Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) announced Tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of London-based BlueCove, a leader in scientific fixed-income management.
The deal, which follows Ares’ initial minority investment in 2023, integrates BlueCove’s data-driven capabilities into a newly formed unit: Ares Systematic Credit.
The acquisition adds approximately $5.5 billion in assets under management (AUM) to the Ares Credit Group, which oversaw a massive $397 billion as of September 30, 2025.
By absorbing BlueCove’s team of 60 specialists and its proprietary quantitative platform, Ares aims to meet surging institutional demand for "active systematic" investing.
This approach uses evidence-based algorithms to identify market inefficiencies across high-yield, investment-grade, and convertible bond markets—areas historically dominated by human discretionary traders.
Alex Khein, the former CEO of BlueCove and a veteran of BlueBay Asset Management, will lead the new strategy as Partner and Head of Ares Systematic Credit.
The team will remain primarily based in London, serving as a specialized engineering and research hub within Ares’ global platform.
Management expects the combination of Ares’ deep fundamental credit insights and BlueCove’s technical infrastructure to create a unique "hybrid" advantage in a segment of the alternatives market that is rapidly digitizing.