Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) is planning to launch a flagship U.S. direct lending fund that will target approximately $20 billion.

While plans are still in the early stages and details regarding the fund launch could change, Ares is understood to be holding initial conversations with investors about the fund. The fund is set to launch in the summer, unnamed sources told Bloomberg.

Despite the broader slowdown in the private credit market, several asset managers have demonstrated that investor demand for private credit assets remains resilient.

Blackstone recently secured more than $10 billion from its opportunistic credit vehicle, Blackstone Capital Opportunities Fund V, reaching its hardcap after being oversubscribed.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) revealed that it was launching a new mezzanine debt fund. GS Mezzanine Partners IX, is expected to receive approximately $13 billion in investor commitments, Bloomberg reported last month.

Goldman's private credit fund saw redemption requests of just under 5% of shares in the first quarter, crediting a resilient institutional investor base that is fundamentally more tolerant of illiquidity than the broader retail market.

Ares has also raised $9.8 billion in its opportunistic credit fund and $7.1 billion in its credit secondaries fund earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have both capitalized on the private credit market's dislocation by launching new funds.

Morgan Stanley launched the North Haven Strategic Credit Fund, an interval fund that will invest in a wide spectrum of credit strategies. Meanwhile, JPMorgan filed with the SEC for its JPMorgan Public and Private Credit Fund, which will invest in both public and private credit.

These new funds come amid a surge in investor withdrawal requests in the $3 trillion private credit market. Mounting pressure has prompted many banks and asset managers to cap withdrawals in recent weeks.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO), Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX), and Barings BDC INC. (NYSE:BBDC) have all restricted investor withdrawals aggressively.

Semi-liquid vehicles typically offer 5% quarterly liquidity, but many are now overwhelmed by demand. 

Barings, for instance, capped redemptions after investors attempted to pull out 11.3% of shares in the first quarter, ultimately honoring only 44.3% of those requests on a pro-rata basis.

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