Apollo Global positions for family office push

Apollo Global positions for family office push
The firm has hired a BlackRock veteran to spearhead the advance.
SEP 01, 2023
By  Bloomberg

Apollo Global Management Inc. hired BlackRock Inc. veteran Rick Moreno to bolster the buyout giant’s U.S. team targeting investment firms for the ultra-rich.

Moreno recently joined Apollo to lead its West Coast family office coverage and will be based in both the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, an Apollo spokesperson said. He worked at BlackRock for more than a decade in total and was most recently a managing director at the world’s largest asset manager.

A representative for New York-based BlackRock declined to comment.

Private equity firms are increasingly looking outside their traditional institutional-investor base such as pension funds and endowments for sources of capital amid a difficult fundraising environment. Blackstone Inc. and KKR & Co. are also building units to focus on the world’s rich.

At the same time, demand for private assets is booming among family offices, the typically discreet managers for the financial affairs of the wealthy that surged in number over the past two decades. BlackRock said recently investors including family offices are set to boost allocations to private equity and private credit this year despite recession fears and rising interest rates.

Apollo began building its family office team after hiring Brian Feurtado last year from BlackRock and has since assembled a roughly 10-person unit with plans to increase that number in the future.

The West Coast is a major hub for U.S. family offices with California ranked as the second-most popular location for such firms after New York, according to a 2023 report from KPMG and recruitment firm Agreus Group. Bayshore Global, the family office of Alphabet Inc. founder Sergey Brin, is based in Palo Alto, while San Francisco-based Medley Partners manages the p.ersonal wealth of Renaissance Technologies founder Jim Simons and his family.

Moreno started his career at Accenture and also worked at Salomon Brothers for more than a decade, according to his LinkedIn profile. He first joined BlackRock in the early 2000s and left in 2012 to become a director at KKR. He re-joined the asset manager in 2021.

Latest News

Buy or sell Canada? Wealth managers watch carefully as Canadians head to the polls
Buy or sell Canada? Wealth managers watch carefully as Canadians head to the polls

Canadian stocks are on a roll in 2025 as the country prepares to name a new Prime Minister.

How are tech-boosted advisors spending their "time tax refund"?
How are tech-boosted advisors spending their "time tax refund"?

Two C-level leaders reveal the new time-saving tools they've implemented and what advisors are doing with their newly freed-up hours.

Indivisible Partners selects DPL to arm advisors for insurance business
Indivisible Partners selects DPL to arm advisors for insurance business

The RIA led by Merrill Lynch veteran John Thiel is helping its advisors take part in the growing trend toward fee-based annuities.

RIA M&A stays brisk in first quarter with record pace of dealmaking
RIA M&A stays brisk in first quarter with record pace of dealmaking

Driven by robust transaction activity amid market turbulence and increased focus on billion-dollar plus targets, Echelon Partners expects another all-time high in 2025.

New York Dems push for return of tax on stock sales
New York Dems push for return of tax on stock sales

The looming threat of federal funding cuts to state and local governments has lawmakers weighing a levy that was phased out in 1981.

SPONSORED Compliance in real time: Technology's expanding role in RIA oversight

RIAs face rising regulatory pressure in 2025. Forward-looking firms are responding with embedded technology, not more paperwork.

SPONSORED Advisory firms confront crossroads amid historic wealth transfer

As inheritances are set to reshape client portfolios and next-gen heirs demand digital-first experiences, firms are retooling their wealth tech stacks and succession models in real time.