FCNCA vs ARES Comparison

First Citizens is a US regional bank with total assets of over $230 billion as of Sept. 30, 2025. Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, First Citizens' largest markets are North Carolina, South Carolina, and California. The bank has a track record of making troubled bank acquisitions from the FDIC, like the 2023 acquisition of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, which doubled its asset base. First Citizens offers products and services across retail, commercial, wealth management, and railcar leasing. First Citizens derived over 95% of its earnings from banking and less than 5% from railcar leasing in 2024.

Ares Management is one of the world's largest alternative-asset managers, with $595.7 billion in total assets under management, or AUM, including $367.6 billion in fee-earning AUM, at the end of September 2025. The company has four main business segments: private credit ($391.5 billion in total AUM and $240.2 billion in fee-earning AUM), private equity, ($25.1 billion/$11.8 billion), real estate/real assets ($132.4 billion/$80.5 billion), and other alternatives ($46.7 billion/$35.1 billion). The firm primarily serves institutional investors (80% of AUM) and high-net-worth individuals (20%). Ares operates through more than 35 offices in over 15 countries around the globe.