Blair Jacobson

Partner & Co-President, Ares Management

Search every verified Blair Jacobson interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Blair Jacobson, co-president of Ares Management, discussed private markets in two media appearances in June 2026. At SuperReturn International, he described a "disconnect between market anxiety and the fundamental performance" he is seeing, stating that portfolio companies are growing 8 to 12% per year and that non-accrual rates are lower than historical averages. He called AI-driven infrastructure investment a "supercycle megatrend of our lifetimes," citing a projected $2 trillion opportunity over five years to build data centers and $1.5 trillion to power them. Jacobson also noted that Ares is increasing its market share as fundraising concentrates among larger managers. In a Bloomberg interview, Jacobson said that most companies prefer to remain private due to the availability of capital from private equity, credit, and infrastructure sources. He pointed to a trend of declining public company listings and stated that institutions continue to back private funds because they need asset returns to meet growing liabilities. Jacobson reported that Ares had record fundraising for two consecutive years and expected another record in 2026.