Ares Real Estate Income Trust Inc.

Ares Real Estate Income Trust Inc.

Ares Real Estate Income Trust Inc. was launched in 2017 by Ares Management, the global alternative asset manager founded by Tony Ressler and John Kissick in 1997. The REIT operates as a non-traded vehicle, meaning shares do not trade on public exchanges, allowing the portfolio to avoid the mark-to-market volatility of publicly listed REITs. The investment strategy targets core and core-plus holdings—specifically industrial warehouses, multifamily communities, and single-tenant net-lease properties across U.S. Sun Belt markets like Phoenix, Dallas, and Atlanta. The REIT also selectively invests in self-storage and life sciences. Leverage is capped at approximately 35% of gross asset value per internal policy. As of public filings, its largest exposures include industrial assets, which represent roughly 42% of the portfolio, and multifamily at 25%. The REIT raised $4.2 billion in equity during 2024 alone (per Ares Management earnings call, January 2025). The vehicle is managed by a team of over 100 real estate professionals within Ares Management's broader real estate platform. In May 2025, the REIT announced a $1.1 billion acquisition of a portfolio of industrial properties from a institutional seller—the largest single portfolio addition since inception. A structural differentiator is the REIT's distribution model: it offers investors daily liquidity through a share repurchase program, limited to 5% of net asset value per quarter. This hybrid between an open-end fund and a closed-end structure limits redemption risk while giving investors periodic liquidity—a design increasingly common among non-traded REITs, but executed at a scale unmatched in the space.