Apollo Commits to Daily Private Credit Pricing

Apollo Global Management used its Q1 earnings call to announce a commitment to daily pricing across its entire credit business by Sept. 30 – a move CEO Marc Rowan framed as an essential trust-building measure amid rising scrutiny of private credit valuations, retail fund redemption pressures, and regulatory scrutiny that Rowan argued should extend beyond PE-affiliated insurers to the broader insurance industry. Apollo reported $1.03T in total AUM at quarter end, with fee-related earnings growing 30% year over year to a record $728M.

In fund closes, S3 Capital closed S3 LB RE Credit Fund III at its $1.3B hard cap – surpassing a $650M target – with a focus on first lien construction lending in supply-constrained multifamily markets. Apis Partners Group closed two parallel funds totaling $1.23B in commitments, more than doubling its predecessor, targeting minority stakes in financial infrastructure and services businesses across Europe and select growth markets. In the pipeline, Blue Owl is in early discussions for an inaugural credit secondaries fund, and Peakline Real Estate Funds is seeking $1.3B for the fourth iteration of its qualified opportunity zone fund program, split across metro and rural strategies.

On the LP side, Kern County Employees' Retirement Association approved $85M in new private market commitments across private credit, private equity, and core real estate via CIO delegation. KCERA's board also proposed shifting its hedge fund allocation up from 10% to 12% while trimming US Long Treasuries from 4% to 2%. Elsewhere, Louisiana School Employees' Retirement System approved $30M in commitments spread equally across digital infrastructure, real estate debt, and private credit – the latter a re-up to Ares Management's Pathfinder series; and the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands approved a $50M commitment to Blue Owl Capital's GP Stakes Fund VI, marking the department's first allocation to the GP stakes strategy and an effort to close a roughly $675M underweight to its 12% private equity target.

In senior leadership developments, Legal & General appointed Rob Groves as CIO of its Institutional Retirement business, succeeding Gareth Mee, who moved to CEO of that unit late last year. Groves joins from Pension Insurance Corporation, where he oversaw investment strategy for a roughly £55B portfolio.

Read on for all the day’s fundraising news headlines.

April was another active month across private markets.

Dakota tracked 1,717 transactions and $271B in deal value, with large-scale acquisitions driving activity across industrials, technology, and energy.

On the fundraising side, the market set records.

KKR raised $23B for North America buyouts, EQT closed $15.6B for Asia-Pacific, and private credit vehicles from Blackstone and Ares surpassed expectations.

The takeaway isn’t just volume. It’s breadth.

Dakota’s latest Private Markets Review captures how capital is being deployed across strategies, sectors, and geographies.

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Endowment portfolios don’t change often.

But when leadership does, everything gets reviewed.

Dakota has tracked a wave of CIO transitions across the endowment landscape — each triggering a 12–18 month window where manager relationships are reassessed and new allocations are considered.

For investment firms, these moments matter.

They represent one of the few times established portfolios are open to change.

Dakota’s latest report maps these transitions alongside broader trends in allocation, governance, and portfolio construction.

Because in institutional fundraising, timing can matter as much as access.

Download the report →