Apollo Global Management is offering six-figure retention bonuses to some of its private-equity associates, according to Insider. Insider previously reported that seven out of 30 New York City associates had left the firm in recent weeks. Current and former employees who spoke with Insider about the exodus described a never-ending workload that grew even more severe during the pandemic as the company pounced on opportunities, as it is known for its distressed buying strategies. According to two people familiar with the situation, Apollo has extended $100,000, $150,000, and $200,000 bonuses for first-year, second-year, and third-year associates, respectively, to be paid in April. The bonuses are contingent on associates remaining with Apollo at least until September 2022.
They’re on top of pay packages that are still among the best in the industry. According to these people, first-year associates at Apollo are paid a total of more than $450,000. They refused to speak publicly to protect their jobs at the company. As indicated by these sources, Apollo heads Matt Nord and David Sambur, who co-lead the company’s private value bunch, have been making the proposals to workers via telephone. Insider couldn’t find out the degree of the rewards. According to one Apollo employee, several associates they spoke with, had not received the bonuses, implying that the bonuses were only given to a selected group of employees.
“It’s also possible that Apollo is just getting started with the bonuses. When asked about the particular bonuses”, Joanna Rose, an Apollo spokeswoman, said the firm’s private-equity business has been highly active in the past year, putting more than $12 billion to work across a diverse set of opportunities. “We continue to recognise the influence of our outstanding teams with recent victories such as the Sun Country IPO, Diamond/HGV merger, and SYNNEX/TechData merger”, she said.
The offers demonstrate how far one of the world’s largest investment firms is willing to go to address a talent shortage among its junior employees, who have suffered from burnout as a result of long hours and remote work. They come as fears about associate morale have surfaced across Wall Street’s financial services firms. Last week, 13 demoralised Goldman Sachs analysts gave an internal presentation about 100-hour work weeks and the emotional and physical toll of COVID. Firms have taken steps to address the issues, but none have gone as far as Apollo has. Jefferies has provided Peloton bikes and other workout equipment to junior bankers, while Goldman Sachs has promised to improve conditions for junior bankers but has not specified how.
Associate jobs at Apollo, which are already among the highest-paying on Wall Street, will be even more lucrative as a result of the increased compensation. According to these people, a typical first-year salary of $450,000 is followed by annual increases of $100,000; third-year salaries can reach $725,000. The position has a four-year career path that leads to principal and then partner, a position that pays millions of dollars per year.
Young executives are critical to the success of the private equity firm, as they handle the grunt work of preparing presentations and evaluations that higher-ups use to assess and pursue deals. In recent months, the company has acquired a $1.2 billion stake in the travel website Expedia and a $1.75 billion stake in the grocery store operator Albertsons with Silver Lake Partners. It also recently closed a $2.25 billion deal to own and run the Venetian hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Marc Rowan, Apollo’s new CEO, has stated that making Apollo a more attractive place to work is a top priority for him. In recent weeks, Rowan has stated that one of his main priorities will be improved.
Rowan, a co-founder of Apollo who is credited with growing the company’s expansive insurance business, had previously indicated that he would succeed Leon Black, the company’s chief founder, who would step down by his 70th birthday in July. The company announced on Monday that Black would resign immediately and relinquish his position as chairman of Apollo’s board of directors, which he had planned to retain. Health concerns were cited as a reason for Black’s decision, according to the firm’s announcement. Black’s departure came after it was revealed in an Apollo-commissioned investigation released at the start of the year, that he had paid convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein $158 million for tax and business services.
