thesis and long-term opportunity within the wealth channel remain intact with continued strength across our core US investor base and sustained engagement from distribution partners and individual investors globally. We built the portfolio within our non-traded BDC with strong credit underwriting, conservative loan structures and a disciplined approach to deployment.

若聚焦於我們美國核心個人投資人基礎，贖回申請合計僅約占NAV的2.5%，且較前一季下降約35%。綜合而言，這些趨勢支持我們的看法：財富通路中的投資論點與長期機會仍然完好，因為我們美國核心投資人基礎持續強勁，且全球的通路合作夥伴與個人投資人維持高度參與。我們以嚴謹的信用承作（credit underwriting）、保守的貸款結構，以及紀律性的資金投放方式，建構了非交易型BDC的投資組合。

Based on the latest public data, the portfolio is performing well with very low non-accruals at around 0.5%, healthy organic EBITDA growth of 13% year over year, and the fund has declared stable monthly distributions through September 2026. Let me now highlight some recent investment assets. In part, due to our broad and diversified platform, our overall investment activity increased meaningfully in Q2 to approximately $36 billion compared to approximately $27 billion in the prior year period.

根據最新公開數據，該投資組合表現良好，不計息資產（non-accruals）極低、約0.5%，有機EBITDA年增13%，且基金已宣告每月配息將維持穩定至2026年9月。接下來我將重點說明近期的一些投資資產。部分由於我們平台廣泛且多元，我們整體投資活動在第二季顯著增加至約360億美元，相較去年同期約270億美元。

Our firm-wide forward investment pipeline also improved nearly 20% quarter over quarter to a new record and current transaction discussions across our strategies point to a stronger second half outlook for deployment.

我們全公司的前瞻投資案源管線亦較前一季提升近20%，創下新高；目前各策略的交易洽談情況顯示，下半年資金投放（deployment）展望更為強勁。

Within US Direct Lending, we deployed approximately $12.4 billion gross committed during the quarter. Despite slower M&A activity in the market, deployment improved sequentially compared to the first quarter as we grew with our incumbent bonds, which represented 75% of our Q2 deployment. We're constructive on the second half environment for US Direct Lending as sponsor dialogue improves and more companies return to market after delaying transactions earlier in the year.

在美國直接放款方面，我們本季投放的總承諾金額（gross committed）約124億美元。儘管市場併購（M&A）活動放緩，隨著我們在既有借款人（incumbent）上的增長，本季投放較第一季呈現序列改善；既有借款人占我們第二季投放的75%。隨著贊助商對話改善，且更多企業在年初延後交易後重返市場，我們對美國直接放款下半年的環境持正向看法。

In European direct lending, second quarter and first half results were ahead of our initial expectations for the year, and we have a record pipeline pipeline going into the third quarter. The European direct lending market remains more fragmented than the US with fewer scaled lenders and a greater premium on local origination, certainty of execution and long-term sponsored partnerships.

在歐洲直接放款方面，第二季與上半年表現均優於我們年初的預期，且進入第三季時我們的案源管線創下新高。歐洲直接放款市場相較美國仍更為分散，具規模的放款人較少，且更重視在地開發能力、執行確定性，以及與贊助商的長期合作夥伴關係。

We believe that our market-leading origination platform, scaled capital base and long tenure operating in local markets is driving more investment opportunities for us across the continent. We're also seeing tremendous demand across the firm for both debt and equity capital to finance the development of digital infrastructure and related power requirements.

我們相信，我們市場領先的案源開發平台、具規模的資本基礎，以及在在地市場長期深耕的經驗，正推動我們在歐洲各地獲得更多投資機會。我們也看到全公司對債務與股權資本的需求極為強勁，用以資助數位基礎建設的開發及其相關電力需求。

The capital needs are significant, and our platform is well positioned to address these opportunities. We have large and long tenured teams that have invested through multiple cycles in power generation, infrastructure equity and infrastructure debt.

資本需求相當可觀，而我們的平台具備良好條件可把握並回應這些機會。我們擁有規模龐大且任期資深的團隊，曾歷經多個景氣循環，並在發電、基礎設施股權與基礎設施債務領域進行投資。

Notably, our digital infrastructure business and our vertically integrated data center development platform, Ada Infrastructure, continues to grow with over 100 professionals that have significant experience across investing, development, engineering, construction and power procurement. Our Ada team, which has long-standing hyperscaler relationships, is currently executing on 7 large data center campuses representing 22 individual data center investments with approximately 1 gigawatt of compute and has a strong pipeline of future projects.

值得注意的是，我們的數位基礎設施業務以及垂直整合的資料中心開發平台 Ada Infrastructure 持續成長，擁有逾 100 位專業人士，於投資、開發、工程、施工與電力採購等方面具備豐富經驗。我們的 Ada 團隊與超大規模雲端業者（hyperscaler）維持長期合作關係，目前正推進 7 個大型資料中心園區，合計代表 22 項單一資料中心投資、約 1 吉瓦（GW）的運算能力，且未來專案儲備（pipeline）強勁。

Within real estate, our transaction activity continues to rebound, particularly in North America and Japan as we deployed over $4 billion in the quarter, both sequentially and year over year. We continue to see attractive opportunities in our Core Logistics business and are beginning to selectively broaden our investments into properties where we've traditionally been underweight, including hospitality and retail. Our approach remains highly targeted and focused on assets with strong locations limited supply, resilient tenant demand and favorable demographic trends.

在不動產方面，我們的交易活動持續回升，尤其在北美與日本；本季我們部署超過 40 億美元，無論較前一季或較去年同期均有所增加。我們在核心物流（Core Logistics）業務中持續看到具吸引力的機會，並開始有選擇性地擴大投資至我們過去配置偏低的資產類型，包括旅宿與零售。我們的策略仍高度精準，聚焦於具備優越區位、供給受限、租戶需求具韌性，以及人口結構趨勢有利的資產。

Within secondaries, market volumes continue to grow as the need for distributions and enhanced liquidity remains a central theme. For example, industry volumes and credit secondaries through the first six months of the year have already matched 2025 full year volumes. Within every asset class, we're seeing certain institutional investors seeking liquidity for LP interests.

在次級市場方面，隨著分配需求與提升流動性仍是核心主題，市場成交量持續成長。例如，截至今年前六個月，產業整體成交量以及信貸次級市場的成交量已與 2025 全年水準相當。在各資產類別中，我們看到部分機構投資人正尋求其有限合夥人（LP）權益的流動性。

While managers are evaluating GP-led solutions for high-quality assets that they want to continue owning while still delivering DPI to their investors. More broadly, portfolio performance remains strong across the firm.

同時，管理人正評估由普通合夥人主導（GP-led）的解決方案，以便在持續持有其希望保留的高品質資產之際，仍能向投資人提供 DPI（已分配資本回收）。更廣泛而言，公司整體投資組合表現依然強勁。

Jarrod will discuss our fund returns and financial results in greater detail, but the consistency of our performance continues to support fundraising, deepen our relationships with investors and reinforce the strength of our franchise.

Jarrod 將更詳細說明我們的基金報酬與財務結果，但我們表現的一致性持續支持募資、深化與投資人的關係，並強化我們特許經營（franchise）的實力。

And with that, I will now turn the call over to Jarrod to provide additional details on our financial results. Jarrod?

接下來，我將把電話會議交給 Jarrod，請他提供更多關於我們財務結果的細節。Jarrod？

Thanks, Mike. Good morning, everyone. Our second quarter and year-to-date financial results reflect continued strong growth across our key financial metrics, increasing scale and diversification of our platform and the benefits of our strong long-term loan performance.

謝謝你，Mike。各位早安。我們第二季及年初至今的財務結果，反映我們在關鍵財務指標上持續強勁成長、平台規模與多元化提升，以及長期貸款表現強勁所帶來的效益。

We also continue to benefit from a large base of long-duration capital and strong fundraising and deployment activity across the platform. At quarter end, 84% of our AUM was in perpetual capital or long-dated funds, and 94% of our management fees were generated by those sources.

我們也持續受惠於龐大的長久期資本基礎，以及平台各業務強勁的募資與部署活動。截至季末，我們管理資產（AUM）中有 84% 來自永久資本或長天期基金，而 94% 的管理費亦由這些來源所產生。

We believe the durability of our capital base, the breadth of our investment capabilities, management fee-centric business model and our asset-light balance sheet help insulate us from market and credit cycles and positions us well to continue generating attractive long-term earnings growth.

我們相信，我們資本基礎的耐久性、投資能力的廣度、以管理費為核心的商業模式，以及輕資產的資產負債表，有助於我們抵禦市場與信用循環，並使我們具備良好條件持續創造具吸引力的長期盈餘成長。

Turning to our results. Management fees were over $1 billion for the quarter, increasing 14% compared to the prior year period with no catch-up fees in the second quarter. Including FRPR and other fees, total revenues increased 17% from the prior year period. This growth continues to be supported by the expansion of fee-paying AUM, which increased 17% year over year to approximately $410 billion. The increase in fee-paying AUM was broad-based.

接著談我們的業績。本季管理費超過 10 億美元，較去年同期成長 14%，且第二季未包含任何追溯（catch-up）費用。若納入 FRPR 與其他費用，總營收較去年同期成長 17%。此成長持續受惠於付費 AUM 的擴張，付費 AUM 年增 17% 至約 4,100 億美元。付費 AUM 的增加涵蓋多個業務。

Credit FPAUM increased 17%, secondary increased 28%. Credit equity increased 27%, real assets increased 11% and other businesses. which is primarily comprised of Ares Insurance Solutions increased 54% compared to the prior year period. We're benefiting from strong fund raising and consistent deployment across the platform. Part 1 fees, which are included in management fees, totaled approximately $154 million in the second quarter, up 20% from the prior year period, driven by positive inflows across five different funds that now generate Part 1 fees.

信貸 FPAUM 年增 17%，次級市場年增 28%。信貸股權年增 27%，實體資產年增 11%，而其他業務（主要由 Ares Insurance Solutions 構成）較去年同期成長 54%。我們正受惠於強勁的募資以及平台各業務穩定的資金部署。第 1 部分費用（Part 1 fees，計入管理費）第二季合計約 1.54 億美元，較去年同期成長 20%，主要由目前可產生第 1 部分費用的五檔基金之正向淨流入所帶動。

Fee-related performance revenues totaled approximately $41 million in the quarter, increasing 143% compared to the prior year period. The majority of this quarter's FRPR was generated by APMF reflecting both continued capital formation and strong underlying investment performance.

本季與費用相關的績效收入（FRPR）合計約 4,100 萬美元，較去年同期成長 143%。本季 FRPR 的大部分由 APMF 所貢獻，反映持續的資本形成以及強勁的底層投資表現。

As a reminder, the timing of FRPR varies by fund and investment strategy, with a meaningful portion of annual revenues typically recognized in the second half of the year. For the third quarter, we expect FRPR from our open-ended core alternative credit fund to be in line for the third quarter of 2025 at approximately $62 million, regarding the potential for fourth quarter FRPR from our nontraded REITs, we currently have approximately $32 million of FRPR accrued by these REITs for potential recognition in the fourth quarter.

提醒一下，FRPR 的認列時點會因基金與投資策略而異，年度收入中相當一部分通常在下半年認列。就第三季而言，我們預期來自開放式核心另類信貸基金的 FRPR，將與 2025 年第三季大致相當，約為 6,200 萬美元；至於非交易型 REIT 在第四季可能產生的 FRPR，目前這些 REIT 已累計約 3,200 萬美元的 FRPR，可能於第四季認列。

As I mentioned on last quarter's earnings call, G&A expenses increased this quarter, partially due to our firm-wide AGM for institutional LPs, which we hold every other year during the second quarter. The second quarter included approximately $9 million of expenses associated with this meeting that will now occur in the third and fourth quarter.

如我在上季財報電話會議所提到，本季一般及行政（G&A）費用上升，部分原因是我們針對機構 LP 舉辦的全公司 AGM（年度大會），該活動每兩年於第二季舉行一次。第二季包含約 900 萬美元與該會議相關的費用，而該會議未來將改在第三與第四季舉行。

Fee-related earnings were approximately $491 million in the quarter, increasing 20% year over year. Our year-to-date FRE margin was 42.3%, approximately 100 basis points above the prior year period. And we continue to expect that we'll be approaching the upper end of our margin guidance of 0 basis points to 150 basis points for the full year.

本季與費用相關的盈餘（FRE）約為 4.91 億美元，年增 20%。年初至今的 FRE 利潤率為 42.3%，較去年同期高約 100 個基點。我們仍預期全年將接近我們利潤率指引區間（0 至 150 個基點改善）的上緣。

Turning to performance income. We generated approximately $51 million of realized net performance income during the quarter, more than 3 times the amount generated in the prior year period. Year-to-date realized net performance income was approximately $126 million, up 119% compared to approximately $58 million in the prior year period.

接著談績效收入。本季我們產生約 5,100 萬美元的已實現淨績效收入，為去年同期的 3 倍以上。年初至今已實現淨績效收入約 1.26 億美元，較去年同期約 5,800 萬美元成長 119%。

Based on our current visibility and the realizations, and the performance of our portfolio, we anticipate a limited amount of approximately $10 million of realized net performance income in the third quarter, but continue to feel good about our previously communicated full year expectations.

基於我們目前的能見度、已實現情況以及投資組合表現，我們預期第三季已實現淨績效收入約為 1,000 萬美元、金額有限，但我們仍對先前溝通的全年預期保持信心。

Realized income totaled approximately $522 million for the quarter, representing a growth of 31% year over year. After-tax realized income was approximately $468 million for the quarter, increasing 27% year over year. An after-tax realized income per share of Class A and nonvoting common stock was $1.29, representing a growth of 25%. Our tax rate for the quarter was 13.7%, which is within our full year tax guidance range of 11% to 15%.

本季已實現收入合計約 5.22 億美元，年增 31%。本季稅後已實現收入約 4.68 億美元，年增 27%。A 類及無表決權普通股的每股稅後已實現收入為 1.29 美元，成長 25%。本季稅率為 13.7%，落在我們全年稅率指引區間 11% 至 15% 之內。

As Mike discussed, the underlying financial drivers of the business remain strong. We ended the quarter with approximately $170 billion of available capital, representing an increase of 13% year over year. We also had approximately $114 billion of AUM that's not yet paying fees, including approximately $93 million available for future deployment.

如 Mike 所述，業務的底層財務驅動因素依然強勁。本季末我們約有 1,700 億美元的可用資本，年增 13%。我們亦有約 1,140 億美元的 AUM 尚未開始收取費用，其中包括約 9,300 萬美元可供未來部署。

If deployed the AUM available for future deployment and development assets not yet stabilized, could collectively generate approximately $828 million potential incremental annual management fees. This provides substantial visibility and future growth in fee-paying AUM and management fees even before considering future fund rate.

若將可供未來部署的 AUM 以及尚未穩定（stabilized）的開發資產加以部署，合計可望帶來約 8.28 億美元的潛在年度增量管理費。即使尚未考量未來基金募集，這也為付費 AUM 與管理費的未來成長提供了相當高的能見度。

Turning to investment performance. Overall fund returns remain strong, led by our credit and real asset strategies. Over the last 12 months, we generated gross returns of 16.4% in alternative credit, 8.9% in opportunistic credit, 11.2% in US senior Direct Lending, 8.9% in US junior Direct Lending, 8.3% in European Direct Lending and 19% in APAC credit.

接著談投資表現。整體基金報酬仍然強勁，主要由我們的信用與實體資產策略帶動。過去12個月，我們在另類信用的總報酬為16.4%、機會型信用為8.9%、美國優先級直接放貸為11.2%、美國次級直接放貸為8.9%、歐洲直接放貸為8.3%，以及亞太（APAC）信用為19%。

Across our direct lending portfolios, underlying credit fundamentals remain strong and stable with low loan to values and healthy interest coverage. In US Direct Lending, nonaccrual levels were flat quarter over quarter and remain low at less than 2%. We're not seeing any signs of a turn in the credit cycle as evidenced by 9% year-over-year organic EBITDA growth from our portfolio companies.

在我們的直接放貸投資組合中，基礎信用基本面依然強勁且穩定，貸款價值比（LTV）偏低、利息保障倍數健康。在美國直接放貸方面，不計息（nonaccrual）水準較前一季持平，且仍維持在低於2%的低位。從我們投資組合公司年增9%的有機EBITDA成長可見，我們尚未看到信用循環轉折的任何跡象。

Within real assets, our infrastructure equity and infrastructure debt strategy generated gross 12-month returns of 9.8% and 7.5% respectively. In secondaries, APMF generated a net quarterly return of 6.9%, a net 12-month return of 16.2% and a net return since inception of 15%. In our latest institutional secondaries private equity funds had gross IRR of 26.5% since inception.

在實體資產方面，我們的基礎建設股權與基礎建設債務策略，過去12個月的總報酬分別為9.8%與7.5%。在次級市場方面，APMF單季淨報酬為6.9%、12個月淨報酬為16.2%，自成立以來的淨報酬為15%。在我們最新的機構級次級私募股權基金中，自成立以來的總IRR為26.5%。

Within Private Equity, our corporate private equity strategy generated a gross quarterly return of 2.4%. And ACOF VI continues to perform well with a gross IRR of 19.5% since inception. Overall, the breadth and consistency of our investment performance continues to support fundraising, deployment and growth in both management fees and performance-related revenues.

在私募股權方面，我們的企業私募股權策略單季總報酬為2.4%。ACOF VI持續表現良好，自成立以來的總IRR為19.5%。整體而言，我們投資表現的廣度與一致性，持續支撐募資、資金部署，以及管理費與績效相關收入的成長。

We believe the combination of strong fund performance, significant available capital and the scale of our origination platform provide meaning or visibility into continued financial growth.

我們相信，強勁的基金表現、可動用資本的顯著規模，以及我們發起（origination）平台的規模優勢相結合，為持續的財務成長提供了實質的可見度。

In conclusion, our second quarter and year-to-date results leave us well positioned to achieve our financial objectives for 2026, which remain consistent with our long-term compound annual growth target of 16% to 20% for FRE, 20% plus for RI and dividend growth.

總結而言，我們第二季與年初至今的成果，使我們處於有利位置以達成2026年的財務目標；該等目標仍與我們長期的複合年成長目標一致：FRE為16%至20%、RI為20%以上，以及股利成長。

I'll now turn the call back over to Mike for his concluding remarks.

我現在把電話交回給Mike，請他做結語。

Thanks, Jarrod. In closing, we're very pleased with our progress, the broad-based strength and momentum we're seeing across the firm and the positioning of our leading global businesses in dynamic growth markets. We raised a record amount of capital across a highly diversified set of strategies.

謝謝你，Jarrod。最後，我們對自身進展、公司各面向所展現的廣泛實力與動能，以及我們領先的全球業務在具動態成長的市場中的定位，感到非常滿意。我們在高度多元化的一系列策略中，募集到創紀錄的資本。

Our deployment pipelines are increasing, and our portfolios continue to perform well for our investors. We believe that the bath and diversity of our investment platform, the flexibility of our product set, the in duration of our capital base, our asset-light balance sheet and the strength of our institutional and wealth franchises position us well for continued durable growth over the long term.

我們的部署管線正在增加，而我們的投資組合也持續為投資人帶來良好表現。我們相信，我們投資平台的廣度與多元性、產品組合的彈性、資本基礎的長久期、輕資產的資產負債表，以及我們在機構與財富管理通路的強大特許經營地位，使我們在長期內具備持續且韌性的成長優勢。

These characteristics are even more valuable during periods of market volatility and shifts in business cycles as we can pivot capital formation and deployment towards the most attractive opportunities in the market.

在市場波動與景氣循環轉換期間，這些特質更顯珍貴，因為我們可以將資本募集與部署轉向市場中最具吸引力的機會。

We also believe that the scale of our platform is creating meaningful opportunities for continued margin improvement. As we grow, we're benefiting from operating leverage, while our investments in technology and AI are set to improve efficiencies and enhance investment capabilities as we leverage our proprietary data and increase the capacity of our teams.

我們也相信，我們平台的規模正在創造持續改善利潤率的實質機會。隨著我們成長，我們正受惠於營運槓桿；同時，我們在科技與AI上的投資，將在運用自有資料並提升團隊產能的同時，改善效率並強化投資能力。

We're also working on strategic growth initiatives like our capital solutions business as well as extensions of certain investment strategies, both organically and inorganically through potential joint ventures and opportunities that will continue to drive the business forward.

我們也正推動策略性成長計畫，例如我們的資本解決方案（capital solutions）業務，以及特定投資策略的延伸；這些延伸將透過有機與無機方式進行，包括潛在合資與相關機會，持續推動業務向前。

But before wrapping up, I want to highlight the recent fifth anniversary of the Ares Charitable Foundation which has now committed more than $68 million in grant since 2021 to advance economic mode to help people become workforce ready, start and scale up businesses and strengthen personal financial and skills.

不過在結束之前，我想強調Ares慈善基金會（Ares Charitable Foundation）近期迎來第五週年；自2021年以來，該基金會已承諾提供超過6,800萬美元的補助金（grants），以推動經濟流動性，協助人們具備就業準備、創業並擴大規模，以及強化個人財務與技能。

In addition to the Ares Foundation, Promote Giving launched last year as an initiative established by Ares in our Pathfinder funds, that commits a portion of performance fees to charitable organizations without reducing returns to our fund investors.

除Ares基金會之外，我們去年在Pathfinder基金中由Ares設立並推出「Promote Giving」倡議，承諾將部分績效費用捐助慈善機構，且不會降低基金投資人的報酬。

We're proud that we've expanded our promote giving initiative across our industry and there are now 15 different asset managers with more than $44 billion of pledged assets that have the potential to generate an estimated $300 million to $350 million of charitable contributions over the next decade. This support will help to create a more durable source of funding for organizations that are advancing education, human well-being and healthier communities around the world.

我們很自豪已將Promote Giving倡議擴展至整個產業；目前已有15家不同的資產管理公司、合計超過440億美元的承諾資產，未來十年有潛力產生估計3億至3.5億美元的慈善捐款。這項支持將有助於為全球推動教育、人類福祉與更健康社區的組織，建立更具韌性的資金來源。

We remain committed, as always, to using the reach of the Ares platform to deliver strong outcomes for our investors, our employees, our shareholders and the communities in which we operate. As always, I'm just so deeply grateful to our employees around the world for their continued hard work, collaboration and commitment to our clients.

我們一如既往地承諾，運用Ares平台的影響力，為投資人、員工、股東以及我們營運所在的社區帶來強勁成果。同樣地，我也由衷感謝全球員工持續的努力、協作，以及對客戶的投入與承諾。

And I also want to thank you, our investors, for their continued support and trust. We're excited about the opportunities ahead and remain focused on delivering strong long-term results for all of our stakeholders.

我也要感謝各位投資人持續的支持與信任。我們對未來的機會感到振奮，並將持續專注於為所有利害關係人交付強勁的長期成果。

And with that, operator, could you please open up the line for questions?

那麼，接線員，能否請您開放電話線進行提問？

(Operator Instructions) Craig Siegenthaler, Bank of America.

(接線員指示) 美國銀行（Bank of America）的Craig Siegenthaler。

And it was nice to see another strong fundraising quarter and also to see how much Ares has supported charitable organizations, especially out of the Pathfinder fund.

很高興看到又一個強勁的募資季度，也看到Ares對慈善機構的支持力度，尤其是透過Pathfinder基金。

Thanks, Craig.

謝謝你，Craig。

So within that, we wanted to see if you could unpack your commentary that institutional demand for private credit is accelerating. What is driving institutions to private credit now? And when do you expect to see private wealth demand come back? And going forward, do you think these two channels will behave somewhat countercyclically?

在此背景下，我們想請你進一步說明你提到「機構對私募信用的需求正在加速」的評論。是什麼因素驅動機構目前加碼私募信用？你預期私募財富（private wealth）端的需求何時會回升？展望未來，你認為這兩個通路的表現會在某種程度上呈現逆週期（countercyclical）嗎？

Sure. So the evidence for the acceleration is just based on what we're seeing in the field. So to reiterate, in the quarter, we raised our third Pathfinder fund first and final close, $8.5 billion against a $6.5 billion cover, which was the hard cap and had meaningful demand in excess of the hard cap. So I don't think in the history of Ares, we've ever seen a fund get raised in a first and final at the hard cap. I think that's a reflection of just extraordinary performance and market positioning, but also just increasing appetite.

當然。我們所說的加速，證據主要來自我們在第一線看到的情況。再重申一次，本季我們完成第三支Pathfinder基金的首次且最終關帳（first and final close），募得85億美元，相較於65億美元的超額認購（cover）；65億美元是硬上限（hard cap），且硬上限之上仍有顯著的額外需求。我認為在Ares的歷史上，我們從未見過一支基金在首次且最終關帳就募到硬上限。我想這反映了極為出色的績效與市場定位，同時也反映出需求正在上升。

We had a similar, maybe not as dramatic experience in the third vintage of our opportunistic credit fund, which also raised quicker than prior vintage and got to the hard cap, which was well in excess of the prior. And as we mentioned, we are in market with our fourth institutional loan fund and everything that we're seeing on the ground in terms of demand would indicate that appetite is increasing.

我們在第三期（third vintage）的機會型信用基金也有類似、或許沒那麼戲劇性的經驗；該基金募資速度也比前一期更快，並達到硬上限，而該硬上限也明顯高於前一期。此外，如同我們提到的，我們目前正在市場上募集第四支機構級貸款基金；就我們在第一線看到的需求而言，都顯示投資胃納正在增加。

I think it's both long-term secular, Craig. When you look at some of the industry data and consulting data, generally speaking, institutions still remain under-allocated to private credit.

我認為這同時是長期的結構性趨勢（secular），Craig。當你查看一些產業數據與顧問機構的資料時，整體而言，機構在私募信用的配置仍偏低。

And I think at this moment in time, given some of the reduction in capital coming from the wealth channel, people perceive an opportunity to capture excess return given a shift in the competitive set, meaning spreads have widened, less competition and therefore, an ability to deploy maybe quicker and better returns. That does go hand-in-hand with what we're seeing in wealth, but I do want to reiterate some of the commentary around wealth.

而在目前這個時間點，鑑於來自財富通路的資金有所減少，人們認為有機會在競爭格局轉變下取得超額報酬；也就是利差擴大、競爭減少，因此能夠更快部署並取得更佳報酬。這確實與我們在財富端看到的情況相互呼應，但我也想再次重申我們先前關於財富端的一些評論。

First of all, the entire channel for us grew year over year. And that's just based on demand that we're seeing broad-based for the non-US private credit fund. We're particularly pleased with the significant demand that we're seeing in our core infrastructure fund. The momentum in wealth continues.

首先，我們整個通路的規模年增。而這只是基於我們所看到的、對非美國私募信貸基金廣泛且普遍的需求。我們特別高興看到我們核心基礎建設基金的需求顯著。財富管理端的動能仍在延續。

Our July flows on equity were about $1.5 billion. And so we're not seeing any slowdown on the diverse product set. And when you drill down on the nontraded BDC, a couple of things to consider. Number one, we talked about in the prepared remarks, the fundamental performance there is delivering exactly what it's supposed to deliver in terms of dividend yield. Non-accruals are 0.5%.

我們7月在股票方面的資金流入約為15億美元。因此，我們並未看到多元產品組合有任何放緩。而當你深入看非交易型BDC時，有幾點需要考量。第一，我們在事先準備的講稿中提到，那裡的基本面表現正如其應有的那樣，在股息殖利率方面交出它應該交出的成果。不計息資產（non-accruals）為0.5%。

EBITDA is growing 13%. So there's nothing in that fund that would indicate the performance isn't at or above underwriting. Two, when you look at the core ultra-high net worth and individual investor market, which is supported by the adviser platforms in the US, we're not seeing any acceleration in redemption requests. It's been consistent in the 2% to 2.5% range, which is what it was before the noise in the channel began.

EBITDA成長13%。因此，該基金沒有任何跡象顯示其表現未達到或低於承作（underwriting）假設；反而是在承作水準或以上。第二，當你看核心的超高淨值與個人投資人市場（由美國的投顧平台所支持），我們沒有看到贖回申請有任何加速。一直維持在2%到2.5%的區間，這與通路雜音開始之前的水準相同。

And as I mentioned in my prepared remarks, redemptions in that particular part of our investor base were down 30% quarter over quarter. So we're actually seeing a reduced redemption queue in the core investor base.

而如我在事先準備的講稿中提到的，我們投資人基礎中那一特定部分的贖回，季對季下降了30%。所以我們其實看到核心投資人基礎的贖回排隊量正在降低。

And then lastly, and I think our peers would say the same, the redemption queue in the US private credit funds, and we're not actually seeing it in our European funds, is largely concentrated in the hands of family offices and small institutions in the APAC region. To put that in perspective, if you were to look at the top 10 redeemers in our non-traded BDC, they were about half of redemption requests. And two-thirds of our Q2 redemption requests were from the Q1 Q.

最後一點，而且我想同業也會這麼說，美國私募信貸基金的贖回排隊（我們在歐洲基金其實沒有看到）主要集中在亞太地區的家族辦公室與小型機構手中。舉例來說，如果你看我們非交易型BDC的前十大贖回者，他們約占贖回申請的一半。而我們第二季贖回申請的三分之二來自第一季的贖回排隊。

So while the individual investor is slowing its request for redemptions, we're satisfying the disproportionate demand coming out of Asia. And that number has been cut in half over the last two quarters from about $1.2 billion to a little over $600 million. So assuming that those two trends hold, and I have no reason to believe that they won't, that would probably mean that you get back to stasis in the next two to three quarters is my guess.

因此，雖然個人投資人的贖回申請正在放緩，我們仍在滿足來自亞洲不成比例的需求。而這個數字在過去兩個季度已減半，從約12億美元降至略高於6億美元。所以假設這兩個趨勢持續——而我沒有理由相信它們不會——我猜大概在接下來兩到三個季度會回到相對穩定（stasis）的狀態。

The other thing I would also highlight because it's going to impact the profitability coming out of that fund, despite the redemption queue just based on Q1 inflows and being underlevered in that fund, I would expect that when we get to the end of the year, our nontraded BDC will actually be larger at year-end '26 than it was at year-end '25.

另外我也要強調一點，因為這會影響該基金的獲利能力：儘管存在贖回排隊，但基於第一季的資金流入以及該基金槓桿偏低（underlevered），我預期到今年年底，我們的非交易型BDC在2026年年底的規模實際上會大於2025年年底。

Whether they act countercyclically, I think maybe, obviously, one of the reasons why we have been measured in the way that we've developed our wealth business as we learned through experience running ARCC for the last 20-plus years that the individual investor can sometimes look to divest when they should be investing and running a diversified book in institutional and wealth markets is prudent.

至於他們是否會逆週期操作，我想也許會。顯然，我們在發展財富管理業務時之所以採取較為審慎的步調，其中一個原因是：我們透過過去20多年經營ARCC的經驗學到，個人投資人有時會在應該投資的時候選擇撤出；因此，在機構與財富市場同時經營一個多元化的投資組合是審慎之舉。

I still think it's early days to know exactly how these will play over time, but there is a risk that some of the wealth flows could be more pro-cyclical than people thought they were, which is why we continue to index aggressively into the institutional market.

我仍然認為現在要確切知道這些資金流隨時間會如何演變還為時尚早，但確實存在一個風險：部分財富端資金流可能比人們原先想像的更具順週期性（pro-cyclical），這也是為什麼我們持續積極地提高機構市場的比重。

Alex Blostein, Goldman Sachs.

Alex Blostein，高盛。

So lots going on, on the organic side and the business continues to hum. But I have to ask, I think, the inorganic question given the headlines in the last few days here. So Mike, I heard your comments around open to deals, both JVs as well as more inorganic opportunities broadly. Maybe you can kind of comment about where on your priority list is something inorganic on the private equity side? And just remind us the key parameters around financial and strategic fit when you think about deals for Ares.

所以在內生成長方面有很多事情在進行，業務也持續順暢運轉。但我想我必須問一個外生成長的問題，因為過去幾天的新聞標題很多。所以Mike，我聽到你提到對交易保持開放，包括合資（JV）以及更廣泛的外生成長機會。也許你可以談談，在你的優先順序清單上，私募股權端的外生成長有多重要？另外也請你提醒我們，當你考慮Ares的交易時，在財務與策略契合度方面的關鍵參數是什麼？

Sure. Thanks for the question. Obviously, I can't comment on any rumors or speculation in the market, but I appreciate the opportunity to reiterate our framework for thinking about inorganic growth. And as you said, at a very, very high level, regardless of the end market, it's a simple framework, which is we needed it to be culturally accretive because this is a people business at the end of the day. We needed to be strategically accretive, i.e., bring new capability or capacity or distribution to the table.

當然。謝謝你的問題。顯然我無法評論市場上的任何傳聞或揣測，但我很感謝有機會重申我們思考外生成長的框架。如你所說，在非常、非常高的層次上，不論終端市場為何，這是一個簡單的框架：我們需要它在文化上具增益（culturally accretive），因為歸根結底這是一門以人為本的生意。我們需要它在策略上具增益，也就是帶來新的能力、產能或通路。

And then we need to have a view that we can actually make the business better by delivering revenue synergy and information and resources. And then lastly, it needs to be financially accretive. If you look at our recent history, that framework has served us very well as we've acquired and integrated Landmark and doubled that business with meaningful growth in secondaries.

接著，我們需要相信我們確實能透過帶來營收協同，以及資訊與資源，讓這門業務變得更好。最後，它必須在財務上具增益（financially accretive）。如果你回顧我們近期的歷史，這個框架在我們收購並整合Landmark、並透過次級市場（secondaries）的顯著成長使該業務規模翻倍時，已非常有效。

You've seen what we were able to do with the acquisition of Black Creek and turning that into what is now the engine of growth in our Wealth Management business, and so on and so forth. So it's a pretty well-honed framework, both for identifying candidates and then also for unlocking growth post acquisition.

你也看到我們收購Black Creek後所做到的成果，並把它打造為如今我們財富管理業務的成長引擎，等等。因此，這是一個相當成熟的框架，既用於辨識標的，也用於在收購後釋放成長動能。

With regard to Private Equity, obviously, Ares has been in the Private Equity business for 20 years with a very strong track record. I mentioned our sixth fund in PE right now is generating close to 20% growth. It's a top quartile performer.

就私募股權而言，顯然Ares在私募股權業務已耕耘20年，且有非常強勁的績效紀錄。我提到我們目前的第六支私募股權基金正創造接近20%的成長。它是同類中位居前四分位的表現者。

I think that the question that we have posed and we've done it publicly with all of you as well is as Ares continues to scale the way that it is, should we be bigger in private equity. And I think the answer is probably if we check all of those three boxes and the industrial logic for that is that if you look at our institutional LP base, they are committed to being in the private equity business.

我認為我們提出的問題——而且我們也已公開與各位討論過——是：隨著Ares持續以目前的方式擴張，我們是否應該在私募股權方面做得更大。我想答案可能是肯定的，前提是我們能勾選上述三個條件，而其產業邏輯在於：如果你看我們的機構LP基礎，他們承諾要配置在私募股權這個資產類別。

As we continue to deepen and broaden those relationships, I think they would like to continue to invest with us in scale. And so to the extent that we scaled up in PE, I think that we would be able to drive incremental flows.

隨著我們持續深化並拓展這些關係，我認為他們希望能持續以更大規模與我們共同投資。因此，若我們在私募股權上擴大規模，我認為我們將能帶動額外的資金流入。

That's all happening at a time when GPs are seeing consolidation of relationships from their LPs. Two, as we kind of hone our origination engines here, being larger in PE will just allow us to offer broader solutions to the companies and entrepreneurs that find their way to Ares. And I think that, that would be value add.

而這一切發生的同時，GP正面臨其LP關係的集中化。第二，隨著我們在此持續打磨我們的案源引擎（origination engines），在私募股權端做得更大，將使我們能為走向Ares的企業與創業者提供更廣泛的解決方案。我認為那會是加值。

It would allow us to deepen our relationships with our banking partners and our capital markets partners in terms of driving equity and debt capital markets business and financing, and that's obviously accretive to other parts of the business as we grow our wallet. It allows us to lean in more heavily to capital markets and fee-generating business in a way that we can just given our scale.

這也將使我們能在推動股權與債務資本市場業務及融資方面，深化與銀行夥伴與資本市場夥伴的關係；隨著我們擴大在客戶端的份額（grow our wallet），這顯然也會對業務的其他部分帶來增益。它讓我們能以符合我們規模的方式，更大力投入資本市場與創造費用收入的業務。

And probably lastly, as demand in the wealth channel continues to grow, and we're seeing that, for example, in our APMF fund, the ability to deliver larger amounts of direct exposure either through primary or secondary private equity, I think, will become more relevant.

而且可能最後一點，隨著財富通路的需求持續成長——我們也確實看到這種情況，例如在我們的 APMF 基金——我認為，無論是透過一級或二級私募股權，提供更大規模的直接曝險能力，將會變得更為重要。

So there's a lot to argue in favor of it. But as I mentioned in last quarter's call, the price has to be right because the growth profile of these businesses is less linear and more episodic than some of the core businesses.

所以有很多理由支持這麼做。但正如我在上一季的電話會議中提到的，價格必須合理，因為這些業務的成長輪廓不像一些核心業務那麼線性，而是更具階段性、事件驅動。

And we have to really believe that we can drive culture strategy and the financial piece of it. So a lot of boxes to check, but I think the industrial logic would make a lot of sense for the right situation.

而且我們必須真正相信，我們能夠推動文化、策略以及其中的財務面。所以要勾選的條件很多，但我認為在合適的情境下，產業邏輯會非常合理。

Steven Chubak, Wolfe Research.

Steven Chubak，Wolfe Research。

So I wanted to double-click into the US Direct Lending outlook. Despite more tepid activity in the quarter, you struck a more constructive tone on US Direct Lending, which is consistent with what (inaudible) actually said on the ARCC call, talking about activity really building towards the end of 2Q and into 3Q. That said, sponsor M&A remains fairly subdued based on what we've seen in the public data.

所以我想更深入探討一下美國直接放款的展望。儘管本季活動較為溫和，你們對美國直接放款的語氣更為建設性，這也與（聽不清）在 ARCC 電話會議上實際所說的一致，提到活動在第二季末開始加速並延續到第三季。話雖如此，根據我們在公開資料中看到的情況，贊助商主導的併購（M&A）仍然相當低迷。

I just want to get a better sense as to what you're hearing from sponsor clients regarding the appetite to transact -- and how does the pace of deployment that you envisage based on the pipeline inform expectations for management fee growth in the back half?

我只是想更清楚了解，你們從贊助商客戶那邊聽到的交易意願如何——以及你們根據管線所預期的資金投放節奏，如何影響對下半年管理費成長的預期？

Sure. So a couple of things. Number one, I think one of the most important things this quarter was the demonstration of just how broad-based and diversified the deployment has become. When you look at a slower Q1 in our US Direct Lending business, we were still able to deploy $36 billion across the platform because we saw accelerated deployment in places like ABF, secondaries, real estate, digital infra.

當然。有幾點。第一，我認為本季最重要的事情之一，是展現出投放已變得多麼廣泛且多元化。當你看到我們美國直接放款業務第一季較慢的情況下，我們仍能在整個平台投放 360 億美元，因為我們在 ABF、二級市場、不動產、數位基礎設施等領域看到投放加速。

And so while Direct Lending in the US and Europe continue to be big drivers of deployment, the P&L is just fundamentally less dependent on that core direct lending deployment than it has been in years past.

因此，雖然美國與歐洲的直接放款仍是投放的重要驅動力，但損益表（P&L）對核心直接放款投放的依賴程度，從根本上已不像過去幾年那麼高。

If you look at the pipelines across the platform broadly, the pipeline sits at a record level. It's about 20% higher than it was last quarter. So we're seeing broad-based acceleration in deployment as we head into the back part of the year. Europe, as I said in the prepared remarks, has actually been a bright spot. We saw significant deployment in Q1 and Q2, and the pipeline sits at probably the highest level that we've ever seen heading into Q3.

如果從整個平台更廣泛地看各條線的管線，目前管線處於歷史新高。大約比上一季高出 20%。所以我們看到在進入今年下半年時，投放呈現全面性的加速。歐洲方面，如我在事先準備的發言中所說，實際上是一個亮點。我們在第一季與第二季都看到顯著投放，而在進入第三季時，管線大概處於我們歷來所見的最高水準。

With regard to US Direct Lending, we have demonstrated both because of our incumbent relationships and our non-sponsored business that we are able to deploy quite considerably even when sponsor M&A is slow, and I think that will continue. But as (inaudible) said, which I think is probably the most important is when we look at the US pipeline, we are seeing an acceleration in the pipeline quarter over quarter.

至於美國直接放款，我們已經證明，憑藉既有客戶關係以及非贊助商業務，即使贊助商併購放緩，我們仍能相當可觀地投放，我認為這種情況會持續。但正如（聽不清）所說，我認為最重要的是，當我們看美國的管線時，我們看到管線在季度之間正在加速。

And then what I would call the shadow pipeline, which would be looking at how many confidentiality agreements are we logging and how many new deals are we logging. The number of NDAs that we've signed is up about 35% quarter over quarter and the number of deals we've logged is slightly behind at 30%.

另外，我所謂的「影子管線」，也就是看我們登記了多少份保密協議、以及登記了多少筆新案子。我們簽署的 NDA 數量季增約 35%，而我們登記的交易數量略低一些，約為 30%。

So that's kind of the precursor to what we would call pipeline. I can't say with perfect certainty to you that, that 30% to 35% converts perfectly, but it is an indication that sponsor activity is picking up dramatically as we head into the back half of the year.

所以這算是我們所稱「管線」之前的前導指標。我無法非常確定地告訴你，那 30% 到 35% 會完全等比例轉化，但這確實顯示，隨著我們進入下半年，贊助商活動正在大幅回升。

Bill Katz, TD Cowen.

Bill Katz，TD Cowen。

Appreciate all the color this morning. Maybe switching gears a little bit, for one for Jarrod perhaps. Sort of intrigued by your comment that you should be accelerating toward the upper end of your 0 to 150 basis points. year-on-year margin improvement into the back half of the year. I was wondering if you could unpack the drivers for that?

感謝今天早上提供這麼多細節。也許稍微換個話題，可能給 Jarrod 一個問題。我對你提到下半年應該會朝著你們年增 0 到 150 個基點的利潤率改善區間上緣加速，感到很有興趣。想請你拆解一下背後的驅動因素？

Maybe which lines you sort of see the greatest opportunity. And I appreciate it's early days, but just given the step function of earnings power that seems to be building here based on your flows, deployment dynamics et cetera. How are you thinking about maybe the incremental margin opportunity into 2027?

也許你們認為哪些業務線有最大的機會。我知道現在還早，但考量到基於你們的資金流入、投放動態等等，似乎正在形成獲利能力的階梯式提升。你們如何看待到 2027 年的增量利潤率機會？

Sure. Thanks, Bill. Great to hear from you. Margin is a number of different factors as you know. It's not just the amount of expenses, but the velocity at which we increase our revenue.

當然。謝謝，Bill。很高興聽到你的聲音。如你所知，利潤率由多種不同因素構成。不只是費用的多寡，還包括我們提升營收的速度。

And right now, as we look forward and we talked a little bit about it in the prepared remarks, we have a great line of sight on some new products like the data center business that will be coming online. Also with the acquisition of GCP, which we've talked about, we've moved past the TSA that we had with the left behind vehicle, and we've now really integrated them as part of the Ares.

而目前，展望未來——我們在事先準備的發言中也稍微提到——我們對一些即將上線的新產品有很高的能見度，例如資料中心業務。另外，隨著我們收購 GCP（我們也談過），我們已經走過與被留下的載體之間的 TSA（過渡服務協議），現在也真正把他們整合成 Ares 的一部分。

So when you're adding those new revenues, you're taking away some of those more fixed expenses. And this quarter, I talked about in the prepared remarks, the AGM that we had in the second quarter. Every two years, we do that for once in a year as opposed to spread out in a number of events.

所以當你加入這些新的營收時，你也在移除其中一些較為固定的費用。而本季我在事先準備的發言中也提到，我們在第二季舉辦了 AGM。每兩年我們會在某一年集中辦一次，而不是分散在多場活動中。

So you have one giant expense quarter related to those meetings as opposed to have spread out over four periods. So we have a little structural items like that, that give us a lot of confidence on margin in the back half of the year.

因此，相較於分散在四個期間，你會有一個與這些會議相關的巨大費用季度。所以我們有一些像這樣的結構性項目，讓我們對下半年的利潤率非常有信心。

At the same time, the normal pace of the business is still very much driven by deployment. So the more we're able to deploy, the more revenue we generate, which then provides that margin expansion. The one thing that I always caution though is our primary goal is growth. We want to hit 20% plus on RI. And to do that, we often need to invest in.

同時，業務的正常節奏仍然很大程度由投放所驅動。所以我們投放得越多，產生的營收就越多，進而帶來利潤率擴張。不過我總是提醒的一點是，我們的首要目標是成長。我們希望 RI 達到 20% 以上。而要做到這點，我們往往需要投入。

And one of the ways that we do that, you'll see a really strong valuation between how much we spend on marketing expenses and dollars we raised at the same time we also see a healthy correlation between the number of front office professionals we have and our ability to originate.

而我們投入的方式之一，你會看到我們的行銷費用支出與同期間募得資金金額之間有非常強的對應關係；同時我們也看到前台專業人員的數量與我們的承作（originate）能力之間存在良好的相關性。

And our business origination is really the king across our credit business in sourcing high-quality assets, which are limited. So the ability to do that and to originate is very, very valuable for us to invest in. So even when we have margin expansion, we're constantly looking at the team. Are there areas where we can be investing to create more business. And once we have that margin expansion, that's a onetime expansion of FRE as sustainable as just the organic growth of creating more revenue.

而在我們的信貸業務中，業務承作是王道，因為要取得高品質資產——而這些資產是稀缺的——關鍵在於來源開發。因此，能夠做到這點並進行承作，對我們而言非常有價值，值得投資。所以即便我們出現利潤率擴張，我們也會持續檢視團隊。是否有一些領域我們可以投入，以創造更多業務。而一旦我們有了利潤率擴張，那就是一次性的 FRE 擴張，其可持續性取決於像有機成長那樣持續創造更多營收。

So we feel really, really good about the structure of the business in terms of how it will just provide that natural margin expansion, but we also love how that forward look at our business allows us to choose those areas to reinvest that margin so we can continue to hit our growth targets.

所以我們對業務結構感覺非常、非常好，因為它會自然帶來利潤率擴張；但我們也很喜歡，對業務的前瞻視角讓我們能選擇把這些利潤率所帶來的空間再投資到特定領域，從而持續達成我們的成長目標。

Patrick Davitt, Autonomous Research.

Patrick Davitt，Autonomous Research。

My question is on the ABF pipeline that you mentioned. We've actually been seeing at least one of the large consumer lenders take more loans on balance sheet instead of pushing through the flow agreement channel. So in that vein, I'd be curious to get your thoughts on to what extent you're seeing issues with flows from the consumer ABF channel? Or do you think there's something else going on there?

我的問題是關於您提到的 ABF 管線。我們其實看到至少有一家大型消費金融放款機構，選擇把更多貸款留在資產負債表上，而不是透過流轉協議（flow agreement）通路推進。因此在這個脈絡下，我想請教您，您觀察到消費者 ABF 通路的流量（flows）在多大程度上出現問題？或者您認為那裡還有其他因素在發生？

Sure. So as I said, our ABF business continues to be a real bright spot, both on fundraising and deployment. It is a very large team that has been growing rapidly across all the different channels.

當然。如我所說，我們的 ABF 業務在募資與投放兩端都持續是一個非常亮眼的亮點。這是一個規模很大的團隊，並且在所有不同通路上都在快速成長。

One of the things that differentiates us is our lack of focus and exposure on the consumer part of the market, which I think a lot of our peers spend time because that is your point, a place where you can originate through agreements as opposed to kind of owned origination, which is the way that we think about it. So if you were to actually look at consumer exposure and our ABF portfolio, very low, less than 5%.

我們的差異化之一，是我們不太聚焦、也較少曝險於市場的消費者端；我認為許多同業會花時間在那一塊，因為如你所說，那是一個可以透過協議進行承作（originate）的地方，而不是像我們所理解的那種「自有承作」（owned origination）。所以如果你實際去看我們 ABF 投資組合中的消費者曝險，非常低，不到 5%。

If you look at subprime consumer, it's de minimis. It's less than 1%. And if you were to look at even auto as kind of an extension of consumer all of our exposure there is prime, and it's probably less than 1%. So I think the market is probably 30% plus exposed to consumer ABF. It's just not been a big area of focus for us.

如果看次級（subprime）消費者，幾乎可以忽略不計。不到 1%。即便把汽車貸款視為消費者的延伸，我們在那裡的曝險也全都是優質（prime），而且可能也不到 1%。所以我認為市場對消費者 ABF 的曝險可能在 30% 以上。那一直都不是我們的主要聚焦領域。

And so to the extent that the captive consumer finance companies are taking more on balance sheet as opposed to flow. I don't think that that's going to have any meaningful impact on our ability to deploy.

因此，若那些附屬（captives）消費金融公司把更多資產留在資產負債表上、而不是走流轉（flow）。我不認為這會對我們的投放能力造成任何實質影響。

Ken Worthington, JPMorgan.

Ken Worthington，摩根大通（JPMorgan）。

Returns in private equity secondaries was negative this quarter. You called out that APMF is performing particularly well, but some of the other funds are struggling. So maybe first, what's going on there? And then Mike, you mentioned in the prepared remarks that activity levels in secondary markets have been very strong. Can you talk about some of the industry dynamics around secondary returns?

本季私募股權次級市場（secondaries）的報酬為負。你提到 APMF 表現特別好，但其他一些基金表現吃力。所以第一，這裡發生了什麼？另外 Mike，你在事先準備的講稿中提到次級市場的活動水準非常強勁。你能談談影響次級報酬的一些產業動態嗎？

Yes. So with regard to the secondary performance, APMF obviously continues to have strong performance. That performance though I'd highlight also is to be impacted on mix between LP portfolios and GP led. So to the extent that you are more aggressive in originating on the LP side, you tend to see for the NAV discount. And then as you transition to GP-led more consistency, but maybe less volatility.

是的。關於次級市場的表現，APMF 顯然仍持續有強勁表現。不過我也要強調，該表現會受到 LP 投資組合與 GP 主導（GP-led）交易之間的組合（mix）影響。因此，當你在 LP 端的承作更積極時，通常會看到相對於淨資產價值（NAV）的折價。而當你轉向 GP-led，表現會更一致，但波動性可能較低。

With regard to the secondary performance, Fund 17 is actually which is the first fund that we deployed under Ares. The performance there is pretty strong since inception, returns about 26% gross and net was about 17%.

就次級市場表現而言，基金 17（Fund 17）其實是我們在 Ares 旗下投放的第一檔基金。該基金自成立以來的表現相當強勁，總報酬約 26%，淨報酬約 17%。

Fund 16 which was the last fund, which is a much older vintage, but a much larger fund can have an outside impact on the composite as we report, and that's basically what's happening there. The older vintage funds, just given its size move down. But if you look at all of the kind of active in the ground funds, Fund 17, APMF, we're actually continuing to see strong, strong returns.

基金 16（Fund 16）是上一檔基金，雖然是更早的年份（vintage），但規模更大，因此在我們所揭露的綜合數據中可能造成較大的外部影響，而目前基本上就是這種情況。較早年份的基金，因為規模因素而下滑。但如果你看所有仍在運作、仍在投資中的基金，像 Fund 17、APMF，我們其實仍持續看到非常、非常強勁的報酬。

I think there was a question about private equity secondaries, I didn't quite understand what the second part of the question was, I apologize.

我想剛才有一個關於私募股權次級市場的問題，我不太確定第二部分問題的意思，抱歉。

Yes. It's just what we have observed is that even though secondaries is very popular that the returns are lagging Private Equity in general, there's a lag. We expect that but it seems like the lag is maybe more pronounced this cycle than we've seen last cycle. Any comments on how industry dynamics are impacting sort of PE secondary returns?

是的。我們觀察到的是，即使次級市場非常受歡迎，但其報酬相較於整體私募股權（Private Equity）仍然落後，存在一個落後期（lag）。我們預期會如此，但這一輪循環中，這個落後似乎比上一輪更明顯。你對產業動態如何影響 PE 次級報酬有什麼看法嗎？

Got it. I think if you were to look at the historical return data, the secondaries returns will generally but they also tend to be range bound. So if you were to look at PE secondary returns first quartile to fourth quartile, the dispersion of returns is much tighter than you see in the primary market.

了解。我認為如果你看歷史報酬資料，次級市場的報酬一般而言會……但它們也往往落在一個區間內（range bound）。所以如果你看 PE 次級報酬從第一四分位到第四四分位，報酬的離散程度（dispersion）比起初級市場要緊得多。

So one of the ways I would encourage you to think about it is just when people are using the secondaries market, particularly the LP product, they're trying to buy diversified private equity beta for the most part, but they're doing it in a way that structures out a lot of the volatility in return, and so you're going to get a generally lower return but a much lower volatility of return versus the primary market.

因此我會鼓勵你用另一種方式思考：當人們使用次級市場、特別是 LP 產品時，他們多半是在買入分散化的私募股權 beta，但他們是用一種能把報酬波動性結構化地降低的方式來做；因此相較於初級市場，你通常會得到較低的報酬，但報酬波動也顯著較低。

And I think that's always been the case. That may change over time as the private equity secondary market moves a little bit more towards GP-led and continuation vehicles. But I think what you're highlighting is largely just the legacy LP-led part of the market that's always been lower.

而我認為這一直都是如此。隨著私募股權次級市場逐步更偏向 GP-led 與延續型載體（continuation vehicles），這種情況可能會隨時間改變。但我認為你所指出的，主要仍是市場中傳統的 LP-led 部分，而那一塊一直以來報酬就比較低。

Ben Budish, Barclays.

Ben Budish，巴克萊（Barclays）。

Mike, in your prepared remarks, you talked about a slew of new products coming. I think you mentioned interval funds for mass market, model portfolios. Can you maybe talk about what these look like? How might liquidity need to be structured differently as you go maybe a little further down market? And maybe what's the timing -- what should we be looking for over the next 12 months with these kind of initiatives?

Mike，在你事先準備的講稿中，你談到將推出一系列新產品。我想你提到了面向大眾市場的區間基金（interval funds）、模型投資組合（model portfolios）。你能談談這些產品大概會是什麼樣子嗎？當你把觸角往更下沉的市場延伸時，流動性可能需要如何以不同方式來設計？另外時程方面——未來 12 個月我們應該期待看到哪些這類計畫的進展？

I'm not getting into too much of the detail and kind of publicized trade secrets in the lab. I think that the key is interval fund structures, I think, will be the path forward to move down the individual investor spectrum just in terms of ease of use, ease of on-boarding, et cetera.

我不會深入太多細節，畢竟那有點像在實驗室裡公開宣傳的商業機密。我認為關鍵在於，區間基金的結構將會是往個人投資人光譜更下游推進的前進路徑，主要是因為使用便利、上線導入（on-boarding）容易等等。

I think with regard to liquidity despite again some of the noise and the way that the media would like to amplify the noise, I think that the individual investor is buying the product with the 5% quarter liquidity and seems very happy with it.

至於流動性，我認為儘管外界有一些雜音、媒體也喜歡放大這些雜音，但個人投資人是在理解每季 5% 流動性的前提下買入這個產品，而且看起來對此相當滿意。

So I'm not sure that the expectation in the market is that same liquidity to change. I think it's more about what does it look like to get onboarded what's the subscription process. And I think that for a segment of the market that's used to buying CUSIP securities, the interval fund is probably just going to be more familiar and easier.

所以我不確定市場是否期待那樣的流動性會改變。我認為更多是在於：上線導入會長什麼樣子、申購（subscription）流程是什麼。而我認為對於習慣購買 CUSIP 證券的那一群市場而言，區間基金可能會更熟悉、也更容易。

A lot of what we now have the opportunity to do as well around product extension is when you think about our eight products in real estate, global direct lending, diversified credit, core infrastructure, et cetera. We now have building blocks that could be mixed and matched to provide different portfolio outcomes for people in different geographies and in different markets.

另外，我們現在在產品延伸方面也有很多可以做的機會：當你想到我們在不動產、全球直接放款、多元化信貸、核心基礎建設等領域的八項產品。我們現在已經有了可以作為「積木」的組件，能夠混搭組合，為不同地區、不同市場的人提供不同的投資組合結果。

And so a lot of the product extension work is continuing to focus on those building blocks and then thinking about how we wrap them offer them into the market, whether it's through fund format or model portfolios.

因此，許多產品延伸的工作會持續聚焦在這些積木上，並思考我們要如何把它們包裝並提供到市場上，不論是透過基金形式或模型投資組合。

Mike Brown, UBS.

Mike Brown，瑞銀（UBS）。

Mike, I wanted to ask on digital infrastructure, where it's still a relatively small percentage of the firm-wide AUM today, but as it stands could be a significant growth driver for FRE over the next several years. So as the platform scales, new funds come to market, maybe just any updated views on how we should think about the longer-term fee rate margin profile of the business versus the broader real asset segment, particularly given the vertical integrated development model that you have?

Mike，我想就數位基礎設施提問。雖然目前它在全公司層面的AUM占比仍相對較小，但就現況而言，未來幾年可能會成為FRE的重要成長驅動力。因此，隨著平台規模擴大、新基金推向市場，想請教你們對於我們應如何看待該業務長期費率／利潤率（margin）輪廓，相較於更廣泛的實體資產（real asset）板塊，是否有任何更新的看法？尤其考量到你們採用的垂直整合式開發模式？

Sure. I'm going to let Blair take that one because he's doing a lot of work driving that business formation and growth forward. So Blair, do you want to take that?

當然。我會請Blair來回答，因為他在推動該業務的組建與成長方面做了很多工作。Blair，你要不要來回答？

Yes, sure. It's a great question. First thing to say is that we continue to have a lot of excitement and conviction in the business, which we added to the firm at the beginning of last year when we folded GCP international in two areas.

好的，當然。這是個很好的問題。首先要說的是，我們對這項業務仍然非常興奮且深具信心；我們在去年年初把GCP International併入公司，涵蓋兩個領域。

And as we think about the development, that business came with a very large seed portfolio, which is incredibly attractive. So from an investor perspective, when they look at what's available, they see 700 megawatts of development opportunity that they can identify, and that's helping to drive the strong fundraising momentum that Mike mentioned earlier.

談到開發面向，這項業務帶來了一個非常大的種子投資組合（seed portfolio），極具吸引力。因此，從投資人角度來看，當他們檢視可投資標的時，會看到可辨識的700兆瓦開發機會，這也有助於推動Mike先前提到的強勁募資動能。

As we think about how that rolls out from a profitability perspective, I would say that the rack rate, fees and economics on the fund are very attractive and in line with other Ares offerings.

從獲利能力的角度來看，我會說該基金的牌告費率（rack rate）、費用與經濟性都非常具吸引力，並且與Ares其他產品一致。

One slight difference, as you noted, is that we do have a vertically integrated model. So we're able to articulate to the investor base that the existing team can deliver good service controlled outcomes, whereas maybe our peer set would pay more to outsource those capabilities.

如你所提到的，一個些微差異在於我們確實採用垂直整合模式。因此，我們能向投資人群體清楚說明，現有團隊可以提供良好服務並交付可控的成果；而我們的同業可能需要支付更高成本去外包這些能力。

So we charge back the cost of that team to the fund, which ultimately, we think, leads to better returns for the investors but also better economics for Ares, when we flow all of that through, I think we talked to all of you last fall in Baltimore about our forecasts for how that would flow through to the Ares FRE P&L. Think we said I think we said $50 million to $100 million of FRE in 2027 and beyond, I think we would say that we feel very, very good about that forecast based on what we see today, given the portfolio, the fundraising traction and the economics to the firm.

因此，我們會把該團隊的成本回收（charge back）到基金端；最終我們認為這會為投資人帶來更好的報酬，同時在把所有項目貫穿後，也能為Ares帶來更好的經濟性。我想我們去年秋天在巴爾的摩與各位談過，我們預估這將如何反映到Ares的FRE損益表（P&L）。我想我們當時說的是，2027年及以後FRE約為5,000萬到1億美元；基於我們今天看到的情況——包括投資組合、募資進展以及對公司的經濟性——我們對這個預測感到非常、非常有信心。

Bart Dziarski, RBC Capital Markets.

Bart Dziarski，RBC資本市場。

I wanted to ask around GCP. I would love just a mark-to-market update on how that transaction is going in terms of performance. And maybe tie that into -- relative to the earnout objectives set when you completed the deal?

我想就GCP提問。我很想了解這筆交易在績效方面的按市價評估（mark-to-market）更新情況。以及也許可以連結到——相較於你們完成交易時設定的或有對價（earnout）目標，目前進展如何？

Yes, thanks for the question. I could not be more pleased with the progress that we've made. Again, if folks remember, the investment thesis for the acquisition, and this is consistent with what I talked about earlier with regard to just the M&A framework was market-leading business in Japan both institutional and retail through our market-leading J-REIT. Consolidated growth in our industrial and logistics platform globally and then break out growth opportunity in data center development and digital infrastructure.

好的，謝謝你的問題。我對我們取得的進展再滿意不過了。再次提醒大家，如果各位還記得，這次收購的投資論點——也與我先前提到的併購（M&A）框架一致——是在日本擁有市場領先的業務，透過我們市場領先的J-REIT同時涵蓋機構與零售；其次是在全球範圍整合我們的工業與物流平台以實現成長；再者是資料中心開發與數位基礎設施的突破性成長機會。

We have made significant progress on all three. If you were look at the Japan business, as we talked about in the prepared remarks, we are in the market with the next vintage of our institutional development fund, and that will get to its hard cap and be significantly larger than prior very quickly out of the gate.

我們在這三方面都取得了顯著進展。如果你看日本業務，正如我們在事先準備的講稿中提到的，我們正以新一期（next vintage）的機構開發基金在市場上募資，該基金將達到其硬上限（hard cap），而且規模會顯著大於以往，並且在一開始就會很快達成。

We closed a significant data center fund in Japan, probably larger than we had originally expected. Julie and our global real estate teams have already consolidated our logistics platform globally. We have reorganized our business under a global brand Marq Logistics, and we have integrated the teams and realized both revenue and expense synergy there.

我們在日本完成募集一檔規模可觀的資料中心基金，可能比我們原先預期的還要大。Julie與我們的全球不動產團隊已經在全球範圍整合了我們的物流平台。我們已在全球品牌Marq Logistics之下重新組織業務，並完成團隊整合，在那裡實現了收入與費用的協同效益。

And then on the digital side as Blair said, we could not be happier with the momentum that we have on the data center development side. And I think we're really pleased with the way that, that fund family is growing as well. You tend to know very quickly when you got it right. And I would say, culturally, absolutely got it right. The teams are fully integrated working well together.

至於數位領域，如Blair所說，我們對資料中心開發端的動能感到再高興不過了。而且我認為我們也非常滿意該基金家族（fund family）的成長方式。通常你很快就會知道自己是否做對了。我會說，在文化層面，我們絕對做對了。團隊已完全整合並且合作順暢。

Strategically, the synergy is what we know it would be and obviously, financially, the combination of the revenue coming in probably a little bit quicker and to Jarrod point, getting out of the DSA and to Blair's point, getting charged back on the development platform. I think that we're going to see an acceleration of earnings coming off of that business for the earnout. And so we would expect that with that continued momentum that an earn-out will get paid.

在策略層面，協同效益正如我們所預期；而在財務層面，收入的進來可能稍微更快一些，並且如Jarrod所提到的，退出DSA，以及如Blair所提到的，對開發平台進行成本回收（charge back）。我認為我們將看到該業務帶來的盈餘加速成長，進而支撐或有對價（earnout）。因此，我們預期在這樣的持續動能下，將會支付earn-out。

One of the beautiful things about that, though, is the way that we structure these transactions as the earnouts are milestone based that usually refer to fundraising, management fee and/or FRE growth. And when they get paid, it effectively is reflected as buying down our multiple.

不過其中一個很棒的地方在於，我們設計這些交易的方式是：earnout以里程碑為基礎，通常與募資、管理費和／或FRE成長相關。而當它們被支付時，實質上會反映為降低我們的估值倍數（multiple）。

And so one of the ways that we're able to drive performance and align performances through these earn-outs. But when they get paid, they actually come in at a reduced multiple. So we're kind of happy when we hit those earnouts the same way we did, for example, with the Black Creek acquisition.

因此，這也是我們透過這些earn-out來推動績效並使績效一致的一種方式。但當它們被支付時，實際上是以較低的倍數進來。所以我們在達成這些earnout時其實也很開心，就像例如我們在Black Creek收購案中一樣。

Brennan Hawken, BMO Capital Markets.

Brennan Hawken，BMO資本市場。

Its Mark on for Brennan. Gross to net performance remained relatively resilient despite industry-wide pressure. What factors have helped support spreads and economics in the middle market? And what would need to occur for gross to net trends to improve meaningfully for -- from current levels?

我是代Brennan提問的Mark。儘管全產業面臨壓力，總額到淨額（gross to net）的表現仍相對具韌性。有哪些因素有助於支撐中型市場（middle market）的利差與經濟性？以及需要發生什麼情況，才能讓gross to net趨勢從目前水準出現有意義的改善？

Well, gross to net has been fairly consistent. I think (inaudible) did a really nice job and Jim on the ARCC call talking a little bit about improving conditions competitively and from a return perspective in the Direct Lending market.

嗯，gross to net一直相當一致。我想（聽不清楚）以及Jim在ARCC電話會議上做了很好的說明，談到直貸（Direct Lending）市場在競爭環境與報酬面向的改善。

So they leaned in pretty heavily to incumbent relationships in the quarter. About 75% of the USPL deployment was existing, that will tend to show itself differently from a gross to net standpoint than when we're more active in the primary market.

因此，他們在本季相當積極地加碼既有客戶關係。美國私人貸款（USPL）的投放約有75%是既有案源；相較於我們在初級市場（primary market）更活躍時，這在gross to net的呈現上通常會有所不同。

So I don't know that a lot needs to happen to see that gross to net improve quarter over quarter, just referencing some of my prior commentary around how the pipeline is developing into the back half of the year and the momentum we're seeing in the sponsor M&A market. I think that, that 75% was obviously going to be lower this quarter.

所以我不確定要發生很多事情才能看到gross to net逐季改善；只是回到我先前的一些評論，關於管線在今年下半年如何發展，以及我們在贊助商併購（sponsor M&A）市場看到的動能。我認為那個75%在本季顯然會更低。

I think to their credit, they were able to deploy actively while probably being more selective than they have been in quite some time and (inaudible) talked a lot about just the lower closing rate this quarter relative to historical averages.

我認為值得肯定的是，他們能夠積極投放，同時可能比相當長一段時間以來更具選擇性；而（聽不清楚）也談到本季成交率（closing rate）相較於歷史平均更低。

And I think that was a reflection of their experience in understanding that the market is improving from a spread and return perspective and our competitive advantage is improving as some of the retail heavy competitors are not forming capital to the same extent that we are.

我認為這反映了他們的經驗：理解市場在利差與報酬面向正在改善；而我們的競爭優勢也在提升，因為一些以零售為主的競爭對手在資本形成（forming capital）方面的力度不如我們。

And so the opportunity to deploy more aggressively into an improving market, I think, is also a big driver. So I don't think a lot needs to happen. I think we just got to let the market continue to play out the way that it has been, and you should see that number normalize.

因此，在市場改善之際有機會更積極地進行資金部署，我認為這也是一個重要的驅動因素。所以我不認為需要發生很多事情。我認為我們只要讓市場繼續按照目前的方式發展，你就會看到那個數字回歸正常水準。

Devin Ryan, Citizens Bank.

Devin Ryan，Citizens Bank。

Mike and Jarrod. Most have been asked here. But I want to ask a question just on insurance. You saw fee-paying AUM increased 54%. So materially faster than kind of broader platform.

Mike 和 Jarrod。大部分都已經在這裡被問過了。但我想就保險再問一個問題。你們看到收取費用的 AUM 增加了 54%。因此明顯快於整體平台的增長。

Just love to get a little bit more color on what's driving that and just the bigger picture kind of long-term opportunity that you see and just how much insurance could meaningfully change kind of the deployment visibility across alternative credit or infrastructure debt over time?

很希望能多了解一些是什麼在推動這個增長，以及你們看到的更宏觀、長期的機會；另外，從長期來看，保險在多大程度上可能會實質改變另類信貸或基礎設施債務的資金部署能見度？

Yes. Look, we've -- we're really, really pleased with the growth and continued kind of evolution and maturation of our insurance platform, both Ares Insurance Solutions, where we have been adding capability and management talent as well as the growth of our Aspida platform.

是的。你看，我們——我們對保險平台的成長，以及其持續演進、成熟感到非常、非常滿意；這包括 Ares Insurance Solutions（我們持續增加能力與管理人才），以及我們 Aspida 平台的成長。

We have been quite public in articulating our view of the insurance market and how important it is to our future growth, but how similar to our views on diversifying between wealth and institutional fundraising that we want to maintain our diversification between our captive and affiliated insurance business and our third-party clients.

我們一直相當公開地闡述我們對保險市場的看法，以及它對我們未來成長的重要性；但同樣地，正如我們在財富管理與機構募資之間追求多元化的觀點，我們也希望在自有（captive）與關聯保險業務，以及第三方客戶之間維持多元化。

And so we've just chosen to build that business balance sheet light and as focused on third-party insurance clients and partners as driving the kind of unfettered growth of Aspida.

因此，我們選擇以輕資產負債表（balance sheet light）的方式打造這項業務，並將重點放在第三方保險客戶與合作夥伴上，以推動 Aspida 不受掣肘的成長。

We do have everything we need to continue to hit the targets that we laid out at our Investor Day, both in terms of our annuities platform but also our reinsurance business. And we feel really good about it.

我們具備持續達成投資人日所提出目標的一切所需，無論是在年金平台方面，或是在再保險業務方面。而且我們對此感覺非常好。

If you look at this quarter's production, we did about $2 billion of growth and in both channels. And I think that that's kind of a healthy place for us to be. I do think your question just about the importance of insurance to driving things like digital infrastructure, credit, real estate credit is a good thing to point out.

如果你看本季的產量（production），我們在兩個通路合計約成長了 20 億美元。我認為這對我們來說是相當健康的位置。我也確實認為，你提到保險在推動數位基礎設施、信貸、不動產信貸等方面的重要性，是一個值得指出的重點。

But obviously, one of the benefits of building that business is it enhances our origination, not just on the high grade, but also supporting the sub-investment grade part of the business as well.

但顯然，建立這項業務的其中一個好處是，它能強化我們的案源開發（origination），不僅在投資級（high grade）方面，也能支援非投資級（sub-investment grade）這一部分的業務。

And so a lot of the talent ads and capability adds have been driven to further integrate that origination capability into the business.

因此，許多人才與能力的增補，都是為了進一步把這種案源開發能力更深度地整合進業務之中。

Wilma Burdis, Raymond James.

Wilma Burdis，Raymond James。

Is Ares institutes new structures for private BDC redemptions by geography, how long would it take before Ares has some and protection from outsized redemptions from certain regions?

如果 Ares 依地理區域為私募 BDC 的贖回設立新的結構，大概需要多久 Ares 才能對某些地區的超額贖回具備一定的防護？

Sure. I think you should -- it's really about flows from here and structure on share classes on new product as well. So I think going forward, to the extent that we implement some of the new features around lockups and redemption penalties and regional redemption queues that would be protective of this happening again in the future.

當然。我認為你應該——這主要取決於接下來的資金流向（flows），以及新產品在不同份額類別（share classes）上的結構設計。所以我認為，往前看，只要我們導入一些新功能，例如鎖定期（lockups）、贖回罰金（redemption penalties）以及區域性贖回排隊機制（regional redemption queues），就能在未來再次發生類似情況時提供保護。

With regard to what's already in the ground I would just refer back to what I highlighted earlier, which is that queue of about $1.2 billion to $600 million is working its way through the system.

至於已經在進行中的部分，我只想回到我先前強調的重點：大約 12 億美元降到 6 億美元的那個排隊金額，正在系統中逐步消化。

And if you look at the 5% that was satisfied last quarter, that was a little over $700 million. So that redemption queue regionally now is below the -- so again, I feel good about both, but I don't know that the forward stuff you're not really going to see. It's more about just working through that remaining $600 million redemption queue.

而如果你看上季滿足的 5%，那略高於 7 億美元。所以目前按區域來看的贖回排隊金額已經低於——因此再次強調，我對兩者都感覺良好，但我不確定你所說的前瞻性措施你會真正看到什麼。更多就是把剩餘的 6 億美元贖回排隊金額消化完。

Michael Cyprus, Morgan Stanley.

Michael Cyprus，Morgan Stanley。

Just a question on AI. As you look across your portfolio of companies, curious where you're starting to see tangible revenue and EBITDA lift or even market share gains from portfolio companies adopting AI. And when you think about the scope for AI dramatically changing workflows and increasing automation, where do you think those changes could be most meaningful to the bottom line and over what timeframe?

想問一個關於 AI 的問題。當你們檢視投資組合中的公司時，我很好奇你們開始在哪些地方看到投資組合公司採用 AI 後，帶來可量化的營收與 EBITDA 提升，甚至是市占率的增加。另外，當你們思考 AI 可能大幅改變工作流程並提高自動化的範圍時，你們認為這些改變在哪些方面對盈餘（bottom line）最有意義，以及大概在什麼時間範圍內？

Yes. It's a really broad question, Michael, but I appreciate it. I mean we have -- we touch so many different types of businesses and assets. I think the opportunity for efficiency gains and margin improvement are significant, and we're seeing it across the portfolio. We're also seeing it across areas, both the deployment of what we call productivity AI just for some of the off-the-shelf tool or increasing capacity within our teams.

是的。Michael，這是一個非常廣泛的問題，但我很感謝。我的意思是，我們——我們觸及非常多不同類型的企業與資產。我認為效率提升與利潤率改善的機會相當可觀，而且我們在整個投資組合中都看到了。我們也在各個領域看到這點，包括我們所謂的「生產力 AI」的部署——例如一些現成工具，或是提升團隊產能。

And then as we build out our applied AI frameworks and deploy those. We're seeing significant opportunities in places like workforce automation around some of our repeatable functions, RFPs, DDQs, AML, KYC.

然後，隨著我們建立並部署應用型 AI（applied AI）框架。我們在一些領域看到顯著機會，例如針對某些可重複的職能進行人力流程自動化，包括 RFP、DDQ、AML、KYC。

A lot of our investment teams are already harnessing a lot of our proprietary data to inform origination and portfolio management decisions. Our legal teams are deploying it around the reading and comparing of legal documents.

我們許多投資團隊已經在運用大量自有（proprietary）資料，來支援案源開發與投資組合管理決策。我們的法務團隊也在將其用於法律文件的閱讀與比對。

It's not an easy question to answer other than to say that the deployment at Ares and within the portfolio is broad based. And we're already seeing the benefits in terms of capacity increasing and margin improvement.

這不是一個容易回答的問題；我只能說，Ares 內部以及投資組合內的部署是全面性的。而且我們已經看到效益，包括產能提升與利潤率改善。

I think the biggest opportunity for us once we get through that, what I would call, first phase is just harnessing all the proprietary data that we have here, not just on the deals that we do and the deals that we own, but the deals that we don't do and then redirecting that data into better decision-making and the early indications are that, that's going to be very, very value accretive to us.

我認為，當我們度過我所稱的第一階段之後，對我們而言最大的機會，就是把我們在這裡擁有的所有自有資料加以整合運用——不僅是我們做的交易與我們持有的交易，還包括我們沒有做的交易——然後把這些資料回饋到更好的決策中；初步跡象顯示，這將為我們帶來非常、非常顯著的價值增益（value accretive）。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our conference call for today. If you missed any part of today's call, an archived replay of this conference call will be available through August 31, 2026, to domestic callers by dialing 1 (800) 839-5676 and to international callers by dialing 1 (402) 220-2565. An archived replay will also be available on a webcast link located on the homepage of the Investor Resources section of our website. Goodbye.

各位女士、先生，今天的電話會議到此結束。如果您錯過了今天電話會議的任何部分，本次電話會議的存檔重播將提供至 2026 年 8 月 31 日；美國境內來電者請撥打 1 (800) 839-5676，國際來電者請撥打 1 (402) 220-2565。存檔重播也將透過我們網站「投資人資源」專區首頁上的網路直播連結提供。再見。