Ares Secondaries (formerly Landmark Partners)

HeadquartersStamford, USA

Founded1989 (acquired by Ares 2021)

OwnershipPart of Ares Management

StrategyLP-led fund stakes across private equity, real estate, and infrastructure

Scale~$19.6B at the time of acquisition (2021); grown since as Ares Secondaries

Landmark Partners was founded in 1989 as an independent secondaries manager and became known for investing across not just private equity fund stakes but also real estate and infrastructure secondaries — a broader remit than most peers of its era.

Ares Management completed its acquisition of Landmark Partners in June 2021 for roughly $1 billion, at which point Landmark managed more than $19.6 billion. The business now operates as the Ares Secondaries Group, extending Ares's existing credit and private equity platform into dedicated secondaries.

The combination gave Ares a secondaries capability spanning the same three asset classes Landmark specialized in, positioning it to buy LP stakes not just in buyout funds but in real estate and infrastructure vehicles as well — a differentiator from secondaries platforms focused on private equity alone.

Worth knowing

One of very few secondaries platforms that spans private equity, real estate, and infrastructure fund stakes under one roof.

See the full buyer directory, or read the glossaryfor the terms (LP-led, GP-led, continuation fund) that describe how firms like this actually transact.