Speaking at the 2025 Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference, Apollo Co-President Jim Zelter described asset-based financing ABF (deals) as one of the firm’s most strategic growth areas, particularly among insurance partners seeking yield.
“The insurance industry has clearly woken up,”Zelter said. “A lot of partnerships—we've got in excess of 20 insurers that now have a great partnership with us.”
Zelter noted that Apollo views ABF not simply as an extension of private credit, but as a distinct class of secured, collateral-driven financing that is poised to replace portions of insurers’ fixed-income portfolios.
“We would also coin ABF as fixed income replacement,” he added. “Very early innings—like second inning.”
