Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.

Job Description

The Global Capital Solutions (“GCS”) team is seeking an Associate or Senior Associate to support the structuring, execution and distribution of Ares’ rated product offerings across the platform. The role will be primarily focused on rated note feeders, PBNs and collateralized fund obligations (“CFOs”) and will involve significant responsibility across the full lifecycle of these transactions.

The individual will work closely with investment teams, investor relations, finance and other internal stakeholders, as well as ratings agencies, external counsel, placement and syndication partners, and institutional investors. The role requires a combination of strong financial modeling and analytical capabilities, transaction management skills, commercial judgment and the ability to coordinate complex processes across a broad group of internal and external stakeholders.

Primary Responsibilities

• Play a central role in the structuring, execution and ongoing management of rated product transactions, including rated note feeders, PBNs, CFOs and related structures across Ares’ investment strategies.
• Manage key aspects of the end-to-end transaction process, including structuring, modeling, ratings, documentation, diligence, marketing, syndication and closing.
• Develop, maintain and enhance detailed transaction and cash flow models, including capitalization, leverage, debt service, coverage metrics, cash flow waterfalls, sensitivities and investor returns.
• Lead key workstreams associated with the ratings process, including preparation and organization of ratings materials, interaction with ratings agencies, management of information requests and analysis of structural considerations and ratings outcomes.
• Coordinate closely with external legal counsel throughout the structuring and documentation process, helping manage transaction timelines, documentation workstreams and resolution of structural and commercial issues.
• Work across Ares investment strategies and functional teams to source, analyze and organize portfolio-level information and other data required for transaction modeling, ratings analysis, investor diligence and execution.
• Support the development of transaction structures and financing solutions, evaluating alternative structures, capitalization approaches and economic outcomes.
• Participate directly in discussions with prospective and existing institutional investors, including explaining transaction structures, economics, portfolio characteristics and other relevant considerations.
• Work closely with third-party placement agents, banks and other syndication partners to coordinate distribution and syndication efforts.
• Help develop and execute the marketing and distribution strategy for individual transactions, including preparation of investor materials, data analysis and responses to investor diligence.
• Partner closely with the relevant Investor Relations teams across Ares' businesses to coordinate investor engagement, positioning and transaction execution.
• Manage multiple transaction workstreams concurrently, maintaining clear processes, timelines and accountability across internal and external counterparties.
• Develop and maintain transaction materials, analyses and institutional knowledge that can be leveraged across the broader rated products platform.
• As experience develops, assume increasing ownership of transactions and serve as a key point of coordination among internal teams and external counterparties.

Qualifications

• Approximately 2 to 5 years of relevant professional experience, with level determined based on experience and qualifications.
• Prior experience with rated fund products, structured finance, fund finance, securitizations or similar structured transactions strongly preferred.
• Direct experience working on rated note feeders, CFOs or similar fund-level rated structures would be particularly valuable.
• Exceptional financial modeling and Excel skills, including experience constructing and managing detailed cash flow, financing and/or structured-product models.
• Strong understanding of transaction economics and an ability to evaluate the interaction among portfolio cash flows, financing terms, structural protections and investor returns.
• Experience working with ratings agencies and ratings methodologies preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex, multi-party transaction processes involving legal counsel and numerous internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong analytical capabilities with exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex financial structures clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Commercial orientation and comfort interacting directly with institutional investors and other external counterparties.
• Highly organized, proactive and able to manage multiple transactions and competing priorities simultaneously.
• Collaborative mindset and ability to operate effectively across investment teams, Investor Relations, finance, legal and other functions.

Education

• Bachelor's degree required, preferably with a concentration in finance, economics, accounting, mathematics or a related quantitative discipline.

Key Attributes for Success

• The ideal candidate will combine strong technical and modeling capabilities with a transaction-oriented mindset. Given the cross-platform nature of the rated products business, the individual should be comfortable taking ownership of complex workstreams, navigating ambiguity and proactively coordinating across a large number of stakeholders.
• Importantly, this role is intended for someone who can grow beyond analytical execution into broader transaction ownership, developing the judgment and experience necessary to help manage rated-product transactions from initial structuring through ratings, distribution and closing.

Reporting Relationships

Compensation

$150,000 - $185,000

There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.