Apollo CEO Dismisses Systemic Risk Concerns in Private Credit

(Bloomberg) — Apollo Global Management Inc. Chief Executive officer Marc Rowan rejected the notion that adding private assets to retirement and insurance portfolios can pose a systemic risk, calling concerns about such holdings overblown.

Most private credit held by insurers and pension fund buyers is rated investment grade, Rowan told investors Monday. He countered the idea that the asset class lacks transparency compared to conventional loans, stating lenders have direct access to borrowers’ management.

Apollo’s exchange-traded private credit fund with State street Corp., for example, provides daily price updates. The firm has also traded $6 billion in its investment-grade private credit business.

“People have really just lost their minds,and the headlines get more and more hysterical and have almost nothing to do with the substance,” Rowan said during a presentation.