Apollo private credit fund limits investor withdrawals after requests surge

March 23 (Reuters) – Apollo Global’s $25 billion private credit fund, Apollo Debt Solutions (ADS), said on Monday it was curbing redemptions at 5% of its shares after investors sought to withdraw approximately 11.2% of the total.

Cracks in confidence around private credit — broadly defined as lending directly to companies outside the traditional banking system — have widened as investors worry about limited transparency, lending discipline and exposure to software companies whose businesses could be disrupted by artificial intelligence.

The fund said the decision to buy back less than investors requested was consistent with its objectives for liquidity, or the ability to meet its payment obligations without damaging the value of its assets.

After the fund’s statement, shares in Apollo, which manages more than $930 billion, fell over 2.6% in after-market trading. The stock has lost over 23% so far in 2026, in line with declines for other alternative asset managers. 

The withdrawals leave the fund with about $730 million of gross outflows for the period, balancing out inflows of about $724 million.

The fund addressed shareholders in the filing, saying, “The start of 2026 has brought heightened market volatility and increased scrutiny to private credit as an asset class.”

It expects to return about 45% of the requested capital to each redeeming investor. Funds like ADS, which is structured as a business development company or BDC, often offer to buy back 5% of investors’ holdings every quarter. Other asset managers including Blackstone and Blue Owl have opted to buy back more than that amount in recent months.

ADS EXPOSED TO LARGE BORROWERS

Apollo said ADS was more heavily exposed to larger borrowers, as they have stronger balance sheets and “the ability to invest through periods of disruption.”

It said that the structure, with opportunities to take out 5% each quarter, indicated investors should commit their money for five years.

Executives at alternative investment managers have repeatedly moved to reassure markets that their portfolios are insulated from the software selloff.

“Apollo has consciously chosen to create portfolios that are underweight software exposure relative to the broader private credit markets,” Monday’s filing said.

(Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti and Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru and Isla Binnie in New York. Editing by Alan Barona)