{"url_path":"/sec/cik-0001918712/8-k/2026-07-21/item-8-01","section_key":"item-8-01","section_title":"Item 8.01 Other Events.","topic":"sec","document":{"doc_type":"8-K","doc_date":"2026-07-21","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1918712/0001628280-26-049036-index.html","accession_number":"0001628280-26-049036","cik":"0001918712","ticker":null,"issuer_name":"ARES STRATEGIC INCOME FUND","edgar_url":"https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1918712/0001628280-26-049036-index.html","primary_entity_key":"0001918712","primary_entity_name":"ARES STRATEGIC INCOME FUND"},"word_count":2905,"has_tables":true,"body_markdown":"Item 8.01  Other Events.\n\nNet Asset Value \n\nThe NAV per share of each class of the Fund as of June 30, 2026, as determined in accordance with the valuation policies and procedures of Ares Capital Management LLC, the Fund’s investment adviser, was as follows:\n\nNAV as of June 30, 2026\n\nClass I $26.71 \n\nClass S $26.71 \n\nClass D $26.71 \n\nAs of June 30, 2026, the Fund’s aggregate NAV was approximately $10.2 billion, the fair value of its portfolio investments was approximately $21.8 billion, and it had approximately $12.2 billion of debt outstanding. The Fund’s debt-to-equity ratio as of June 30, 2026 was 1.19x, or 1.15x net of available cash of approximately $389 million. In addition, subject to borrowing base and other restrictions, the Fund had approximately $3.9 billion available for additional borrowings under its existing credit facilities as of June 30, 2026.\n\nJuly 2026 Distributions\n\nAs previously disclosed, the Fund announced the declaration of regular monthly distributions for each class of the Fund’s common shares of beneficial interest, including Class I shares, Class S shares and Class D shares (the “Common Shares”) in the amounts per share set forth below:\n\nGross DistributionShareholder Servicing and/or Distribution FeeNet Distribution\n\nClass I $0.21430 $0.00000 $0.21430 \n\nClass S $0.21430 $0.01928 $0.19502 \n\nClass D $0.21430 $0.00567 $0.20863 \n\nThe distributions for each class of Common Shares are payable to shareholders of record as of the open of business on July 31, 2026 and will be paid on or about August 21, 2026.\n\nThe July 2026 distributions will be paid in cash or reinvested in the Common Shares for shareholders participating in the Fund’s distribution reinvestment plan.\n\nAugust and September 2026 Distributions\n\nAs previously disclosed, the Fund announced the declaration of regular monthly gross distributions for August and September 2026, in each case for each class of its Common Shares in the amounts per share set forth below:\n\n Gross Distribution Per Share\n\nRecord DatePayment Date(1)Class IClass SClass D\n\nAugust 31, 2026September 23, 2026$0.21430 $0.21430 $0.21430 \n\nSeptember 30, 2026October 23, 2026$0.21430 $0.21430 $0.21430 \n\n________________________________________\n\n(1)The distributions for each class of the Fund’s Common Shares will be paid on or about the payment dates above.\n\nThese distributions will be paid in cash or reinvested in the Common Shares for shareholders participating in the Fund’s distribution reinvestment plan. The net distributions received by shareholders of each of the Class S shares and Class D shares will be equal to the gross distribution in the table above, less specific shareholder servicing and/or distribution fees applicable to such class of the Fund’s Common Shares as of their respective record dates. Class I shares have no shareholder servicing and/or distribution fees.\n\nPerformance Update 1\n\nThe Fund continues to deliver durable current income and sustained long-term outperformance relative to Morningstar LSTA US Leveraged Loan Index, which is designed to reflect the U.S. loan market’s weighted performance of institutional leveraged loans. Since inception through June 30, 2026, the Fund has generated a 9.94% annualized total return for Class I shares, outperforming leveraged loans shown on such index over the same period by 170 bps. 2, 3, 4, 5\n\nIn June 2026, the Fund generated a (0.28)% monthly total return for Class I shares, 3, 6 bringing the trailing 3-month total return to 1.88% for Class I shares. 3, 7 The June 2026 performance was largely characterized by durable income generation, which was more than offset by modest unrealized depreciation across the portfolio driven by broader market movements.\n\nAs of June 30, 2026, the Fund’s annualized distribution rate for Class I shares was 9.63%. 8\n\n1 The performance data quoted represents past performance and is not a guarantee of future results. Certain information presented is for a limited amount of time and is not representative of the long-term performance of the Fund. There can be no assurance that the Fund will achieve its investment objective or avoid substantial losses.\n\n2 Inception date for Class I shares is December 5, 2022 and August 1, 2023 for Class S shares and Class D shares. Annualized inception-to-date total return through June 30, 2026 is 9.32% for Class I shares with Upfront Placement Fees and Brokerage Commissions, 9.09% for Class D shares, 8.34% for Class D shares with Upfront Placement Fees and Brokerage Commissions, 8.44% for Class S shares, and 7.13% for Class S shares with Upfront Placement Fees and Brokerage Commissions.\n\n3 Performance is represented by total return, which is calculated as the change in monthly NAV per share during the period plus distributions per share (assuming any distributions, net of distribution and/or shareholder servicing fees, are reinvested in accordance with the Fund’s distribution reinvestment plan) divided by the beginning NAV per share, which is calculated after the deduction of ongoing expenses that are borne by investors, such as management fees, incentive fees, distribution and/or shareholder servicing fees, interest expense, offering costs, professional fees, trustee fees and other general and administrative expenses. Total return is presented prior to the impact of any upfront placement fees or brokerage commissions, see Footnote 5. Inception-to-date figures use the initial offering price of $25.00 per share as the beginning NAV. Total return and annualized distribution rates for the Fund’s other classes of common shares are lower than those presented with respect to Class I shares, due to distribution and/or shareholder servicing fees. Expense Ratios: Class I shares: Gross: 8.02% / Net: 8.02%, Class D shares: Gross: 8.28% / Net: 8.28%, Class S shares: Gross: 8.87% / Net: 8.87%, annualized as of March 31, 2026 (the latest available data). The net expense ratio reflects an Expense Support and Conditional Reimbursement Agreement between the Fund and its investment adviser. Pursuant to this agreement the Fund’s investment adviser may pay certain of the Fund’s expenses on the Fund’s behalf. Such payments are subject to recoupment or waiver at the option of the Fund’s investment adviser for a three-year period. This agreement may be terminated by either party at any time.\n\n4 U.S. leveraged loans are represented by the Morningstar LSTA US Leveraged Loan Index for the period from December 5, 2022 to June 30, 2026. This index is designed to reflect the U.S. loan market’s weighted performance of institutional leveraged loans based upon real-time market weightings, spreads and interest payments.\n\n5 The Fund does not charge investors an upfront sales load with respect to Class I shares, Class D shares or Class S shares. However, if you buy Class I shares, Class D shares or Class S shares through certain selling agents, they may directly charge you transaction or other fees, including upfront placement fees or brokerage commissions, in such amount as they may determine, provided that selling agents limit such charges to a maximum of 2.0% of NAV for Class I shares, 2.0% of NAV for Class D shares and 3.5% of NAV for Class S shares. Class I shares, Class D shares and Class S shares listed as With Upfront Placement Fees and Brokerage Commissions reflect the returns after the maximum upfront placement fees and brokerage commissions. Class I shares, Class D shares and Class S shares listed as Without Upfront Placement Fees and Brokerage Commissions exclude upfront placement fees and brokerage commissions.\n\n6 June 2026 1-month return is (0.30)% for Class D shares and (0.35)% for Class S shares.\n\n7 June 2026 trailing 3-month return is 1.81% for Class D shares and 1.66% for Class S shares.\n\n8 As of June 30, 2026, the annualized distribution rate is 9.38% for Class D shares and 8.78% for Class S shares. Distributions are not guaranteed. Distributions are calculated by annualizing the next month’s declared distribution per share and dividing by the most recent month-end NAV. Annualized distribution rates for the Fund’s other classes of common shares are lower than those presented with respect to Class I shares, due to differing fees and commissions. Annualized distribution rates do not represent the actual distribution rate for any 12-month period and annualized rates calculated based on a different time horizon than June 2026 will differ from, and may be lower than, the annualized rates shown. Distributions may be funded through cash flow from operations, as well as other sources including the sale of assets, borrowings, return of capital or offering proceeds. Distributions may be funded, directly or indirectly, from temporary waivers or expense reimbursements borne by the Fund’s investment adviser that may be subject to reimbursement. The Fund has not established limits on the amounts it may distribute from such sources. As of June 30, 2026, 100% of inception to date distributions were funded from cash flows from operations.\n\nPortfolio and Business Commentary\n\nAs of June 30, 2026, the Fund had investments in 828 portfolio companies with total fair value of approximately $21.8 billion, representing an average position size of 0.1%.9 As of June 30, 2026, 92% of the debt investments at fair value in the Fund’s portfolio were floating rate and 79% of the Fund’s investments were senior secured loans.\n\nAs of June 30, 2026, based on fair value, the Fund’s portfolio investments consisted of the following:\n\nAs of June 30, 2026\n\nPortfolio Investments\n\nFirst lien senior secured loans77.4 %\n\nSecond lien senior secured loans1.6 \n\nSenior subordinated loans5.8 \n\nCorporate bonds0.5 \n\nCollateralized loan obligations3.7 \n\nCommercial mortgage-backed securities0.7 \n\nPrivate asset-backed investments1.5 \n\nInvestments in joint ventures3.5 \n\nPreferred equity2.0 \n\nOther equity3.3 \n\nTotal100.0 %\n\nAs of June 30, 2026, the ten largest industries in which the Fund was invested, represented as a percentage of fair value, were as follows:\n\nAs of June 30, 2026\n\nIndustry\n\nSoftware and Services21.3 %\n\nCommercial and Professional Services9.8 %\n\nHealth Care Equipment and Services9.7 %\n\nInvestment Funds and Vehicles(1)8.9 %\n\nCapital Goods8.4 %\n\nConsumer Services6.6 %\n\nFinancial Services6.1 %\n\nInsurance4.9 %\n\nSports, Media and Entertainment4.1 %\n\nPharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Life Sciences3.3 %\n\n________________________________________\n\n(1)Includes the Fund’s investments in a joint venture established between the Fund and a large North American pension fund.\n\nStatus of Offering\n\nThe Fund is currently publicly offering on a continuous basis up to $15.0 billion of its Common Shares, pursuant to a registered offering (the “Offering”). Additionally, the Fund has sold unregistered shares as part of private offerings (the “Private Placements”). The following table lists the Common Shares issued and total consideration for both the Offering and the Private Placements as of the date of this filing, reflective of transfers between share classes. The table below does not include Common Shares issued through the Fund’s distribution reinvestment plan. The Fund intends to continue selling Common Shares in the Offering and in Private Placements on a monthly basis.\n\n________________________________________\n\n9 Average position size is determined by the average of the amortized cost for each portfolio company divided by total portfolio at amortized cost. Diversification does not assure profit or protect against market loss.\n\n(dollar amounts in millions)Common Shares IssuedTotal Consideration(1)\n\nRegistered Offering:\n\nClass I116,283,898 $3,180.2 \n\nClass S 51,191,218 $1,398.4 \n\nClass D 33,782,009 $926.1 \n\nPrivate Placements\n\nClass I239,360,659 $6,522.6 \n\nClass S— — \n\nClass D— — \n\nTotal Registered Offering and Private Placements*440,617,784 $12,027.3 \n\n________________________________________\n\n(1)No underwriting discounts or commissions have been or will be paid in connection with the sale of such common shares. Although the Fund does not charge investors an upfront sales load with respect to its common shares, if common shares are purchased through certain selling agents, such selling agents may directly charge shareholders transaction or other fees, including upfront placement fees or brokerage commissions, in such amount as they may determine, provided that selling agents limit such charges to a 2.0% cap on NAV for Class I common shares, a 3.5% cap on NAV for Class S common shares and a 2.0% cap on NAV for Class D common shares.\n\n*Amounts may not sum due to rounding.\n\nBoard Position on Cox’s Mini-Tender Offer\n\nThe Fund recently became aware of an unsolicited mini-tender offer by Cox Capital Partners and certain of its affiliates (collectively, “Cox”) to purchase up to 450,000 Class I shares of the Fund at a price of $22.95 per share, which represents a 15% discount to the NAV per Class I share as of May 31, 2026. The shares subject to Cox’s offer represent less than 0.15% of the Fund’s outstanding Class I shares as of May 31, 2026. The Fund and its investment adviser are not associated with Cox or its mini-tender offer and any related documentation that Cox may publish.\n\nThe Fund’s board of trustees (the “Board”) has reviewed Cox’s offer and determined that the offer is not advisable and is not in the best interests of the Fund’s shareholders because, among other things, the offer price is approximately 14% below the June 30, 2026 NAV per Class I share.\n\nThe Board recommends that shareholders reject Cox’s offer and not tender their shares. Shareholders who do not wish to tender do not need to take any action and may simply disregard Cox’s offer and materials.\n\nShareholders who have already tendered their shares pursuant to Cox’s offer should consider withdrawing them prior to the expiration of Cox’s offer. Shareholders or their representatives with questions may call the Fund’s transfer agent at (888) 310-9352.\n\nFor additional information on the Fund’s recent performance and market positioning, please refer to the Fund’s Q2 Tender Offer Update as filed with the SEC on June 25, 2026.\n\nThe information in this Current Report on Form 8-K (this “Current Report”) is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.\n\nForward-Looking Statements\n\nThis Current Report may contain words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “projects,” “estimates,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “likely,” “may” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements in this Current Report include these words. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to the Fund as of the date of on the cover of this Current Report. Except as required by the federal securities laws, the Fund undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking statements in this Current Report are excluded from the safe harbor protection provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. The Fund’s actual results and condition could differ materially from those implied or expressed in the\n\nforward-looking statements or from the Fund’s historical performance for any reason, including the factors set forth in “Risk Factors” in the Fund’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on March 9, 2026 and the other information included in this Current Report and in the Fund’s prospectus dated April 24, 2026 (the “Prospectus”), including the documents incorporated by reference into the Prospectus.\n\nThird-Party Information\n\nThis Current Report may contain information obtained from third parties. Reproduction and distribution of third-party content in any form is prohibited except with the prior written permission of the related third party. Third party content providers do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or availability of any information and are not responsible for any errors or omissions (negligent or otherwise), regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of such content. THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS GIVE NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE. THIRD PARTY CONTENT PROVIDERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY, COMPENSATORY, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, COSTS, EXPENSES, LEGAL FEES, OR LOSSES (INCLUDING LOST INCOME OR PROFITS AND OPPORTUNITY COSTS OR LOSSES CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE) IN CONNECTION WITH ANY USE OF THEIR CONTENT.\n\nAdditional Important Information\n\nIndices are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not indicative of any investment. They have not been selected to represent appropriate indices or targets for the Fund. Rather, the index shown is provided solely to illustrate the performance of well-known and widely recognized indices. Any comparisons herein of the investment performance of the Fund to an index are qualified as follows: (i) the volatility of such index will likely be materially different from that of the Fund; (ii) such index will, in many cases, employ different investment guidelines and criteria than the Fund and, therefore, holdings in the Fund will differ significantly from holdings of the securities that comprise such index and the Fund may invest in different asset classes altogether from the illustrative index, which may materially impact the performance of the Fund relative to the index; and (iii) the performance of such index is disclosed solely to allow for comparison on the Fund's performance to that of a well-known index. Comparisons to indices have limitations because indices have risk profiles, volatility, asset composition and other material characteristics that will differ from the fund. The indices do not reflect the deduction of fees or expenses. You cannot invest directly in an index. No representation is being made as to the risk profile of any benchmark or index relative to the risk profile of the Fund presented herein. There can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, or product will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance, or be suitable for a portfolio.\n\nSIGNATURE\n\n \n\nPursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.\n\n \n\n  ARES STRATEGIC INCOME FUND\n\n   \n\nDate: July 21, 2026  \n\n   \n\n By:/s/ SCOTT C. LEM\n\n Name:Scott C. Lem\n\n Title:Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer"}