(Bloomberg) — Ares Management Corp. is debuting a new media and entertainment fund targeting individual investors, bringing the typically exclusive world of sports investing to the retail segment.
The alternative asset manager has begun talking to investors about the strategy, which will make debt and equity investments in sports leagues, teams and sports-related businesses, as well as media and entertainment companies, according to people familiar with the matter.
Ares Chief Executive Officer Michael Arougheti told investors that financial advisers had requested such a fund, which will allow quarterly redemptions, said the people, asking not to be identified because the details haven’t been made public.
A representative for Ares declined to comment.
About 8% of its roughly $546 billion of assets as of the end of March came from semi-liquid wealth-related products, according to an investor presentation. The firm is among many asset managers making a larger push in offering private assets to individuals.
Ares has said it wants to manage $100 billion from these investors globally by 2028, which could pull in $600 million in management fees.
The Los Angeles-based firm has ramped up investments in sports, including taking stakes in the Miami Dolphins National Football League team, Inter Miami CF and Chelsea football club, and closed its first fund dedicated to the strategy in 2022 with $3.7 billion.
Ares held a first close for its second such fund for institutional investors earlier this year at $1 billion, and is seeking to raise $2 billion, according to one of the people.
“While sports teams, clubs and leagues often draw much of the attention, we believe the broader potential ecosystem of sports, media and entertainment investing is significant and underpenetrated,” Ares has said on its website. The firm has estimated the total investment opportunity in “adjacent strategies” could be as much as $2.5 trillion.
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