Ares Management CEO Discusses Q3 Fundraising Records, Credit Deployment, and Private Credit Fundamentals

In a CNBC exclusive from Post 9 on Squawk on the Street, Ares Management CEO Mike Cugno joins to discuss the firm's third quarter results, including record fundraising and pipeline activity. The conversation covers credit deployment trends, the impact of higher interest rate changes on floating rate borrowers, and the current state of underwriting and portfolio fundamentals in private credit.

■ Q3 Results and Credit Deployment
- Third quarter fundraising totals and the pace toward a record fundraising year
- Comparison of deployed capital versus the prior year and reasons for slower conversion
- Record global pipeline sizes and expected timing of deployment into the fourth quarter

■ Interest Rates and Floating Rate Credit
- The floating rate share of credit assets and how rate increases affect borrowers
- Historical borrower coverage levels and capacity to absorb additional hikes
- Demand for floating rate credit among investors and implications for margins

■ Underwriting and Private Credit Portfolio Health
- Current market anxieties versus observed credit conditions across bank loans, high yield, investment grade, and private credit
- Portfolio metrics cited, including non-accruals, loan-to-value, and interest coverage levels
- How the firm evaluates credit quality as an underwriter

Investors, analysts, and anyone tracking private credit markets, alternative asset managers, or the effects of monetary policy on leveraged borrowers will find a concise overview of current industry conditions and how one large manager is interpreting the data. Watching provides context for evaluating sector-wide concerns about private credit and understanding the metrics industry participants monitor, which can inform further reading and investment research.