Why Private Assets Are Essential: Masters in Business with Stephanie Drescher

What It Covers

Stephanie Drescher, Apollo's Chief Client and Product Development Officer, explains how private markets evolved from niche investments to essential portfolio components, managing $840 billion across private equity, credit, and infrastructure for institutional and wealth clients.

Key Questions Answered

• •Portfolio allocation shift: Institutions average 20% allocation to private markets while individuals hold only 3%, despite wealth and institutional markets each totaling $150 trillion globally. This gap represents massive growth opportunity as wealth clients seek institutional-level returns and diversification benefits.
• •Co-investment alignment: Apollo invests as much as two-thirds of certain strategy portfolios from its own balance sheet alongside clients, far exceeding the industry standard 2.5-5% commitment. This shared outcome model ensures investment decisions benefit both the firm and third-party capital equally.
• •Proprietary origination engines: Apollo built 16 proprietary origination platforms across fleet finance, aviation, trucking, consumer finance, and specialty lending. This in-house deal creation capability differentiates performance rather than relying solely on AUM scale, generating investment alpha through exclusive opportunities.
• •Liquidity spectrum strategy: Private market structures now range from daily liquid ETFs containing private assets to traditional seven-year lockups, matching investment duration to underlying asset life. Two-year credit notes offer monthly liquidity while maintaining illiquidity premium, enabling 50% portfolio allocations.