Insights

And whilst volatility can be unnerving for many investors, the silver lining is that for the first time in many years, investors can earn mid to high single-digit returns from investment grade credit and higher in sub-investment grade credit. 

For those not familiar, Apollo is a leading global alternatives manager listed on the NYSE, with more than US$600 billion in assets under management. O'Mara manages the alternatives portfolio for Apollo's retirement services balance sheet and looks across the spectrum of private markets including private equity, credit, and real assets.

O'Mara calls out two reasons that Apollo favours private markets over publicly traded markets. Firstly, he says there is a strong case for embracing the illiquidity premium in private markets. Investors can achieve a higher return if they are willing to forgo some liquidity.

It appears investors are warming to this view with a Livewire survey finding that 46.5% of investors are willing to invest for three years or more to achieve a higher return.

O'Mara also shared Apollo's view that there is no alpha left in public markets. He says the mass adoption of index funds has resulted in extreme concentration in the S&P 500, with five stocks accounting for 25% of the index.

In this interview, O’Mara discusses the importance of alignment for investor outcomes, the case for embracing illiquidity and where Apollo is putting their capital to work.

You can watch the full interview with Matt O'Mara by clicking on the player below.