Ralph Smith

Mr. Smith is a Partner and Head of Systematic Research in the Ares Credit Group, where he focuses on systematic credit quantitative risk and research. Additionally, Mr. Smith serves on the Ares Systematic Credit Investment Committee. Prior to joining Ares in 2026, Mr. Smith was the Head of Research at BlueCove Limited, an active systematic credit manager focused on long-short, total return and benchmarked solutions across global liquid credit markets. Previously, Mr. Smith was a Managing Director and Head of Research Innovation in the Systematic Fixed Income Team at BlackRock, where he was responsible for innovation in systematic long-short strategies across corporate credit, rates and asset allocation and chaired the group's Research Approval Committee. In addition, Mr. Smith led the Quantitative Research Team at State Street Global Advisors UK, where he developed quantitative strategies in fixed income, equity and FX markets. Mr. Smith holds an M.A. from Cambridge University in Mathematics, and an M.Sc. from Cass Business School in Mathematical Finance. He is a CFA® charterholder.