Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

Scott Kleinman is the Co-President of Apollo Asset Management. Scott joined Apollo in 1996 as its 13th employee and has spent nearly three decades helping build the firm into nearly a trillion-dollar alternative asset manager and retirement powerhouse.

Our conversation traces Apollo's evolution from a value-oriented private equity boutique to an integrated platform investing across the capital structure at scale. We discuss the firm's core philosophy of excess return per unit of risk, its post-GFC expansion into private credit and retirement services, and why origination—not capital—has become the key constraint on its growth.


We also explore Scott's transition from dealmaker to firm-wide leader, touching on culture, incentives, communication, and governance. We close with Scott's perspective on today's credit environment, the convergence of public and private markets, and the risks and opportunities shaping the next phase of alternative investing.

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Dr. Ashby Monk is the Executive and Research Director of the Stanford Research Initiative on Long-Term Investing. Over the last two decades, Ashby has worked closely with some of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds and pension funds on governance, organizational design, technology, and investment strategy. He is also a co-founder of KDX Management, a venture capital firm focused on investech, a co-founder of several startups in the space, and a repeat past guest on the show. His first and most recent appearances are replayed in the feed.
 
Our conversation explores the increasingly popular Total Portfolio Approach, Ashby's perspective on the role of AI and data in the investment office of the future, including his work with Hoopit AI, a very cool relationship intelligence platform, and examples of innovation at Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and the New Mexico State Investment Council.

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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠)

Dr. Ashby Monk is the Executive & Research Director of the Stanford Research Initiative on Long-Term Investing. Ashby has studied and advised the largest asset owners in the world for more than twenty years with a particular interest in how to improve outcomes for their beneficiaries and the world. Ash also serves as the Head of Research at Addepar, a fintech company that helps investors make smarter decisions. He has twice appeared on the show – as the 29th guest back in 2017 and again two years ago – and those conversations are replayed in the feed.
 
Our conversation starts with a recent paper Ashby published called Investor Identity: The Ultimate Driver of Returns. We discuss the descriptors of identity and enabling factors that determine each investor's fingerprint. From there, we dive into technology as an enabler and how technological innovation can improve returns. We then turn to ESG investing and another of Ashby's recent papers, Submergence = Drawdown + Recovery, that discusses the importance of considering the combined drawdown and recovery period in making investment decisions.
 
For full show notes, visit the episode webpage here. 
 
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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠)

Dr. Ashby Monk is the Executive and Research Director of the Stanford University Global Projects Center. He is also a Senior Research Associate at the University of Oxford, a Senior Advisor to the Chief Investment Officer of the University of California, and the co-founder of Long Game. Ashby advises sovereign wealth funds and large pension funds, and is involved with a bunch of fin tech companies, all of which attempt to create innovative solutions to fixing the financial future for individuals, pensions and countries in the years ahead.
Our conversation starts with Ashby's early work experience and path through academia, and flows into an exploration of next generation, lower cost approaches to active management for large asset owners.  We touch on investing in public equity, private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds using examples from the Canadian and Australian pensions, New Zealand Super Fund, and University of California endowment. Lastly, we discuss Long Game, an innovative company seeking to improve personal savings in the U.S.  Ashby is a passion-driven, creative thinker who rightfully has the ear of some of the most important pools of capital in the world.  His ideas will change the way you think about allocating capital.
 
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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠)

Today's episode continues our ongoing mini-series covering organizations that have proven to be great training grounds of talent. There may be none larger and quieter than Capital Group, the $3.2 trillion global asset manager whose 650-person investment team and 9,400 associates have historically experienced a fraction of the turnover of industry norms.

My guest is Mike Gitlin, the CEO of Capital Group, known for its long-term philosophy, private ownership, and multi-manager investment system. Founded in 1931 by Johnathan Bell Lovelace, Capital Group is one of the industry's largest and most enduring active managers. Mike joined the firm as a lateral hire in 2015, after more than two decades across the buy side, sell side, hedge funds, and global markets.

Our exploration of Capital Group covers Mike's path through the investment industry, Capital's approach to recruiting and training talent, ownership model, client-centric focus, Capital System investment model, organization of a large, global team, and new product development. We close with Capital Group's five-year strategic plan as it approaches the firm's hundred-year anniversary in 2031.

I've been fascinated by Capital for most of my life, as it was the professional home for my uncle, the late Jim Rothenberg, for his entire 45 year career. It is a privilege for me to share this conversation with memories of Uncle Jim in mind.
 
Learn more about our Strategic Investments: Old Well Labs, Thema, and Ascension Data.

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Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠)