Scott Graves has joined Ares Management as a partner in the firm’s private equity group based in Los Angeles.
Graves will lead the Ares Special Situations Funds platform as portfolio manager and head of distressed.
His primary responsibilities will include overseeing investments within the special situations strategy and expanding Ares’ distressed capabilities across the firm. Additionally, Graves will serve as a member of the Ares’ Special Situations and ACOF Investment Committees.
“We have had the pleasure of knowing Scott professionally and personally for the better part of 20 years. Scott has exceptional experience in investing, leading teams and building businesses, and we are excited to have him join our leading private equity franchise,” say David Kaplan and Bennett Rosenthal, Ares’ co-founders, partners and co-heads of private equity. “We are confident that he will have a tremendous impact on the management of our special situations funds and the further development of our global distressed investing capabilities.”
A 23-year industry veteran, Graves’ departure from Oaktree Capital Management was announced at the end of September 2016. Graves spent over 15 years at Oaktree in various capacities as a senior executive and investment professional.
From 2013 through 2016, Graves served as Oaktree’s head of credit strategies and portfolio manager of multi-strategy credit. He was responsible for a substantial portion of Oaktree’s credit platform, managed investment portfolios spanning the breadth of Oaktree’s credit strategies and was active in Oaktree corporate management, serving on the capital and risk management board, the senior leadership counsel, the product governance board and the project steering committee.
From 2001 through 2013, Graves was as an investment professional in Oaktree’s distressed opportunities, value opportunities and strategic credit strategies, where he served as a co-portfolio manager. From 2010 to 2015, Graves also managed Oaktree's corporate and strategic development group, leading the firm's product step-outs into emerging market credit, strategic credit, value equities, infrastructure, the enhanced income strategies, structured credit and senior secured lending.
Graves says: “I am thrilled to join long-time friends and new colleagues in Ares’ private equity group. Ares is a unique and special platform. The opportunity to oversee special situations fund management and further develop global distressed investing capabilities against the market backdrop of increased uncertainty is an exciting combination.”
