Does Apollo now strictly recruit from PJT RX/EVR RX?
Interested in pursuing the 2+2 path after undergrad and I am fascinated with the types of deals/approach to investing that Apollo offers. Their focus on credit combined with the complexity of their deals seems like it makes for a great experience (despite how awful people say the culture is). A couple of questions:
1) aside from PJT RX / EVR RX, what other groups do they still recruit from? Does GS FIG / TMT still place well there?
2) How many new associates do they take on per year from on-cycle recruiting?
3) Is it even possible to get there if you're not from a top 5 IB group?
All insights are appreciated. Thanks
Yes to 1 and 3. Not sure on 2 but it’s year dependant. FYI ik ppl at Moelis coverage groups get 1R to APO PE
Can speak well of the seeming still strong pipeline of Moelis to Apollo. Was there in 2015-2017. Basically every analyst in nyc was invited to Apollo’s office for breakfast and pre on-cycle networking. My understanding is that Apollo likes Moelis people for a few reasons 1) culture has strong similarities and commonalities given milken / Drexel roots of both firms. Mutual respect and work style / ethic seem common. 2) Moelis gets analysts who were competitive / may have gone to any of the other big boutique banks in terms of skillset/knowledge base 3) the deals Moelis works on are fairly relevant for Apollo PE. Similar industry coverages. Similar kind of deals. From what I remember/know, Apollo was one of the biggest clients Moelis had among the sponsor community.
They also recruit from PJT M&A.
2025 class has 2 GS FIG (1 Private Equity +1 Fig & Strategy)
The Apollo. I want to work for the Apollo. Get me a job at the Apollo.
“But there are many other private equity firms that offer a similar experience!” I don’t care.
“There are other PE firms that pay more!” I don’t care.
“Other PE firms will not work you to the brink of emotional collapse!” I don’t care.
“You could be a billionaire PE investor and the richest man alive!” I don’t care.
Get me a job at the Apollo.
can you name the firms that pay more and offer a similar experience? Any besides cerberus?
H&F
Centerbridge
Two from EVR M&A just started this past month in the flagship PE group.
5 / 10 of the last departing PJT Rx analyst class got an Apollo offer
I think they’ll hire anyone that hits the (very high) bar. Barclays, BAML, Citi, GS, MS, boutiques.
Their rep has really taken a hit over the last few years. Returns, Leon being a pedo, and general trend of younger folks being less willing to stick a cake batter mixer up their rectum and it set it to High for 2 years.
True. They take from Citi and Barclays for sure.
Apollo is literally at this point an insurance company that generates float that deploys it in credit to generate FRE. Private equity is literally a side-hustle - if that. Oh and the original founders have all monetized so half of the carry pool is gone day-1. Their model of PE (massive take-privates of companies public markets don't like and private markets don't want) is also not really that portable anywhere else - not to mention that the cultural reality or stigma will also be a net negative for some places.
TLDR - rationally, there are probably at least 10 funds one should join/seriously consider before Apollo.
Let’s hear the 10
The sweet spot for a new associate assuming risk-averse and don't want to take on new fund risk are - (i) blue chip 'MF'/MF-adjacent private partnerships, and to a lesser extent (a bit more iffy) (ii) well-established/growing MM/UMM funds.
Category 1 - H&F, CD&R, Advent, Bain, Warburg, General Atlantic, Platinum, Silver Lake, TA, Summit (don't know enough about TB/Vista - those may be a product of the tech bubble of the last 15-years - unclear if they will be what they are in another 10 years from now once performance shakes out). These funds have for the most part been around for most of the beginning of the alternative investment era and remain private partnerships. They may shrink or grow over time, but likely to endure the next cycle and adapt
Category 2 - HIG, Veritas, KPS, Genstar, BDT/MSD - (12 months ago also American Securities, Clearlake, Centerbridge - but each of those have had their challenges). These are broadly the category of funds that are more solidly MM/UMM, have seen tremendous growth in the last ~10-years, but difficult to tell how much of that was outperformance of the market or lucky leverage on the right industry. This category also tends to have a bit more 'key-person' risk (1-2 founders at the helm - everyone else is really just an employee) and succession is not as clear
The Public Alts - Apollo, KKR, Blackstone (may be not Carlyle right this moment) are still nice spots for sure to land a position - but these firms are not what they were 15 or even 10-years ago. They are solidly public alternative asset managers with public shareholders that is squarely in the game of maximizing management fees - i.e., to become the Walmart of retail or Amazon of e-commerce (or even Blackrock which despite its mass-market products has a larger market cap than all the alts with the exception of Blackstone). Great brand - but working at these will be closer to working at a Goldman / J.P. Morgan than a private PE-focused partnership.
This is not an accurate take on the carry pool. It is true that the interest in carry which would accrue to the founders now accrues to common equity (note: much of which is owned by employees). For employees this is no different from 1-2 founder(s) owning 60-70% of the carry pool which is typical at a lot of funds.
Anyways, management (accurately) realized that public markets don’t value carried interest income highly - consequently, we have been reallocating the carry skew back to employees going forward. It’s a material shift.
The amount of cope here is absurd. 10 funds to consider. Rly? If you’re at a Harvard or Wharton and you go to PJT RSSG and then end up at Apollo, you have the most elite resume for a young professional in the world. No one is turning down Apollo for fucking American securities or veritas. Don’t think there’s a shop outside of certain HFs that is paying 28-30 year olds 2 million bucks a yr
Apologies for off-topic, but where can I find a dictionary with all the acronyms that get used here man. Most of the time, I have no clue what more than half of these are
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