Ares Private Credit Fund Sees Redemption Requests Fall in Third Quarter

Redemption requests at Ares Management's flagship private credit fund eased in the third quarter, a sign of potentially stabilizing investor sentiment in a sector that has seen heightened withdrawal pressure in recent months. A regulatory filing on Thursday showed investors in the $22.7 billion Ares Strategic Income Fund (ASIF) sought to redeem 13.1% of its shares, a decrease from 14.4% in the previous quarter.

Easing Sector Pressures

The moderation in withdrawal requests at Ares reflects a wider trend among major non-traded private credit funds. Asset managers like BlackRock and Apollo also recently reported a decline in redemption requests for their own funds, suggesting that a period of intense investor anxiety may be subsiding.

Investor concerns have centered on lending standards and the risk of disruption from artificial intelligence to software companies, which are significant borrowers from direct lenders. However, as asset managers work through backlogs of withdrawal requests, the pressure appears to be lessening.

The Impact of Redemption Limits

Like its peers, the Ares fund limited withdrawals to its customary threshold of 5% of shares for the quarter. This industry-standard practice, known as a redemption gate, has led to a backlog as investors must resubmit unfulfilled requests in subsequent quarters. Ares noted that much of the redemption pressure came from these repeat requests, with net *new* withdrawal demands amounting to just 3% of the fund's net asset value.

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"Redemption demand is easing across most reporting funds, but at several of the largest, requests remain backlogged and persisting," said Kevin Gannon, chairman and CEO of Stanger, a firm that tracks alternative assets. "It is too soon to conclude that the broader market has turned a corner, but the direction is encouraging."

Fund Performance and Outlook

Ares stated that an investor who began submitting repurchase requests in the first quarter of 2026 and continued to resubmit would have received nearly 80% of their originally requested capital by the end of the third quarter. The fund expects to satisfy most remaining backlogged requests by year-end if the current trend holds.

Despite the recent redemption activity, the fund's long-term performance remains a key draw for investors. According to the filing, ASIF's Class I shares have generated a 9.97% annualized total return since inception, outperforming broadly syndicated bank loans by 161 basis points.