Ares Capital (ARCC) Risk Factors

We could experience fluctuations in our quarterly operating results due to a number of factors, including the interest rates payable on the debt investments we make, the default rates on such investments, the level of our expenses, variations in and the timing of the recognition of realized and unrealized gains or losses, the degree to which we encounter competition in our markets and general economic conditions. As a result of these factors, results for any period should not be relied upon as being indicative of performance in future periods.

Our credit ratings are an assessment by third parties of our ability to pay our obligations. Consequently, real or anticipated changes in our credit ratings will generally affect the market value of our debt securities. Our credit ratings, however, may not reflect the potential impact of risks related to market conditions generally or other factors discussed above on the market value of or trading market for the publicly issued debt securities.

When we make debt or minority equity investments, we are subject to the risk that a portfolio company may make business decisions with which we disagree and the other equity holders and management of such company may take risks or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our interests. As a result, a portfolio company may make decisions that could decrease the value of our investment.

Our portfolio companies may have, or may be permitted to incur, other debt, or issue other equity securities, that rank equally with, or senior to, our investments. By their terms, such instruments may provide that the holders are entitled to receive payment of dividends, interest or principal on or before the dates on which we are entitled to receive payments in respect of our investments. These debt instruments would usually prohibit the portfolio companies from paying interest on or repaying our investments in the event and during the continuance of a default under such debt. Also, in the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of a portfolio company, holders of securities ranking senior to our investment in that portfolio company typically are entitled to receive payment in full before we receive any distribution in respect of our investment. After repaying such holders, the portfolio company may not have any remaining assets to use for repaying its obligation to us. In the case of securities ranking equally with our investments, we would have to share on an equal basis any distributions with other security holders in the event of an insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of the relevant portfolio company. The rights we may have with respect to the collateral securing any junior priority loans we make to our portfolio companies may also be limited pursuant to the terms of one or more intercreditor agreements (including agreements governing "first out" and "last out" structures) that we enter into with the holders of senior debt. Under such an intercreditor agreement, at any time that senior obligations are outstanding, we may forfeit certain rights with respect to the collateral to the holders of the senior obligations. These rights may include the right to commence enforcement proceedings against the collateral, the right to control the conduct of such enforcement proceedings, the right to approve amendments to collateral documents, the right to release liens on the collateral and the right to waive past defaults under collateral documents. We may not have the ability to control or direct such actions, even if as a result our rights as junior lenders are adversely affected.

If one of our portfolio companies were to go bankrupt, even though we may have structured our interest as senior debt, depending on the facts and circumstances, a bankruptcy court might recharacterize our debt holding as an equity investment and subordinate all or a portion of our claim to that of other creditors. In addition, lenders can be subject to lender liability claims for actions taken by them where they become too involved in the borrower's business or exercise control over the borrower. For example, we could become subject to a lender's liability claim, if, among other things, we actually render significant managerial assistance.

We may purchase common and other equity securities. Although common stock has historically generated higher average total returns than fixed income securities over the long-term, common stock also has experienced significantly more volatility in those returns. The equity securities we acquire may fail to appreciate and may decline in value or become worthless and our ability to recover our investment will depend on the underlying portfolio company's success. Investments in equity securities involve a number of significant risks, including: - any equity investment we make in a portfolio company could be subject to further dilution as a result of the issuance of additional equity interests and to serious risks as a junior security that will be subordinate to all indebtedness (including trade creditors) or senior securities in the event that the issuer is unable to meet its obligations or becomes subject to a bankruptcy process;- to the extent that the portfolio company requires additional capital and is unable to obtain it, we may not recover our investment; and - in some cases, equity securities in which we invest will not pay current dividends, and our ability to realize a return on our investment, as well as to recover our investment, will be dependent on the success of the portfolio company. Even if the portfolio company is successful, our ability to realize the value of our investment may be dependent on the occurrence of a liquidity event, such as a public offering or the sale of the portfolio company. It is likely to take a significant amount of time before a liquidity event occurs or we can otherwise sell our investment. In addition, the equity securities we receive or invest in may be subject to restrictions on resale during periods in which it could be advantageous to sell them. There are special risks associated with investing in preferred securities, including: - preferred securities may include provisions that permit the issuer, at its discretion, to defer distributions for a stated period without any adverse consequences to the issuer. If we own a preferred security that is deferring its distributions, we may be required to report income for tax purposes before we receive such distributions;- preferred securities are subordinated to debt in terms of priority to income and liquidation payments, and therefore will be subject to greater credit risk than debt;- preferred securities may be substantially less liquid than many other securities, such as common stock or U.S. government securities; and - generally, preferred security holders have no voting rights with respect to the issuing company, subject to limited exceptions. Additionally, when we invest in first lien senior secured loans (including "unitranche" loans, which are loans that combine both senior and subordinated debt, generally in a first lien position), second lien senior secured loans or subordinated debt, we may acquire warrants or other equity securities as well. Our goal is ultimately to dispose of such equity interests and realize gains upon our disposition of such interests. However, the equity interests we receive may not appreciate in value and, in fact, may decline in value. Accordingly, we may not be able to realize gains from our equity interests and any gains that we do realize on the disposition of any equity interests may not be sufficient to offset any other losses we experience. We may invest, to the extent permitted by law, in the equity securities of investment funds that are operating pursuant to certain exceptions to the Investment Company Act and in advisers to similar investment funds and, to the extent we so invest, will bear our ratable share of any such company's expenses, including management and performance fees. We will also remain obligated to pay the base management fee, income based fee and capital gains incentive fee to our investment adviser with respect to the assets invested in the securities and instruments of such companies. With respect to each of these investments, each of our common stockholders will bear his or her share of the base management fee, income based fee and capital gains incentive fee due to our investment adviser as well as indirectly bearing the management and performance fees and other expenses of any such investment funds or advisers.

The debt that we invest in is typically not initially rated by any rating agency, but we believe that if such investments were rated, they would be below investment grade (rated lower than "Baa3" by Moody's Investors Service, lower than "BBB-" by Fitch Ratings or lower than "BBB-" by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services), which under the guidelines established by these entities is an indication of having predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer's capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Bonds that are rated below investment grade are sometimes referred to as "high yield bonds" or "junk bonds." Therefore, our investments may result in an above average amount of risk and volatility or loss of principal. While the debt we invest in is often secured, such security does not guarantee that we will receive principal and interest payments according to the terms of the loan, or that the value of any collateral will be sufficient to allow us to recover all or a portion of the outstanding amount of the loan should we be forced to enforce our remedies. Some of the loans in which we may invest may be "covenant-lite" loans, which means the loans contain fewer covenants than other loans (in some cases, none) and may not include terms which allow the lender to monitor the performance of the borrower and declare a default if certain criteria are breached. An investment by us in a covenant-lite loan may potentially hinder the ability to reprice credit risk associated with the issuer and reduce the ability to restructure a problematic loan and mitigate potential loss. We may also experience delays in enforcing our rights under covenant-lite loans. As a result of these risks, our exposure to losses may be increased, which could result in an adverse impact on our net income and net asset value. We also may invest in assets other than first and second lien and subordinated debt investments, including high-yield securities, U.S. government securities, credit derivatives and other structured securities and certain direct equity investments. These investments entail additional risks that could adversely affect our investment returns.

We primarily invest in privately held U.S. middle-market companies. Investments in privately held middle-market companies involve a number of significant risks, including the following: - these companies may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their obligations, which may be accompanied by a deterioration in the value of any collateral and a reduction in the likelihood of us realizing our investment;- they typically have shorter operating histories, narrower product lines and smaller market shares than larger businesses, which tend to render them more vulnerable to competitors' actions and market conditions, as well as general economic downturns;- they typically depend on the management talents and efforts of a small group of persons; therefore, the death, disability, resignation or termination of one or more of these persons could have a material adverse effect on such portfolio company and, in turn, on us;- there is generally little public information about these companies. These companies and their financial information are generally not subject to the Exchange Act (as defined below) and other regulations that govern public companies, and we may be unable to uncover all material information about these companies, which may prevent us from making a fully informed investment decision and cause us to lose money on our investments;- they generally have less predictable operating results and may require substantial additional capital to support their operations, finance expansion or maintain their competitive position;- we, our executive officers, directors and our investment adviser may, in the ordinary course of business, be named as defendants in litigation arising from our investments in our portfolio companies and may, as a result, incur significant costs and expenses in connection with such litigation;- changes in laws and regulations (including the tax laws), as well as their interpretations, may adversely affect their business, financial structure or prospects; and - they may have difficulty accessing the capital markets to meet future capital needs.

National and international regulators and law enforcement agencies have conducted investigations into a number of rates or indices that are deemed to be "reference rates." Actions by such regulators and law enforcement agencies may result in changes to the manner in which certain reference rates are determined, their discontinuance, or the establishment of alternative reference rates. In particular, on July 27, 2017, the Chief Executive of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA"), which regulates LIBOR, announced that the FCA will no longer persuade or compel banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. On November 30, 2020, ICE Benchmark Administration ("IBA"), the administrator of LIBOR tenors, with the support of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the FCA, announced plans to consult on ceasing publication of USD LIBOR on December 31, 2021 for only the one-week and two-month USD LIBOR, and on June 30, 2023 for all other USD LIBOR tenors. The U.S. Federal Reserve concurrently issued a statement advising banks to stop new USD LIBOR issuances by the end of 2021. On March 5, 2021, the IBA confirmed its intention to cease publication of (i) one-week and two-month USD LIBOR tenors after December 31, 2021 and (ii) remaining USD LIBOR tenors after June 30, 2023. On the same day, the FCA, as supervisor of IBA, made its announcement on the future cessation and loss of representativeness of the LIBOR benchmarks. The U.S. Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee comprised of large U.S. financial institutions, is expected to replace U.S. dollar LIBOR with a new index calculated by short-term repurchase agreements, backed by Treasury securities (the "Secured Overnight Financing Rate," or "SOFR"), plus a recommended spread adjustment as LIBOR's replacement. Although there have been certain issuances utilizing SOFR or the Sterling Over Night Index Average (an alternative reference rate that is based on transactions), it is unknown whether SOFR or any other alternative reference rates will attain market acceptance as replacements for LIBOR. Given the inherent differences between LIBOR and SOFR, or any other alternative reference rates that may be established, the transition from LIBOR may disrupt the overall financial markets and adversely affect the market for LIBOR-based securities, including our portfolio of LIBOR-indexed, floating-rate debt securities, or the cost of our borrowings. In addition, changes or reforms to the determination or supervision of LIBOR may result in a sudden or prolonged increase or decrease in reported LIBOR, which could have an adverse impact on the market for LIBOR-based securities, including the value and/or transferability of the LIBOR-indexed, floating-rate debt securities in our portfolio, or the cost of our borrowings. Additionally, if as currently expected LIBOR ceases to exist, we may need to renegotiate the credit agreements extending beyond June 30, 2023, with our credit facility lenders and our portfolio companies that utilize LIBOR as a factor in determining the interest rate to replace LIBOR with SOFR or other alternative reference rates, The transition from LIBOR to SOFR or other alternative reference rates may also introduce operational risks in our accounting, financial reporting, loan servicing, liability management and other aspects of our business. We are assessing the impact of a transition from LIBOR; however, we cannot reasonably estimate the impact of the transition at this time. Additionally, the phase-out or replacement of LIBOR may decrease the demand for floating-rate loans, which could adversely impact our business and financial condition. We may need to renegotiate the credit agreements extending beyond June 30, 2023 with our credit facility lenders and our portfolio companies that utilize LIBOR as a factor in determining the interest rate to replace LIBOR with SOFR or other alternative reference rates, which could require us to incur significant expense and may subject us to disputes or litigation over the appropriateness or comparability to the relevant replacement reference index. The transition from LIBOR to SOFR or other alternative reference rates may also introduce operational risks in our accounting, financial reporting, loan servicing, liability management and other aspects of our business. We are assessing the impact of a transition from LIBOR; however, we cannot reasonably estimate the impact of the transition at this time.

Our investment portfolio includes investments that may be significant individually or in the aggregate. If a significant investment in one or more companies fails to perform as expected, such a failure could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results, and the magnitude of such effect could be more significant than if we had further diversified our portfolio.

As we generally make investments in private companies, substantially all of these investments are subject to legal and other restrictions on resale or are otherwise less liquid than publicly traded securities. The illiquidity of our investments may make it difficult for us to sell such investments if the need arises. In addition, if we are required to liquidate all or a portion of our portfolio quickly, we could realize significantly less than the value at which we have recorded our investments or could be unable to dispose of our investments in a timely manner. In addition, we may face other restrictions on our ability to liquidate an investment in a portfolio company to the extent that we or an affiliated manager of Ares has material non-public information regarding such portfolio company.

A large percentage of our portfolio investments are not publicly traded. The fair value of investments that are not publicly traded may not be readily determinable. We value these investments quarterly at fair value as determined in good faith by our board of directors based on, among other things, the input of our management and audit committee and independent valuation firms that have been engaged at the direction of our board of directors to assist in the valuation of each portfolio investment without a readily available market quotation at least once during a trailing 12-month period (with certain de minimis exceptions). The valuation process is conducted at the end of each fiscal quarter, with a portion (based on value) of our valuations of portfolio companies without readily available market quotations subject to review by an independent valuation firm each quarter. However, we may use these independent valuation firms to review the value of our investments more frequently, including in connection with the occurrence of significant events or changes in value affecting a particular investment. In addition, our independent registered public accounting firm obtains an understanding of, and performs select procedures relating to, our investment valuation process within the context of performing the integrated audit. The types of factors that may be considered in valuing our investments include the enterprise value of the portfolio company (the entire value of the portfolio company to a market participant, including the sum of the values of debt and equity securities used to capitalize the enterprise at a point in time), the nature and realizable value of any collateral, the portfolio company's ability to make payments and its earnings and discounted cash flows, the markets in which the portfolio company does business, a comparison of the portfolio company's securities to similar publicly traded securities, changes in the interest rate environment and the credit markets generally that may affect the price at which similar investments would trade in their principal markets and other relevant factors. When an external event such as a purchase transaction, public offering or subsequent equity sale occurs, we consider the pricing indicated by the external event to corroborate our valuation. Because such valuations, and particularly valuations of private investments and private companies, are inherently uncertain, may fluctuate over short periods of time and may be based on estimates, our determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would have been used if a ready market for these investments existed and may differ materially from the values that we may ultimately realize. Our net asset value per share could be adversely affected if our determinations regarding the fair value of these investments are higher than the values that we realize upon disposition of such investments.

General interest rate fluctuations may have a substantial negative impact on our investments and investment opportunities and, accordingly, may have a material adverse effect on our investment objective and our net investment income. Because we borrow money and may issue debt securities or preferred stock to make investments, our net investment income is dependent upon the difference between the rate at which we borrow funds or pay interest or dividends on such debt securities or preferred stock and the rate at which we invest these funds. If market rates decrease we may earn less interest income from investments made during such lower rate environment. From time to time, we may also enter into certain hedging transactions to mitigate our exposure to changes in interest rates. In the past, we have entered into certain hedging transactions, such as interest rate swap agreements, to mitigate our exposure to adverse fluctuations in interest rates, and we may do so again in the future. In addition, we may increase our floating rate investments to position the portfolio for rate increases. However, we cannot assure you that such transactions will be successful in mitigating our exposure to interest rate risk. There can be no assurance that a significant change in market interest rates will not have a material adverse effect on our net investment income. Trading prices tend to fluctuate more for fixed-rate securities that have longer maturities. Although we have no policy governing the maturities of our investments, under current market conditions we expect that we will invest in a portfolio of debt generally having maturities of up to 10 years. Trading prices for debt that pays a fixed rate of return tend to fall as interest rates rise. This means that we are subject to greater risk (other things being equal) than a fund invested solely in shorter-term securities. A decline in the prices of the debt we own could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock. Also, an increase in interest rates available to investors could make an investment in our common stock less attractive if we are not able to increase our dividend rate, which could reduce the value of our common stock.

Our investment adviser is entitled to income based fees for each fiscal quarter in an amount equal to a percentage of the excess of our pre-incentive fee net investment income for that quarter (before deducting any income based fee and capital gains incentive fees and certain other items) above a threshold return for that quarter. Our pre-incentive fee net investment income for income based fee purposes excludes realized and unrealized capital losses or depreciation and income taxes related to realized gains that we may incur in the fiscal quarter, even if such capital losses or depreciation and income taxes related to realized gains result in a net loss on our statement of operations for that quarter. Thus, we may be required to pay our investment adviser income based fees for a fiscal quarter even if there is a decline in the value of our portfolio or the net asset value of our common stock or we incur a net loss for that quarter. Under the investment advisory and management agreement, we will defer cash payment of any income based fee and the capital gains incentive fee otherwise earned by our investment adviser if, during the most recent four full calendar quarter periods ending on or prior to the date such payment is to be made, the sum of (a) our aggregate distributions to our stockholders and (b) our change in net assets (defined as total assets less indebtedness and before taking into account any income based fees or capital gains incentive fees accrued during the period) is less than 7.0% of our net assets (defined as total assets less indebtedness) at the beginning of such period. These calculations will be adjusted for any share issuances or repurchases. Any such deferred fees will be carried over for payment in subsequent calculation periods to the extent such payment can then be made under the investment advisory and management agreement. If a portfolio company defaults on a loan that is structured to provide interest, it is possible that accrued and unpaid interest previously used in the calculation of income based fees will become uncollectible. Our investment adviser is not under any obligation to reimburse us for any part of income based fees it received that was based on accrued income that we never receive.

Conflicts may arise in allocating and structuring investments, time, services, expenses or resources among the investment activities of Ares funds, Ares, other Ares-affiliated entities and the employees of Ares. Certain of our executive officers and directors, and members of the investment committee of our investment adviser, serve or may serve as officers, directors or principals of other entities and affiliates of our investment adviser and investment funds managed by our investment adviser or its affiliates. Accordingly, they may have obligations to investors in those entities, the fulfillment of which might not be in our or our stockholders' best interests or may require them to devote time to services for other entities, which could interfere with the time available to provide services to us. Members of our investment adviser's investment committee may have significant responsibilities for other Ares funds. Similarly, although the professional staff of our investment adviser will devote as much time to the management of us as appropriate to enable our investment adviser to perform its duties in accordance with the investment advisory and management agreement, the investment professionals of our investment adviser may have conflicts in allocating their time and services among us, on the one hand, and investment vehicles managed by our investment adviser or one or more of its affiliates, on the other hand. These activities could be viewed as creating a conflict of interest insofar as the time and effort of the professional staff of our investment adviser and its officers and employees will not be devoted exclusively to our business but will instead be allocated between our business and the management of these other investment vehicles. In addition, certain Ares funds may have investment objectives that compete or overlap with, and may from time to time invest in asset classes similar to those targeted by, Ares Capital. Consequently, we, on the one hand, and these other entities, on the other hand, may from time to time pursue the same or similar capital and investment opportunities. Ares and our investment adviser endeavor to allocate investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner, and in any event consistent with any fiduciary duties owed to Ares Capital. Nevertheless, it is possible that we may not be given the opportunity to participate in certain investments made by investment funds managed by investment managers affiliated with Ares (including our investment adviser). In addition, there may be conflicts in the allocation of investments among us and the funds managed by investment managers affiliated with Ares (including our investment adviser) or one or more of our controlled affiliates or among the funds they manage, including investments made pursuant to the Co-investment Exemptive Order. Further, such other Ares-managed funds may hold positions in portfolio companies in which Ares Capital has also invested. Such investments may raise potential conflicts of interest between Ares Capital and such other Ares-managed funds, particularly if Ares Capital and such other Ares-managed funds invest in different classes or types of securities or investments of the same underlying portfolio company. In that regard, actions may be taken by such other Ares-managed funds that are adverse to Ares Capital's interests, including, but not limited to, during a restructuring, bankruptcy or other insolvency proceeding or similar matter occurring at the underlying portfolio company. We have from time to time sold assets to IHAM and certain of the IHAM Vehicles and, as part of our investment strategy, we may offer to sell additional assets to vehicles managed by one or more of our affiliates (including IHAM) or we may purchase assets from vehicles managed by one or more of our affiliates (including IHAM). In addition, vehicles managed by one or more of our affiliates (including IHAM) may offer assets to or may purchase assets from one another. While assets may be sold or purchased at prices that are consistent with those that could be obtained from third parties in the marketplace,and although these types of transactions generally require approval of one or more independent parties, there may be an inherent conflict of interest in such transactions between us and funds managed by one of our affiliates (including our investment adviser). We pay a base management fee, an income based fee and a capital gains incentive fee to our investment adviser, and reimburse our investment adviser for certain expenses it incurs. Ares, from time to time, incurs fees, costs, and expenses on behalf of more than one fund. To the extent such fees, costs, and expenses are incurred for the account or benefit of more than one fund, each such fund will typically bear an allocable portion of any such fees, costs, and expenses in proportion to the size of its investment in the activity or entity to which such expense relates (subject to the terms of each fund's governing documents) or in such other manner as Ares considers fair and equitable under the circumstances such as the relative fund size or capital available to be invested by such funds. Where a fund's governing documents do not permit the payment of a particular expense, Ares will generally pay such fund's allocable portion of such expense. In addition, investors in our common stock will invest on a gross basis and receive distributions on a net basis after expenses, resulting in, among other things, a lower rate of return than one might achieve if distributions were made on a gross basis. Our investment adviser's base management fee is based on a percentage of our total assets (other than cash or cash equivalents but including assets purchased with borrowed funds) and, consequently, our investment adviser may have conflicts of interest in connection with decisions that could affect our total assets, such as decisions as to whether to incur indebtedness or to make future investments. We are currently allowed to borrow amounts such that our asset coverage, as calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act, equals at least 150% after such borrowing (i.e., we are able to borrow up to two dollars for every dollar we have in assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities issued by us). Accordingly, our investment adviser may have conflicts of interest in connection with decisions to use increased leverage permitted under our asset coverage requirement applicable to senior securities, as the incurrence of such additional indebtedness would result in an increase in the base management fees payable to our investment adviser and may also result in an increase in the income based fees and capital gains incentive fees payable to our investment adviser. The income based fees payable by us to our investment adviser that relate to our pre-incentive fee net investment income is computed and paid on income that may include interest that is accrued but not yet received in cash. If a portfolio company defaults on a loan that is structured to provide accrued interest, it is possible that accrued interest previously used in the calculation of such fee will become uncollectible. Our investment adviser is not under any obligation to reimburse us for any part of the income based fees it received that were based on accrued interest that we never actually receive. Our investment advisory and management agreement renews for successive annual periods if approved by our board of directors or by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of our outstanding voting securities, including, in either case, approval by a majority of our directors who are not "interested persons" of us as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act. However, both we and our investment adviser have the right to terminate the agreement without penalty upon 60 days' written notice to the other party. Moreover, conflicts of interest may arise if our investment adviser seeks to change the terms of our investment advisory and management agreement, including, for example, the terms for compensation to our investment adviser. While any material change to the investment advisory and management agreement must be submitted to stockholders for approval under the Investment Company Act, we may from time to time decide it is appropriate to seek stockholder approval to change the terms of the agreement. We are party to an administration agreement with our administrator, Ares Operations, a subsidiary of Ares Management, pursuant to which our administrator furnishes us with administrative services and we pay our administrator at cost our allocable portion of overhead and other expenses (including travel expenses) incurred by our administrator in performing its obligations under our administration agreement, including our allocable portion of the compensation, rent, and other expenses of certain of our officers (including our chief compliance officer, chief financial officer, chief accounting officer, general counsel, secretary, treasurer and assistant treasurer) and their respective staffs, but not investment professionals. Our portfolio company, IHAM, is party to an administration agreement, referred to herein as the "IHAM administration agreement," with Ares Operations. Pursuant to the IHAM administration agreement, our administrator provides IHAM with administrative services and IHAM reimburses our administrator for all of the actual costs associated with such services, including its allocable portion of our administrator's overhead and the cost of our administrator's officers and respective staff in performing its obligations under the IHAM administration agreement. Prior to entering into the IHAM administration agreement, IHAM was party to a services agreement with our investment adviser, pursuant to which our investment adviser provided similar services. As a result of the arrangements described above, there may be times when the management team of Ares Management (including those members of management focused primarily on managing Ares Capital) has interests that differ from those of our stockholders, giving rise to a conflict. Our stockholders may have conflicting investment, tax and other objectives with respect to their investments in us. The conflicting interests of individual stockholders may relate to or arise from, among other things, the nature of our investments, the structure or the acquisition of our investments, and the timing of dispositions of our investments. As a consequence, conflicts of interest may arise in connection with decisions made by our investment adviser, including with respect to the nature or structuring of our investments, that may be more beneficial for one stockholder than for another stockholder, especially with respect to stockholders' individual tax situations. In selecting and structuring investments appropriate for us, our investment adviser will consider the investment and tax objectives of the Company and our stockholders, as a whole, not the investment, tax or other objectives of any stockholder individually.

The fees payable by us to our investment adviser may create an incentive for our investment adviser to make investments on our behalf that are risky or more speculative than would be the case in the absence of such compensation arrangement. The way in which income based fees payable to our investment adviser are determined, which are calculated as a percentage of the return on invested capital, may encourage our investment adviser to use leverage to increase the return on our investments. Under certain circumstances, the use of leverage may increase the likelihood of default, which would disfavor the holders of our common stock and the holders of securities convertible into our common stock. In addition, our investment adviser will receive the capital gains incentive fee based, in part, upon net capital gains realized on our investments. Unlike income based fees, there is no hurdle rate applicable to the capital gains incentive fee. As a result, our investment adviser may have a tendency to invest more in investments that are likely to result in capital gains as compared to income producing securities. Such a practice could result in our investing in more speculative securities than would otherwise be the case, which could result in higher investment losses, particularly during economic downturns. The income based fees are computed and paid on income that has been accrued but not yet received in cash, including as a result of investments with a deferred interest feature such as debt instruments with PIK interest, preferred stock with PIK dividends and zero coupon securities. If a portfolio company defaults on a loan that is structured to provide accrued interest, it is possible that accrued interest previously used in the calculation of the income based fee will become uncollectible. Our investment adviser is not under any obligation to reimburse us for any part of the fees it received that were based on such accrued interest that we never actually received. Because of the structure of the income based fees, it is possible that we may have to pay income based fees in a quarter during which we incur a loss. For example, if we receive pre-incentive fee net investment income in excess of the hurdle rate for a quarter, we will pay the applicable income based fees even if we have incurred a loss in that quarter due to realized and/or unrealized capital losses. In addition, if market interest rates rise, our investment adviser may be able to invest our funds in debt instruments that provide for a higher return, which would increase our pre-incentive fee net investment income and make it easier for our investment adviser to surpass the fixed hurdle rate and receive income based fees.

Borrowings, also known as leverage, magnify the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and, therefore, increase the risks associated with investing in our securities. We currently borrow under the Facilities and have issued or assumed other senior securities, and in the future may borrow from, or issue additional senior securities to, banks, insurance companies, funds, institutional investors and other lenders and investors. Lenders and holders of such senior securities have fixed dollar claims on our consolidated assets that are superior to the claims of our common stockholders or any preferred stockholders. If the value of our consolidated assets increases, then leveraging would cause the net asset value per share of our common stock to increase more sharply than it would have had we not incurred leverage. Conversely, if the value of our consolidated assets decreases, leveraging would cause net asset value to decline more sharply than it otherwise would have had we not incurred leverage. Similarly, any increase in our consolidated income in excess of consolidated interest payable on the borrowed funds would cause our net income to increase more than it would had we not incurred leverage, while any decrease in our consolidated income would cause net income to decline more sharply than it would have had we not incurred leverage. Such a decline could negatively affect our ability to make common stock dividend payments. There can be no assurance that a leveraging strategy will be successful. As of December 31, 2021, we had approximately $2.7 billion of outstanding borrowings under the Facilities, approximately $791 million aggregate principal amount of unsecured convertible notes outstanding comprised of $388 million aggregate principal amount of unsecured convertible notes that mature on February 1, 2022 (the "2022 Convertible Notes") and $403 million aggregate principal amount of unsecured convertible notes that mature on March 1, 2024 (the "2024 Convertible Notes" and together with the 2022 Convertible Notes, the "Convertible Unsecured Notes") and approximately $7.6 billion in aggregate principal amount outstanding of senior unsecured notes comprised of $750 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes that mature on February 10, 2023 and bear interest at a rate of 3.500% (the "2023 Notes"), $900 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes that mature on June 10, 2024 and bear interest at a rate of 4.200% (the "2024 Notes"), $600 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes that mature on March 1, 2025 and bear interest at a rate of 4.250% (the "March 2025 Notes"), $1,250 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes that mature on July 15, 2025 and bear interest at a rate of 3.250% (the "July 2025 Notes"), $1,150 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes that mature on January 15, 2026 and bear interest at a rate of 3.875% (the "January 2026 Notes"), $1,000 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes that mature on July 15, 2026 and bear interest at a rate of 2.150% (the "July 2026 Notes"), $500 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes that mature on June 15, 2027 and bear interest at a rate of 2.875% (the "2027 Notes"), $1,250 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes that mature on June 15, 2028 and bear interest at a rate of 2.875% (the "2028 Notes") and $700 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes that mature on November 15, 2031 and bear interest at a rate of 3.200% (the "2031 Notes" and together with the 2023 Notes, the 2024 Notes, the March 2025 Notes, the July 2025 Notes, the January 2026 Notes, the July 2026 Notes, the 2028 Notes, the "Unsecured Notes"). In order for us to cover our annual interest payments on our outstanding indebtedness at December 31, 2021, we must achieve annual returns on our December 31, 2021 total assets of at least 1.6%. The weighted average stated interest rate charged on our principal amount of outstanding indebtedness as of December 31, 2021 was 3.1%. See "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Recent Developments," as well as Note 15 to our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 for subsequent events relating to the Unsecured Notes and the 2022 Convertible Notes. We intend to continue borrowing under the Facilities in the future and we may increase the size of the Facilities or issue additional debt securities or other evidences of indebtedness (although there can be no assurance that we will be successful in doing so). For more information on our indebtedness, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations-Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources." Our ability to service our debt depends largely on our financial performance and is subject to prevailing economic conditions and competitive pressures. The amount of leverage that we employ at any particular time will depend on our investment adviser's and our board of directors' assessments of market and other factors at the time of any proposed borrowing. We are currently allowed to borrow amounts such that our asset coverage, as calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act, equals at least 150% after such borrowing (i.e., we are able to borrow up to two dollars for every dollar we have in assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities issued by us). The Facilities, the Convertible Unsecured Notes and the Unsecured Notes impose financial and operating covenants that restrict our business activities, including limitations that could hinder our ability to finance additional loans and investments or to make the distributions required to maintain our status as a RIC. A failure to renew the Facilities or to add new or replacement debt facilities or to issue additional debt securities or other evidences of indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The following table illustrates the effect on return to a holder of our common stock of the leverage created by our use of borrowing at the weighted average stated interest rate of 3.1% as of December 31, 2021, together with (a) our total value of net assets as of December 31, 2021; (b) approximately $11.1 billion in aggregate principal amount of indebtedness outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and (c) hypothetical annual returns on our portfolio of minus 15% to plus 15%. Assumed Return on Portfolio (Net of Expenses)(1)-15.00 %-10.00 %-5.00 %- %5.00 %10.00 %15.00 %Corresponding Return to Common Stockholders(2)-39.11 %-27.36 %-15.60 %-3.85 %7.90 %19.65 %31.41 %_______________________________________________________________________________(1)The assumed portfolio return is required by SEC regulations and is not a prediction of, and does not represent, our projected or actual performance. Actual returns may be greater or less than those appearing in the table. Pursuant to SEC regulations, this table is calculated as of December 31, 2021. As a result, it has not been updated to take into account any changes in assets or leverage since December 31, 2021. (2)In order to compute the "Corresponding Return to Common Stockholders," the "Assumed Return on Portfolio" is multiplied by the total value of our assets at December 31, 2021 to obtain an assumed return to us. From this amount, the interest expense (calculated by multiplying the weighted average stated interest rate of 3.1% by the approximately $11.1 billion of principal debt outstanding) is subtracted to determine the return available to stockholders. The return available to stockholders is then divided by the total value of our net assets as of December 31, 2021 to determine the "Corresponding Return to Common Stockholders."