Sumitomo Mitsui, one of the largest financial institutions headquartered in Japan, agreed to invest $384m in Ares Management, a global alternative investment manager. "Beyond the growth opportunity that this partnership presents for both of our firms, the strategic investment by SMBC coupled with Ares’ existing strong balance sheet and liquidity position and our proven ability to grow through periods of extreme market dislocation provides an opportunity for our firms to jointly capitalize on compelling risk-adjusted investments in this period of market volatility," Michael McFerran, Ares COO and CFO.