Ares Closes Record $4 Billion Japan Logistics Fund

Ares Management has closed a JPY 612 billion ($4 billion) fund for logistics development in Japan. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) supplied a JPY 150 billion cornerstone commitment, representing 24.5 percent of the total capital.

According to a release from the Los Angeles-based firm, the Japan Logistics Development Partners V (JDP V) fund is nearly 50 percent larger than its predecessor, which closed at JPY 412 billion in 2021. Other investors included pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurers, and financial institutions from North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East.

Julie Solomon, partner and head of Ares Real Estate, said the successful close reflects the team's track record and the compelling opportunities in the country. "The successful close of our largest closed-end real estate fund to date reflects the strength of the team’s track record, the compelling opportunity set in Japan and the benefits of Ares’ scaled real estate platform," Solomon stated.

Fund Strategy and Platform

The fund's closing follows Ares's acquisition of GCP International in March 2025, a deal through which it inherited the Japan development fund series. That transaction also provided Ares with a broader Asia Pacific logistics and digital infrastructure platform, including data centre developer Ada Infrastructure.

The acquired property funds have been integrated into Ares's Marq Logistics platform. Marq will develop and operate JDP V's facilities. At the end of June, Marq managed 120 million square feet of warehouse space in the nation and over 655 million square feet globally.

Investment Focus and Capacity

JDP V is targeting modern logistics facilities in Japan's three major metropolitan areas: Greater Tokyo, Greater Osaka, and Nagoya. The fund has a total investment capacity of JPY 1.7 trillion ($11 billion). Ares reported that the fund has already committed to projects representing JPY 450 billion in total investment, using roughly 26 percent of its capacity, alongside a proprietary pipeline.

Investor Commitment and Market View

Gilles Chow, head of Asia Pacific real estate at CPPIB, highlighted the pension fund's long-term strategy. "For more than a decade, we have invested in Japan’s logistics sector as part of our global strategy to deploy long-term capital in high-conviction markets and sectors," Chow said.

CPPIB was a founding investor in the JDP series and has participated in every fund since its launch in 2011. The institution cited resilient demand, evolving supply chains, and rental growth prospects as reasons for its latest commitment.

The partnership extends beyond logistics. CPPIB has also committed $1.3 billion to Ares's Japan DC Partners I, a $2.4 billion data centre fund that closed in June 2025 and is targeting three campuses in Greater Tokyo.

CPPIB's recent Asia Pacific activity includes several other investments below.

In the second quarter, the Japan vehicle drew $1.6 billion in committed equity and $200 million in debt commitments. This helped Ares raise a company-wide record of $36.4 billion. The firm had predicted the fund would reach its hard cap later in the year.

CPPIB last month reported a net return of 7.5 percent for the first quarter of its fiscal 2027, its strongest quarterly performance in over a decade. Its net assets climbed 9 percent to C$863.6 billion ($623 billion), with a 10-year annualised net return of 9.4 percent.