Senior Associate, Financial Planning & Analysis – Real Assets

Ares Management is seeking a Senior Associate to join the Real Assets Financial Planning & Analysis (“FP&A”) team, with primary responsibility for the Real Estate business. The Real Assets FP&A team is part of the firm’s larger Finance organization and partners closely with Real Assets business leaders, fund accounting, corporate accounting, business operations and global FP&A colleagues in Los Angeles, London and other regional offices.

The Senior Associate will play a hands-on role in the annual budget, monthly and quarterly forecast, and long-range planning processes for Real Assets. The candidate will build and maintain fund-level models and deliver clear, accurate reporting to senior management. The ideal candidate has a working understanding of real estate funds and management fee and incentive fee mechanics, and a strong aptitude for financial modeling, data and automation. This role requires a dynamic, detail-oriented professional who can operate with increasing independence in a fast-paced, growing environment.

The Senior Associate will support the broader Real Assets FP&A team in partnering across the enterprise to provide accurate projections and insights to senior management.

• Support the annual budget, monthly and quarterly forecast, and long-range plan for the Real Assets business, including consolidation of inputs and preparation of the P&L

• Build and maintain fund-level models for Real Estate funds and co-investment vehicles, forecasting FPAUM, management fees, other income and promote/incentive fees

• Forecast and track general and administrative expenses at the vendor level, identifying cost-saving opportunities and partnering with business leaders on accountability

• Incorporate quarterly projected fund models from Fund Accounting, and assumptions on capital raising, deployment, exits and fee-basis changes, into the forecast

• Prepare scenario and sensitivity analyses and respond to ad hoc requests from senior management

• Prepare variance analysis and commentary for actuals vs. forecast, budget and prior periods, with a focus on FPAUM, management fees, other income and promote

• Produce executive-ready reporting packages, dashboards and presentations for senior leadership, including forecast calls and business reviews

• Support preparation of materials for firm-wide consolidation, board and senior leadership reporting

• Dive into underlying fund and deal-level data to explain drivers behind results and recommend actions

• Serve as a day-to-day FP&A contact for Real Assets investment professionals, business operations and regional finance leaders

• Coordinate with Fund Accounting, Corporate Accounting, Investor Relations and Business Operations to gather, validate and reconcile key inputs on a timely basis

• Build working knowledge of new fund structures, fee terms and revenue streams, and translate this into forecast assumptions

• Collaborate with the global FP&A team to align methodologies and ensure consistency across regions and segments

• Maintain and improve financial models, dashboards and planning tools for accuracy, consistency and scalability (e.g., OneStream, Anaplan, SQL, Power BI)

• Clean, structure and consolidate data from multiple sources into repeatable reporting processes

• Contribute to automation and AI-enabled initiatives that reduce manual work and improve forecast turnaround time

• Support implementation of new systems and processes, including data collection, testing and roll-out

• Take ownership of workstreams and deliver work independently with a high level of accuracy

• Support, train and mentor Analysts and Associates as the team grows

• Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills; strong PowerPoint skills

• Strong understanding of financial statements and accounting principles

• Strong analytical, problem-solving and attention-to-detail skills, with the ability to turn complex data into clear insights

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including presenting to senior stakeholders

• Ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities in a fast-paced environment

• Highly motivated, collaborative team player with a strong work ethic and a passion for process improvement, automation and new technology

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Real Estate, Data Science or a related field

• MBA or graduate degree, CFA and/or CPA a plus, but not required

• 5–7 years of relevant experience in FP&A, corporate finance, fund accounting, investment banking, consulting or Big 4 accounting; experience at an alternative asset manager or real estate investment firm strongly preferred

• Working knowledge of real estate fund structures (open-end and closed-end), management fee and incentive fee/carried interest mechanics, and co-investment structures preferred

• Demonstrated experience building and maintaining financial models, forecasts and variance analyses

• Experience with planning and consolidation systems such as OneStream and Anaplan preferred; SQL, Power BI, Tableau or similar a plus