Apollo and Athene push for ‘the holy grail’: A reimagined defined benefit

Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management, likes to talk about markets, growth and opportunities. The idea of Athene, its annuity-selling subsidiary, gaining access to retirement plans excites Rowan.

The industry is creeping closer to a reimagined defined benefit centered around guaranteed lifetime income, he said Tuesday during a conference call with Wall Street analysts.

“I think it's the big opportunity ahead for our industry, which is not simply to think about our business of retirement in the context of the products that exist, but to think about it in the terms of simple, guaranteed lifetime income,” Rowan explained. “That is the holy grail for us.”

Apollo celebrated a very strong second quarter, with assets under management rising to $840 billion. Markets exhibited predictable volatility in the face of President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and Apollo took advantage.

Rowan, briefly considered to lead Treasury by Trump, told investors in May that Apollo aggressively raised capital and invested while markets slid.

The firm has been busy putting that capital to work in 2025.

In January, Apollo agreed to acquire Argo Infrastructure Partners, adding about $6 billion in assets across digital, utilities, renewable energy, and transportation infrastructure. The firm also invested $500 million in hybrid capital in UAE-based Aldar Properties PJSC, part of a broader $1.9 billion capital commitment since 2022.

Rowan wants Apollo to originate $275 billion of annual deals by 2029.

Athene Annuity and Life Co. is a big driver of capital for Apollo. The annuity seller remains firmly lodged in No. 1, moving $9.5 billion worth of annuities during the first quarter, LIMRA reported.

To date, Athene’s net inflows are “in the 40s” and well on their way to the firm’s goal of $70 billion for the year, Rowan said.

Despite complicated products and lengthy paperwork, “the compelling need is still causing the market to be very sizeable,” Rowan explained.

“Part of the change we see happening in this industry is getting back to something that's really simple,” he said. “Really simple will initially take place in the existing products/ Can we get to an immediate issuance of an annuity? Can we make the process less burdensome? Can we use new technology to streamline what it is we're doing?”

In Other News:

Bridge acquisition. Apollo announced the acquisition of Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. earlier this year and expects the deal to close in September. The deal is an all-stock transaction with an equity value of about $1.5 billion.

Founded in 2009, Bridge manages approximately $50 billion of AUM in real estate products. The new addition will provide Apollo with “immediate scale to its real estate equity platform” and enhance “origination capabilities in both real estate equity and credit, which is expected to benefit Apollo’s growing suite of hybrid and real estate product offerings,” Apollo said in a news release.

“We anticipate a relatively modest contribution for the remainder of 2025,” said Martin Kelly, chief financial officer of Apollo. “For 2026, we anticipate Bridge will contribute approximately $100 million to our FRE [fee-related earnings] in line with previously published forecasts.”

Quarterly Snapshot:

• Record quarterly fee revenue of $216 million.
• Athene held $9.3 billion of cash and cash equivalents, or 3.4% of net invested assets, as of the end of Q2.
• Allocated $170 million of strategic capital to fund various investments supporting future growth over the last twelve months.
• Spread-related earnings of $821 million.

Management Perspective:

“The team is working as hard as I've ever seen. … On an average week, we have, on a daily basis, 1,000 people in the office in July and early August. We now have 1,200. I can't actually figure out what's happening, but it is among the busiest Julys we have ever seen in our business, and momentum is building rather than declining.”

– CEO Marc Rowan

By The Numbers:

• Total Revenue: $6.8 billion ($6 billion in Q2 2024)
• Net Income: Adjusted net income of $1.18 billion ($1 billion in Q2 2024)
• Earnings Per Share (EPS): Adjusted net income per share was $1.92 ($1.64 in Q2 2024)
• Fee-Related Earnings: $627 million ($516 million in Q2 2024)
• Assets Under Management: $840 million ($696 million in Q2 2024)
• Dividend Declared: $0.51 per share
• Stock Price Movement: Stock up about 3% as of midday Tuesday to $146.30

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InsuranceNewsNet Senior Editor John Hilton has covered business and other beats in more than 20 years of daily journalism. John may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @INNJohnH.