Insights

Endowments and foundations (E&F) face a particular portfolio construction challenge: meeting current spending needs while preserving the long-term real value of principal. In most cases, the capital base is perpetual, and the portfolio must support distributions year after year without impairing future purchasing power. For many E&Fs, the traditional barbell approach—cash on one side, illiquid equity on the other—may no longer be enough. Private IG can deliver investment-grade credit exposure through bespoke origination across corporate credit, asset-backed finance, and structured solutions. For endowments and foundations, that can mean high-quality income with a premium spread to public credit, alongside structural protections and limited correlation to traditional risk-seeking assets. Used selectively, Private IG can help institutions support spending needs while building a more balanced and resilient portfolio.

Credit fundamentals remain strong, but rising interest rates, AI disruption and growing dispersion across sectors are reshaping the direct-lending landscape. Apollo Partner and Co-Head of Global Performing Credit Jim Vanek joins host Tal Barak Harif to discuss where we are in the credit cycle, why current market conditions may be creating more attractive opportunities for lenders, and how Apollo is navigating the risks and opportunities ahead.

In the latest edition of Apollo’s After 60/40 series, Chris Lvoff and Lucy Xin, Managing Directors in Apollo’s Portfolio Solutions Group, break down how hybrid capital can offer equity-like return potential with credit-oriented downside protection and has characteristics that can introduce diversification against concentrated public equity markets.