Apollo PE division (London office) - Interview Advice

Does anyone have experience with Apollo interview process in London - or any other city? What do the first round interviews look like?
Also, where do I get prep material for the distressed investment part? I work at a BB, so have zero exposure to restructuring and wouldn't even know what to expect in terms of questions.
The data base says you should know about how to calculate YTM of different debt securities, capital structures, recoveries etc?

Any advice appreciated!

 

Anyone any insights?

Also, what do you think about reaching out to current employees across divisions at the fund on linkedin - alumni of my school or my current bank - to have talking points when it comes to "Why Apollo?" Just wondering whether cold-emailing ahead of interviews is too much / does not add value, especially when these people are not part of the PE division.

 
Best Response

The interview will probably be super focused on technicals, but they probably won't expect you to have a ton of knowledge on restructuring / distressed if you haven't spent time there before. That said, you should know the absolute basics (e.g. simple YTM calcs, high-level differences with the types of debt a company can raise, etc.), and the more you know the better. Might be helpful to read the Moyer distressed book or "The Pragmatists Guide to Leveraged Finance" if you're serious about moving towards more credit heavy / distressed investing.

The "why apollo" question will be pretty important as well. Make sure you have a good sense for the types of investments Apollo does (typically large, contrarian, and super value-oriented) and why it fits with what you want to do.

Good luck.

 

Thanks for this.

I know now that the interview will be done by a partner and second one by an associate - partner interview should be more fit and motivation focused (which I would expect given the seniority).

@wanderer have you interviewed with them before in London?

 

Also, how do you guys approach the prep for having 1-2 investment ideas ready?

I would assume you’d take companies you have worked with but I am wondering if it is ok to take a firm from my deal experience list? I find this quite difficult unless you have the time to properly research a new firm ahead of your interview.

 

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