Ares Capital Management Interview Questions

7 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (92%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

4.1
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (96%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

3.4
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult

Interviews at Ares Capital Management

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Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
Intern
Year 2021
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Private Equity
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2019
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Fixed Income
Location New York
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Summer Associate Intern
Year 2016
Job Title Summer Associate Intern
Group/Division N/A
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
Intern
Year 2015
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Private Equity
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2014
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Private Equity
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
1st Year Analyst
Year 2013
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Generalist
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
1st Year Associate
Year 2014
Job Title 1st Year Associate
Group/Division Middle Market
Location Los Angeles
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult

Interview Questions & Answers - Ares Capital Management Examples

Summer Analyst Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous employee in Los Angeles
Interviewed: April 2021
Date Submitted: May 02, 2021
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
My process consisted of 2 rounds. One round was a technical interview with an associate and then a case study with a VP. The final round was split over 2 weeks. One interview was a paper LBO with an analyst and then a behavioral/resume walkthrough interview with a VP. All in all, everyone I met was really nice and I had good conversations during each of the interviews.
Interview Questions
I wasn't prepared to walk through the Peloton case study, so I didn't really know how to approach it but the VP walked me through it and made it more of a conversation. , I was also asked questions about making adjustments to the paper LBO, like how I could get a different MOIC multiple or how my initial purchase price would change if I wanted a different IRR.
Sample Answer

Credit Summer Analyst Interview - Fixed Income

Anonymous interview candidate in New York
Interviewed: August 2019
Date Submitted: Dec 11, 2020
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
There were 2 initial phone screens, which tested basic knowledge of credit concepts and accounting and then went into more specifics about private credit and examples in the market. Superday was 3 interviewers - one tested technicals, one behaviorals, and one was a private credit case study.
Interview Questions
Accounting question about deferred revenue and its effect on credit capacity for a subscription company, question about recovery value in a bankruptcy
Sample Answer

Analyst Interview

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles
Interviewed: September 2016
Date Submitted: Sep 23, 2016
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
1 on 1 with recruiter, 30 min in big boardroom. applied through school recruiter after info session, very friendly.
Interview Questions
A few fit questions, walk through resume, interests, extracurricular activities. Then given numbers for back of the envelope LBO. Limited information so had to ask questions to get cashflows, walkthrough different potential situations, find exit multiple, then calculate IRR on the spot. Also talked about which multiples are best for certain situations - ie EBITDAR when considering leases. Super day is two hours, more case intensive in with NYC and LA people. Grilled on technicals, but not in a rude or overly tough manner.
Sample Answer

Intern - Summer Analyst Private Equity Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous employee in Los Angeles
Interviewed: 2015
Date Submitted: Dec 09, 2015
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
First round was a 30 min interview on campus with a VP/Principle. Was mostly behavioral, a few brain teasers and a general conversation about the markets and my opinion on the current macroeconomic state. Final round was at their head office in LA. 3 hours of interviews with VPs and higher. Focused a lot on my resume and had a mini case study to evaluate my investing thought process.
Interview Questions
There are three light switches up in the attic of an old house... They control three light bulbs down in the basement. The problem is that you don't know which switch is connected to which bulb. How do you figure out which switch is connected to which bulb if you start in the basement and can only go up the stairs once.
Sample Answer

Private Equity Summer Analyst Interview - Private Equity

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles
Interviewed: February 2014
Date Submitted: Dec 06, 2014
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Other
Interview
Interview process was highly technical throughout. Consisted of a first-round interview on campus, then later that night everyone selected for the second round of interviews was taken to dinner. Finally there was a fairly short (1 hr) final round interview at the Ares office in NYC.

First interview was very much down to business, jumped right into technical questions (two case studies). Required you to ask questions to get more relevant information, and ultimately make a decision about what credit to buy in the capital structure. Another case study was more qualitative, and involved detailing the thought process that a West-Coast based retailer should go through in deciding to expand to the East Coast.

Second round interview was surprisingly short (only one hour). Consisted of two interviews, one of quantitative technicals and the other more qualitative. The second, more qualitative interview was again a kind of discussion that was a test of your general business acumen; we talked about how you would go about researching a potential investment in a manufacturer of synthetic deck materials.
Interview Questions
How is the value of a call option affected by changes in interest rates, and explain why?

Higher interest rate => Higher value for call option
Most intuitive way IMO to think about it is that equity returns increase as interest rates increase; given fixed prices today, higher expected stock returns make it more valuable for me to hold an option allowing me to buy the stock at a fixed price
Open-ended questions to promote discussion ("Walk me through how you would conduct a research process in order to evaluate an investment in a company that produces synthetic deck materials").
Sample Answer

Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles
Interviewed: February 2013
Date Submitted: Nov 18, 2014
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Skills Test
Background Check
Interview
On campus, then office did not make the second round
On campus interview was focused more on academic accomplishments and less on "what do you want to do when you grow up". Seemed focused on trying to understand my personality as an overall fit for the organization. Very few "technical" questions were asked.
Interview Questions
Describe your ideal traits? Ideal working environment?
Asked questions that were geared more toward understanding my personality traits and characteristics - I assume to judge if I were an environmental fit
Asked to described a situation in which I found myself in an ethical dilemma - I had to set the stage detail my options and explain why I chose the course of action.
Case Study - believe it was about Cisco Systems
Sample Answer

Associate Interview - Middle Market

Anonymous interview candidate in Los Angeles
Interviewed: 2014
Date Submitted: Jun 04, 2014
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Presentation
Interview
two 1 on 1 first round interviews, then modelling test, case study with presentation, and 4 more 1 on 1 interviews in LA
Interview Questions
Would you have invested in the tranche?
Sample Answer