# How Apollo Global Management (APO) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/apo
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on APO alone. It places APO (Apollo Global Management, Inc.) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where APO stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: APO's full trading record, from March 2011 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 6 months, APO fell 11.9% while the S&P 500 rose 9.1%. APO is 36.1% below its high, bear-market territory, while the S&P 500 sits 1.3% below a record.
- **Stock or market?:** APO fell 5.5% over the past 3 months, 4.7 points behind the alternative asset management ETF PSP (Invesco Global Listed Private Equity ETF), which fell 0.8%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its alternative asset management peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: BLK (BlackRock) rose 7.6%, while BN (Brookfield) fell 11.8%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** APO has gone against the market, falling 9.7% over the past year while the S&P 500 rose 15.8%. The same gap shows up over 3 years (41.4% against 89.3%). A ahead of 93% of stocks worth at least $300 million over 10 years, but behind 56% of the stocks worth at least $300 million over 3 years.
- **Long term:** APO turned $10,000 into $92,500 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. That said, over 5 years APO trailed the index: 64.9% against 81.7%.
- **In a crash:** Across five sell-offs, APO has typically fallen about twice as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, APO has a correlation of 0.64 over 5 years, more closely than 95% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion. When the S&P 500 had a down month, APO usually fell with it (17 of 22 months).
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** VCTR (Victory Capital) and AMG (Affiliated Managers Group) earned more than APO with less volatility over the past 5 years. VCTR returned 28.1% a year at 35.0% volatility, against 10.5% a year at 37.2%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** RY (Royal Bank of Canada, banks) and JPM (JPMorgan Chase & Co., banks) earned more than APO with less volatility over the past 5 years. RY returned 17.3% a year at 18.2% volatility, against 10.5% a year at 37.2%.
  - **Versus the S&P 500:** Simply owning the S&P 500 would have done better over the past 5 years: 12.7% a year at 17.1% volatility, against 10.5% at 37.2% for APO.

## How much would $10,000 in APO have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in APO over the past 15 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of APO over the same span and APO's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in APO at the end of September 2011 would have grown to $286,574 by September 2026, more than the $87,526 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of APO, and LLY finished highest, at $435,634.

## APO at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the stock, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- APO is still 36.1% below its all-time high.
- APO's deepest decline since it began trading in 2011 was 57.0%, from January 2014 to February 2016. It took 14 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 14 full calendar years, APO's best was 2013, when it returned 112%, and its worst was 2015, when it lost 29.3%. It lost money in five of those years.

- Type: Stock, Financials (Asset Management)
- Trading since: March 30, 2011
- Market value: $66B
- Volatility (5 years): 37.3%; Sharpe ratio: 0.46
- Worst decline ever: −57.0%, from January 14, 2014 to February 11, 2016; back at its high by April 27, 2017

| Period | APO total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −13.0% |
| 3 months | −5.5% |
| 6 months | −11.9% |
| year to date | −23.2% |
| 1 year | −9.7% |
| 3 years | +41.4% |
| 5 years | +64.9% |
| 10 years | +825% |

## APO against the whole market

Where APO ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does APO rank among all stocks?

This section ranks APO on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every stock worth at least $300 million with enough history.

- APO's 10-year return ranks in the top 7% of the 2,202 stocks worth at least $300 million with 10 years of history.

| Measure | APO | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | −9.7% | 2,330 of 3,287 (top 71%) |
| 3-year return | +41.4% | 1,678 of 3,017 (top 56%) |
| 5-year return | +64.9% | 949 of 2,893 (top 33%) |
| 10-year return | +825% | 145 of 2,202 (top 7%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 37.3% | 1,284 of 2,893 (top 45%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.46 | 1,061 of 2,893 (top 37%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −53.5% | 593 of 2,187 (top 28%) |

### What has beaten APO on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- 370 stocks and 245 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than APO over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 17% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half APO's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 34% less than APO's 37.2%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.46 for APO. MPC earned the most, 51.2% a year, while still swinging less than APO (33.4% against 37.2%).
- Among APO's popular alternatives, VCTR and AMG are in the region. VCTR earned 28.1% a year against 10.5% a year for APO, at 35.0% volatility, 6% less than APO's 37.2%.

### Is there a better investment than APO?

The table below lists investments that beat APO over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes.

- Among APO's popular alternatives, VCTR and AMG earned more than APO with less volatility over the past 5 years. VCTR returned 28.1% a year at 35.0% volatility, against 10.5% a year at 37.2%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, RY (banks) and JPM (banks) earned more than APO with less volatility over the past 5 years. RY returned 17.3% a year at 18.2% volatility, against 10.5% a year at 37.2%.
- Simply owning the S&P 500 would have done better over the past 5 years: 12.7% a year at 17.1% volatility, against 10.5% at 37.2% for APO.

The 15 strongest of 615 investments that beat APO over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with APO | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| APO: Apollo Global Management, Inc. (this page) |  | +10.5% | 37.3% | 0.46 | −53.5% | +825% |  |  |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | Software | +12.5% | 28.2% | 0.56 | −37.1% | +946% | 0.45 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [LLY](https://easycompare.io/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +40.7% | 32.8% | 1.21 | −34.5% | +1,807% | 0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [CAT](https://easycompare.io/research/cat): Caterpillar Inc. | Industrial Machinery | +31.1% | 31.9% | 1.01 | −43.4% | +936% | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [APH](https://easycompare.io/research/aph): Amphenol Corporation | Electronic Components | +33.8% | 32.2% | 1.07 | −37.5% | +965% | 0.31 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [PGR](https://easycompare.io/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +21.3% | 25.6% | 0.89 | −30.3% | +816% | 0.16 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +42.1% | 24.7% | 1.55 | −46.1% | +349% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [AAPL](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | Computer Hardware | +18.5% | 28.0% | 0.75 | −38.5% | +1,168% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [GOOG](https://easycompare.io/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | Internet Services | +19.0% | 32.0% | 0.71 | −44.6% | +752% | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [VTI](https://easycompare.io/research/vti): Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF | US Total Market | +11.5% | 17.5% | 0.71 | −35.0% | +302% | 0.65 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [VOO](https://easycompare.io/research/voo): Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | US Large-Cap Equity | +12.8% | 16.9% | 0.80 | −34.0% | +324% | 0.64 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +20.8% | 22.6% | 0.96 | −25.7% | +508% | 0.22 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [BRK-B](https://easycompare.io/research/brk-b): Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Insurance | +13.4% | 17.1% | 0.82 | −29.6% | +274% | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| FSS: Federal Signal Corporation | Industrial Machinery | +23.3% | 31.7% | 0.82 | −33.0% | +882% | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [ABBV](https://easycompare.io/research/abbv): AbbVie Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +26.1% | 23.4% | 1.11 | −45.1% | +603% | -0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +352% | 0.43 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## APO against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against APO, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do APO's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Only VCTR and AMG were both more rewarding and calmer than APO over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, APO returned 10.5% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (37.2% against 17.1%).

### Has APO consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares APO with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Three of the 23 popular alternatives, AMG, VCTR and ARES, outperformed APO in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- BKLN, VCTR and ARES earned more for the risk they took than APO (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of APO | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| APO: Apollo Global Management, Inc. (this page) | −9.7% | +41.4% | +64.9% | +825% |  |  | 0.46 |
| AMG: Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. | +59.9% | +214% | +137% | +185% | 5/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.70 |
| VCTR: Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. | +69.8% | +305% | +245% | — | 5/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.89 |
| [ARES](https://easycompare.io/research/ares): Ares Management Corporation | −17.4% | +24.9% | +71.4% | +926% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.48 |
| [BLK](https://easycompare.io/research/blk): BlackRock, Inc. | −0.6% | +96.3% | +41.1% | +313% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| IVZ: Invesco Ltd. | +30.0% | +158% | +39.8% | +50.9% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.37 |
| BEN: Franklin Resources, Inc. | +44.8% | +62.4% | +31.5% | +49.2% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.33 |
| GCMG: GCM Grosvenor Inc. | +13.0% | +82.8% | +38.2% | — | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.38 |
| [BAM](https://easycompare.io/research/bam): Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. | −12.5% | +67.9% | — | — | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | — |
| TPG: TPG Inc. | −16.9% | +84.5% | — | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | — |
| [BN](https://easycompare.io/research/bn): Brookfield Corporation | −16.8% | +85.9% | +20.8% | +226% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| STEP: StepStone Group Inc. | −26.9% | +66.0% | +15.2% | — | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| [KKR](https://easycompare.io/research/kkr): KKR & Co. Inc. | −25.2% | +65.7% | +31.8% | +653% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| CG: The Carlyle Group Inc. | −34.2% | +47.2% | −18.0% | +287% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.10 |
| ARCC: Ares Capital Corporation | +4.4% | +30.5% | +41.5% | +212% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| BKLN: Invesco Senior Loan ETF | +4.1% | +21.7% | +29.8% | +50.7% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 1.19 |
| LQD: iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | −3.9% | +19.7% | −4.3% | +20.5% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.06 |
| [APOS](https://easycompare.io/research/apos): Apollo Global Management, Inc. | +2.7% | +22.3% | — | — | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| TROW: T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | +3.1% | +22.7% | −37.4% | +126% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.16 |
| PAX: Patria Investments Ltd | −14.2% | +6.9% | −7.7% | — | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.11 |
| ATHM: Autohome Inc. | −20.7% | −8.6% | −48.9% | +1.5% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.08 |
| OWL: Blue Owl Capital Inc. | −40.5% | −13.5% | −31.5% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.03 |
| HLNE: Hamilton Lane Incorporated | −28.5% | +10.6% | −3.9% | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.16 |
| [BX](https://easycompare.io/research/bx): Blackstone Inc. | −28.4% | +28.6% | +2.1% | +628% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.21 |

### How did APO do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2012, along with where APO ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, APO finished in the top quarter in eight of 14 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 22 of 24.
- APO finished ahead of the S&P 500 in nine of its 14 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, ARES came out ahead of APO most often, in eight of the 11 years both traded.

| Year | APO | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −11.1% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +79.9% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +49.5% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −9.6% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +53.3% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +8.0% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +107% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −22.0% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +85.4% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +37.3% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How APO has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were APO's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In all five of APO's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: APO fell 57.0% from January 2014 to February 2016, while the S&P 500 rose 3.6%.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 14 months, after APO fell 57.0% from January 2014 to February 2016.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −57.0% | January 14, 2014 | February 11, 2016 | April 27, 2017 | +3.6% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −53.5% | January 23, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | June 3, 2020 | −32.4% | Covid crash |
| −47.1% | May 10, 2011 | October 3, 2011 | December 6, 2012 | −18.3% | 2011 euro debt crisis |
| −42.8% | December 11, 2024 | March 12, 2026 | not yet | +11.3% |  |
| −40.3% | October 25, 2021 | June 16, 2022 | June 15, 2023 | −19.0% | 2022 bear market |

### How did APO do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far APO, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- APO fell further than the S&P 500 in all seven crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when APO fell 40.0% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.
- Among its popular alternatives, BKLN held up best, falling less than APO in all seven crashes they both traded through.
- APO began trading after the 2008 financial crisis, but ten of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was LQD's 21.5%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500.

| Crash | Dates | APO fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | not trading | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | not trading | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −44.2% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −40.0% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −10.8% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −35.7% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −48.9% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −35.5% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −17.9% | −3.4% |

### How closely does APO move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- Only BKLN, ARES and ARCC had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than APO's 0.99, out of 14 popular alternatives with the same record.
- ARES took just 146% of the S&P 500's losses, against 168% for APO, while still keeping 157% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, APO captured 166% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 168% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.58. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| APO: Apollo Global Management, Inc. (this page) | 166% | 168% | 1.58 |
| AMG: Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. | 103% | 137% | 1.22 |
| [ARES](https://easycompare.io/research/ares): Ares Management Corporation | 157% | 146% | 1.29 |
| [BLK](https://easycompare.io/research/blk): BlackRock, Inc. | 127% | 157% | 1.30 |
| IVZ: Invesco Ltd. | 119% | 201% | 1.46 |
| BEN: Franklin Resources, Inc. | 102% | 170% | 1.39 |
| [BN](https://easycompare.io/research/bn): Brookfield Corporation | 125% | 162% | 1.42 |
| [KKR](https://easycompare.io/research/kkr): KKR & Co. Inc. | 171% | 191% | 1.62 |
| CG: The Carlyle Group Inc. | 156% | 206% | 1.65 |
| ARCC: Ares Capital Corporation | 75.0% | 70.0% | 0.87 |
| BKLN: Invesco Senior Loan ETF | 22.0% | 16.0% | 0.23 |
| LQD: iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | 25.0% | 39.0% | 0.33 |
| TROW: T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. | 118% | 172% | 1.35 |
| ATHM: Autohome Inc. | 44.0% | 78.0% | 0.36 |
| [BX](https://easycompare.io/research/bx): Blackstone Inc. | 156% | 170% | 1.48 |

### What diversifies APO?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in APO into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 20% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+15.7% for APO alone, +17.9% for the mix).
- CAH made money in four of the five calendar years in which APO lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of APO over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.48 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with APO | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in APO's 5 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.32 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 5 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.25 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 4 of 5 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.48 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 3 of 5 |
| EWP: iShares MSCI Spain ETF | 0.38 | +140% | 20.3% | 0.97 | 1 of 5 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.42 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 2 of 5 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.45 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 3 of 5 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | -0.07 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 1 of 5 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.48 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 1 of 5 |

## Common questions

### What was APO's worst drawdown?

APO's deepest decline since it began trading in 2011 was 57.0%, from January 2014 to February 2016. It took 14 months from the low to climb back to its old high. Because APO launched in March 2011, that record does not include the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis or the 2010 flash crash.

### What were APO's best and worst years?

Over 14 full calendar years, APO's best year was 2013, when it returned 112%. Its worst was 2015, with a return of -29.3%.

### Is there a better investment than APO?

Among APO's popular alternatives, VCTR and AMG earned more than APO with less volatility over the past 5 years. VCTR returned 28.1% a year at 35.0% volatility, against 10.5% a year at 37.2%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, RY (banks) and JPM (banks) earned more than APO with less volatility over the past 5 years. RY returned 17.3% a year at 18.2% volatility, against 10.5% a year at 37.2%.

### Is APO more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. APO's volatility over the past 5 years was 37.2%, 2.2 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, APO's return lands within 37.2% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is APO's Sharpe ratio?

APO's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.46, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so APO earned less for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is APO with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, APO's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.64 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They often move together: some diversification next to an index fund, but not a cushion. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against APO instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a APO holding.

### What are the best alternatives to APO?

Of the 23 popular alternatives we compared, three outperformed APO in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: AMG, VCTR and ARES.

### Did APO outperform the S&P 500?

APO finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in nine of 14 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -11.1%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did APO do in stock market crashes?

APO fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in none of the seven major crashes it has traded through, and further in seven. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when APO fell 40.0% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies APO?

These had a low correlation with APO over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.32), DXJ (correlation 0.25) and EMLP (correlation 0.48); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.09), CLS (correlation 0.39) and FIX (correlation 0.34). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

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## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/apo
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against APO live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=APO&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research