Bert Crouch Joins Apollo: A Bold Bet in CRE’s Power Shift

Why would one of the industry's brightest stars leave a 7-figure job with a $90B investment manager?

Headline answer...
An 8-figure job at a $110B investment manager.

Below-the-surface answers...

Fundraising:
Apollo’s now a top-five CRE manager after its recent Bridge acquisition, with strong momentum in real estate credit and non-core equity.

Capital mix:
Apollo has cracked the code with its insurance capital engine and discretionary equity funds.

Strategic bet:
Crouch is trading a traditional/defensive model for one positioned to grab share from Blackstone and Brookfield. Few firms can take on the 800 lb gorillas.

Economics:
Big base, more profit participation, fewer entrenched stakeholders.

Fun to build:
Traditional managers are built around a fixed pie of capital. Apollo has stormed onto the scene over the last 15 years and is actively building a new engine, which could be a lot more fun to build out vs. selling last year's model of investment management products.

---- Three warnings/observations ----

1. Don't bet against Bert Crouch.
Try to find someone with something bad to say about him or that he's anything but one of the strongest students of our game.

2. Don't bet against Apollo.
They're obviously making very big bets to take on Blackstone and Brookfield.

3. Don't bet against Invesco.
A star's departure creates big opportunities for talent, especially when it's unplanned and not driven by performance. Invesco seems very well positioned to thrive.