Working as an associate at private equity firm Apollo is a highly desired seat, associated with very high pay and very hard work. Unfortunately, the fruits of these labours may be less juicy in the future.
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Speaking yesterday, Bloomberg reports that Apollo president Jim Zelter said it will be harder to get investments approved at Apollo from now on. “It’s not your father’s economy,” declared Zelter. “There’s lots of challenges between geopolitics and concerns about inflation and the return of invested capital and AI.”
The circumspection of Zelter, who was once a high yield trader at Goldman Sachs but who has worked for Apollo since 2006, follows a pre-Christmas comment from Apollo’s friendly CEO, Marc Rowan. The Financial Times heard Rowan speak at private meetings at a Goldman Sachs conference, where Rowan reportedly mentioned that Apollo is in “risk-reduction mode,” and that his main job is now to “have the best balance sheet possible” so that Apollo is positioned to perform “when something bad happens”.
With junior bankers queuing up to join Apollo during this year’s on-cycle private equity interview frenzy in America, Zelter and Rowan’s comments are a reminder that this could be an interesting moment to join the firm. Apollo pays its associates very well; packages of $400k+ are thought to be within the bounds of possibility. However, earning this money can be a gruelling experience, with even the gentle Rowan joking (?) that he likes to wake his people up at 4.30am.
Link: https://www.efinancialcareers.com/news/apollo-associates