Teiki Benveniste Appointed as Head of Ares Australia Management

Former Macquarie Group Senior Investment Specialist to Lead Newly-Formed Strategic Joint Venture between Fidante Partners and Ares Management Corporation

SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ares Australia Management (“AAM”) today announced that former Macquarie Group Senior Investment Specialist Teiki Benveniste has been appointed as the Head of newly-formed Ares Australia Management, which was formed as a strategic joint venture between Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) and Fidante Partners in October 2019 and aims to become one of Australia’s leading credit and alternative asset managers. As the new Head of AAM, Mr. Benveniste will be based in Sydney and will be responsible for building strong investor interest in the specialist asset manager and for increasing assets under management as the joint venture launches a range of investment strategies. Mr. Benveniste will also serve as a liaison with Fidante Partners, which will provide product distribution, local fund reporting and back office administration.

Mr. Benveniste joins AAM after spending the last six and a half years at Macquarie Group, most recently as the lead Senior Investment Specialist for Macquarie Fixed Income in Australia, where he managed a team of investment and product specialists covering both retail and institutional investors. Prior to this, he was based in London for almost seven years at Société Générale where he held trading, credit analyst and sales roles for loan syndications across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He has a Masters in Science in Finance and a Masters in Management from the French EDHEC Business School.

“Ares Australia Management will provide local investors and the country’s superannuation system with access to specialist investment expertise in credit and other alternative investments, which will play an important role in delivering high-quality diversified returns for investors’ portfolios,” said Mr. Benveniste. “With persistently low global interest rates, investors need to find alternative ways to generate attractive income and to achieve targeted returns. Ares has a long track record of delivering high-quality investment solutions across a range of alternative investment strategies with a focus on managing downside risk with a disciplined and selective investment approach.”

AAM expects to launch its first credit fund in the coming months with further strategies to follow.

David Sachs, Partner of Ares Management Corporation said: “We are delighted to welcome Teiki to lead Ares Australia Management. We believe that his broad experience in fixed income investing in Australia and Europe positions him as an excellent leader to build investor interest in the funds and investment strategies of Ares within Australia and New Zealand and to seize the significant opportunities available in the region’s market.”

Challenger Funds Management Chief Executive Nick Hamilton said: “We are very pleased to have such a high-calibre and experienced professional in Teiki to head our efforts at AAM. Everything we do is centered on providing our retail and institutional customers with attractive fund management solutions. This joint venture demonstrates our ability to attract leading investment managers globally and reach halfway around the world to bring a leading fund manager like Ares with high-quality products to our market.”

About Ares Australia Management

Ares Australia Management is an alternative investment manager formed through a strategic joint venture between Ares Management Corporation and Fidante Partners to coordinate the marketing and investment management of retail and institutional investor capital from Australia and New Zealand for Ares’ various credit, private equity and real estate strategies. Ares Australia Management aims to provide local investors with access to expertise in credit and other alternative investments to deliver high quality diversified returns for investors’ portfolios.

About Ares Management Corporation

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager operating three integrated businesses across Credit, Private Equity and Real Estate. Ares Management’s investment groups collaborate to deliver innovative investment solutions and consistent and attractive investment returns for fund investors throughout market cycles. Ares Management’s global platform had USD$144 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2019 with approximately 1,200 employees in over 20 offices in more than 10 countries. Please visit www.aresmgmt.com for additional information.

About Fidante Partners

Fidante Partners is an investment management company that partners with specialist asset management firms to deliver compelling opportunities to an international investor base. Fidante is one of Australia’s leading multi-boutique asset managers with more than A$60 billion of funds under management as of 30 September 2019. Fidante Partners is part of Challenger Limited.

The Fidante Partners boutique stable includes Alphinity Investment Management, Ardea Investment Management, Ares Australia Management, Avenir Capital, Bentham Asset Management, Eiger Capital, Greencape Capital, Kapstream Capital, Latigo Partners, Lennox Capital Partners, Merlon Capital Partners, NovaPort Capital, Resonance Asset Management, WaveStone Capital and Whitehelm Capital.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements included herein may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which relate to future events or our future performance or financial condition. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (United States). None of Ares, Ares Australia Management, Challenger Limited or Fidante Partners undertakes any duty to update any forward-looking statements made herein.

Nothing in this press release constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Ares, Ares Australia Management, Challenger Limited, Fidante Partners, or an investment fund managed by Ares, Ares Australia Management, Fidante Partners or their respective affiliates.

This information is provided by Fidante Partners Limited ABN 94 002 835 592 AFSL 234668 (‘Fidante Partners’). It is intended to be general information only and not financial product advice and has been prepared without taking into account any person’s objectives, financial situation or needs.

Media: FCR Jeremy Kirk, +61 2 8264 1007 j.kirk@fcr.com.au

or

Ares Management Corporation: Media: Mendel Communications Bill Mendel, +1 212-397-1030 bill@mendelcommunications.com or Investors: Carl Drake, +1 800-340-6597 cdrake@aresmgmt.com or Priscila Roney, +1 212-808-1185 proney@aresmgmt.com

Challenger Limited: Jane Keeley Head of External Communications jkeeley@challenger.com.au Tel: +61 2 9994 7195 Mob: +61 402 663 522