Under the expanded relationship, Challenger and Apollo have formed an origination partnership and a representative from Apollo will be appointed to the Challenger Limited Board.

The origination partnership will provide Challenger Life with access to Apollo’s high-quality direct asset origination capability, which will help support both customer annuity rates and returns for Challenger shareholders. The partnership further strengthens Challenger’s relationship with one of the most established alternative asset managers in international markets, and provides access to high-quality, privately originated global credit and alternative opportunities.

Last year, Apollo directly originated approximately US$100 billion of assets, primarily senior, secured lending opportunities. The partnership allows Challenger access to origination flows, co-investment opportunities and new investment strategies.

The expanded strategic relationship builds on the existing collaboration between both businesses, which includes a distribution agreement to bring Apollo’s Aligned Alternatives (AAA) strategy to the Australian market and a joint venture to build a non-bank lending platform in Australia and New Zealand.

Reflecting the expansion of the strategic relationship, Apollo’s Head of Asia-Pacific, Mr Matthew Michelini, will join the Challenger Limited Board as a Non-Executive Director effective today, 9 November 2023. Mr Michelini is a member of Apollo’s Leadership Team and has played a pivotal role in the creation and success of many of Apollo’s largest growth initiatives, including Athene, which is a leading retirement services company and the number one provider of fixed annuities in the United States in 2022.

Apollo’s seat on the Challenger Limited Board is subject to conditions, including a minimum shareholding requirement of 15% of issued capital and restrictions on acquiring further shares, subject to certain exceptions.