Ares Management LP won a $700 million commitment to invest in U.S. commercial real estate for a life insurance client.
Ares will originate and service variable- and fixed-rate mortgages, the Los Angeles-based company said Thursday in a statement that didn't name the insurer.
Ares CEO Tony Ressler is among money managers seeking business from insurers as lower yields cut into income from the industry's bond portfolios. Ares, which also makes private-equity investments, oversaw about $84 billion as of Sept. 30.
"We now have more than $5 billion of assets under management through direct investments from the insurance sector," David Reilly, head of Ares Insurance Partners, said in the statement. "Our capabilities are leading to significant growth in assets from insurers across our global corporate-credit, structured-credit and real estate debt platforms."
Howard Marks, co-chairman of Los Angeles-based distressed-debt investor Oaktree Capital Group LLC, said last month that his company is looking to add clients from the insurance industry. The firm last year hired Jay Wintrob, formerly of American International Group Inc., as chief executive officer.
