Advertisement
ARES vs STEP
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Ares Management Corporation (ARES) vs. StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- Ares Management Corporation (ARES) and StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) both operate in the alternative asset management and private markets sector, providing exposure to credit, private equity, and related strategies.
- Recent market activity shows ARES exhibiting stronger price resilience amid broader sector interest in alternative investments, while STEP has experienced more pronounced volatility with notable rebounds in late July 2026.
- Both companies benefit from institutional demand for private markets solutions, though ARES maintains a larger scale in assets under management (AUM) compared to STEP's more specialized fund-of-funds and advisory focus.
- Sector sentiment remains supported by steady capital flows into alternatives, with relative performance influenced by earnings consistency and market positioning rather than single events.
- Investors comparing the two often weigh ARES's diversified credit platform against STEP's customized private markets advisory services and benchmarking tools.
- Market positioning highlights trade-offs in scale, growth drivers, and exposure to fee-based recurring revenue streams.
Introduction
Alternative asset managers Ares Management Corporation (ARES) and StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) offer distinct yet overlapping approaches to private markets investing. This comparison examines their business models, recent performance trends, and relative positioning in the current environment of sustained interest in non-traditional assets. Professional traders and institutional investors seeking diversified exposure within the financial services sector may find this analysis relevant for evaluating sector peers with different operational emphases and risk profiles.
ARES Overview and Recent Performance
Ares Management Corporation (ARES) operates as a global alternative asset manager with significant operations in credit, private equity, and real estate. The firm manages substantial assets under management (AUM) and derives revenue primarily from management and performance fees. In recent weeks, ARES has demonstrated relative stability in its stock price trajectory, supported by ongoing institutional allocations to alternative strategies. Market activity reflects steady sentiment around the firm's diversified lending and direct investment platforms, with performance influenced by broader equity market conditions and capital deployment trends rather than isolated catalysts.
STEP Overview and Recent Performance
StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) functions as a private markets solutions provider specializing in primary investments, secondaries, co-investments, and advisory services across private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and private debt. The company also offers benchmarking and data tools. Recent market activity has featured more pronounced price fluctuations for STEP, including a rebound in late July 2026 following earlier pressure. Sentiment has been shaped by sector-wide considerations around private markets fundraising and the firm's expansion into areas such as defined contribution solutions and evergreen strategies.
Trending AI Robots
Tickeron maintains a curated Trending AI Robots section on its platform, which highlights select AI trading bots from a broader library of hundreds available. These bots cover thousands of tickers and employ varied trading styles, strategies, timeframes, and performance statistics tailored to different market conditions. Only those demonstrating suitability for prevailing environments earn placement in the trending section, allowing users to explore options with distinct risk-return profiles and ticker sets. The resource provides factual data on bot metrics to support informed review. Visit Trending AI Robots for additional details.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Ares Management Corporation (ARES) emphasizes scale in credit and direct lending, offering broad exposure to middle-market financing, while StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) focuses on customized fund investments, secondaries, and data-driven advisory across multiple private asset classes. Growth drivers differ, with ARES benefiting from its larger AUM base and recurring fee income, contrasted against STEP's emphasis on specialized solutions and recent product launches. Recent momentum shows ARES with comparatively steadier price behavior, whereas STEP has displayed higher volatility tied to private markets sentiment. Risk factors include interest rate sensitivity for both, though ARES's credit orientation may present different exposure profiles than STEP's multi-strategy approach. Sector exposure centers on alternatives for each, with market sentiment reflecting institutional demand tempered by macroeconomic variables.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Based on observable factors such as trend consistency and relative positioning in recent market activity, Tickeron’s AI would currently assign a probabilistic edge to Ares Management Corporation (ARES) due to its demonstrated resilience and scale advantages within the alternative asset space. StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) remains competitive given its specialized capabilities and rebound potential. This assessment draws from verifiable performance patterns and does not constitute investment guidance.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is ARES is a Buy and STEP is a Hold.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
ARES’s FA Score shows that 0 FA rating(s) are green whileSTEP’s FA Score has 1 green FA rating(s).
- ARES’s FA Score: 0 green, 5 red.
- STEP’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
ARES’s TA Score shows that 8 TA indicator(s) are bullish while STEP’s TA Score has 5 bullish TA indicator(s).
- ARES’s TA Score: 8 bullish, 2 bearish.
- STEP’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 2 bearish.
Price Growth
ARES (@Investment Managers) experienced а +1.25% price change this week, while STEP (@Investment Managers) price change was +2.93% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Investment Managers industry was +0.71%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -2.05%, and the average quarterly price growth was -9.92%.
Reported Earning Dates
ARES is expected to report earnings on Oct 22, 2026.
STEP is expected to report earnings on Aug 06, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Investment Managers (+0.71% weekly)Investment Managers manage financial assets and other investments of clients. Management includes designing a short- or long-term strategy for buying/holding and selling of portfolio holdings. It can also include tax services and other aspects of financial planning as well. While it is perceived that the industry is faced with growing competition from robo-advisors/digital platforms and passive/ index-tracking funds, many investors still find value in actively managed in-person services that investment management companies often emphasize on. At the same time, many wealth managers are also incorporating digital initiatives/low cost options in addition to their in-person customized services. Their main sources of revenues are fees as a percentage of assets under management, in addition to a certain portion of clients’ gains from asset appreciation. BlackRock, Inc., Blackstone Group Inc and Brookfield Asset Management are some of the major investment management companies.
| ARES | STEP | ARES / STEP | |
| Capitalization | 28.9B | 3.61B | 801% |
| EBITDA | 2.23B | -826.94M | -269% |
| Gain YTD | -18.863 | -29.930 | 63% |
| P/E Ratio | 59.03 | 104.85 | 56% |
| Revenue | 5.91B | 1.99B | 296% |
| Total Cash | N/A | N/A | - |
| Total Debt | 14.1B | 1.31B | 1,080% |
ARES | STEP | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 39 | 33 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 67 Overvalued | 69 Overvalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 57 | 75 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 97 | 100 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 51 | 62 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 94 | 4 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
ARES's Valuation (67) in the Investment Managers industry is in the same range as STEP (69) in the null industry. This means that ARES’s stock grew similarly to STEP’s over the last 12 months.
ARES's Profit vs Risk Rating (57) in the Investment Managers industry is in the same range as STEP (75) in the null industry. This means that ARES’s stock grew similarly to STEP’s over the last 12 months.
ARES's SMR Rating (97) in the Investment Managers industry is in the same range as STEP (100) in the null industry. This means that ARES’s stock grew similarly to STEP’s over the last 12 months.
ARES's Price Growth Rating (51) in the Investment Managers industry is in the same range as STEP (62) in the null industry. This means that ARES’s stock grew similarly to STEP’s over the last 12 months.
STEP's P/E Growth Rating (4) in the null industry is significantly better than the same rating for ARES (94) in the Investment Managers industry. This means that STEP’s stock grew significantly faster than ARES’s over the last 12 months.
| ARES | STEP | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 90% | N/A |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 56% | 4 days ago 77% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 78% | 4 days ago 71% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 78% | 4 days ago 79% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 76% | 4 days ago 76% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 72% | 4 days ago 78% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 7 days ago 77% | 4 days ago 75% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 5 days ago 66% | 6 days ago 73% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 8 days ago 82% | 4 days ago 84% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 68% | 4 days ago 65% |
Advertisement
STEP and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, STEP has been closely correlated with KKR. These tickers have moved in lockstep 74% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if STEP jumps, then KKR could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To STEP | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEP | 100% | +0.53% | ||
| KKR - STEP | 74% Closely correlated | +0.45% | ||
| HLNE - STEP | 73% Closely correlated | -0.04% | ||
| BX - STEP | 71% Closely correlated | -0.25% | ||
| ARES - STEP | 70% Closely correlated | +3.20% | ||
| TPG - STEP | 69% Closely correlated | +2.25% | ||
More | ||||