Principal, Risk Manager - Residential Real Estate (AASP)

Position Overview

An indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Apollo Management Holdings, AASP manages the securitized products and structured finance assets sourced and serviced by ATLAS SP Partners while serving as their sole risk manager.

The Role

AASP is seeking a Principal for its growing Credit Risk Management team. This individual will be the lead risk manager for the residential mortgage warehouse portfolio. He/she will be responsible for conducting both asset-level and counterparty-level credit reviews and for the continuous review and monitoring of residential mortgage finance exposures in the portfolio.

Reporting to the AASP Chief Risk Officer, the Principal will work closely with Apollo credit professionals, the ATLAS SP Origination teams, and other risk leaders within AASP as well as with clients and ATLAS SP key partners. The AASP CRO will rely on this senior risk officer to conduct complete analysis on transactions, highlight risk concerns early and ongoing, challenge the deal teams, and gain the expertise in asset classes he/she may not have in from people who do (utilizing the ecosystem of partners available to ATLAS SP), form an independent risk view, and write a succinct risk memo/analysis. This individual will be a self-sufficient risk manager, handling transactions strongly and independently; this includes delivering an informed view to the AASP CRO and other Apollo risk seniors. This candidate will act as an important control function, protecting capital and assessing downside risks.

The ideal candidate will have experience as a Credit Risk Officer in a decision-making role for mortgage and asset-backed financing transactions and is comfortable challenging the status quo and establishing guardrails the business can operate in. Product expertise is required for this role. Residential mortgage collateral includes but is not limited to agency, non-qualified mortgages, business purpose (or investor) loans, single-family rental, HELOC and closed-end seconds, mortgage servicing rights, and servicer advances. The individual will review and assess new and existing transactions (warehouse facilities), facility amendments, and renewal requests and monitor the ongoing credit quality of the portfolio. 

Primary Responsibilities

• Underwrite risk in each transaction, including evaluating the financing structures, asset risk, the risk profile of the originators and servicers, stress testing and analytics as well as gathering market intelligence
• Accountable for making risk decisions; act like an investor to approve transactions within a delegated level of authority
• Demonstrate an ability to challenge the business (sales/portfolio/structuring teams), substantiate support or dissent for a deal, and where there is dissent, work with the deal team on structural improvements that might move a transaction from “no” to “maybe/yes”
• Participate in the deal underwriting process from inception and be involved over the lifecycle of a transaction, with greater involvement should asset classes be underperforming, higher risk, less liquid, more esoteric, etc.
• Work with Legal and the deal teams on the loan agreements to ensure that documents accurately reflect the deal structure, economic terms, and asset waterfalls
• Work closely with other control function partners including i) Legal and Compliance to escalate and review any reputational or franchise risk considerations and ii) Treasury to evaluate any liability or liquidity considerations. 
• Present risk concerns and due diligence findings, make a risk recommendation and answer questions from Investment Committee members or other senior stakeholders
• Produce documentation that includes thorough market, borrower, and collateral analysis to support the recommendation. This would include, but not be limited to, understanding and sensitizing the business's stress testing analysis and/or obtaining other market intelligence to support risk conclusions and considerations.

Qualifications & Experience

• Strong subject matter knowledge of multiple asset classes in the consumer and commercial sectors, including unsecured consumer, renewables, credit cards, and student loans. Exposure to more bespoke or less liquid asset classes (venture debt, SME lending, fund finance) is highly beneficial
• Prior experience as an approver of credit
• Experience underwriting Corporations from a fundamental credit perspective
• Experience reviewing loan agreements
• Prior experience and responsibility for critical decisions of significant financial impact and complex criteria is a main requirement
• Ability to roll up sleeves and work alongside 1LOD to underwrite highly structured warehouse (loan) facilities
• Strong foundation in risk while also very solution-oriented with a thorough understanding of the commercial needs of a business, especially one in a growth stage, but know how to balance that with risk discipline and control
• Strong analytical skills, multi-asset class experience, and an ability to build risk management tools to aid in governing the risk in the portfolio
• Extensive financial analysis and modeling skills, expertise in credit risk management, and a strong understanding of risk metrics/models/systems
• Understanding of fundamental credit skills, ideally having spent time in a large bank or financial institution with structured credit training programs
• Exceptional attention to detail
• Prior experience and responsibility for critical decisions of significant financial impact and complex criteria
• Must have exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, and be comfortable presenting prospective deals to investment committee(s)
• Must be able to communicate complex risk-related concepts to both internal and external parties
• Ability to incorporate and understand information from a variety of sources to stay ahead of market/economic trends and evaluate the impact on the portfolio

Pay Range

$200,000-$300,000

Apollo Global Management, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries and affiliates) is committed to championing opportunity.

The firm and its affiliates comply with applicable discrimination and equal opportunities legislation in all of its jurisdictions and do not discriminate in employment or recruitment based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin, veteran status, disability, age, citizenship, marital or domestic/civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.

The contents of the qualifications and experience section of this job description are a guideline only. If an applicant can otherwise demonstrate their suitability for the role they will be considered.

The base salary range for this position is listed above. This position is also eligible for a discretionary annual bonus based on personal, team, and Firm performance. Compensation ranges are based on several factors including job function, level, and geographic location. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate experience and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed here.