Key Takeaways
- • Apollo will not conduct on-cycle recruiting for its 2028 associate class in calendar year 2026, according to a memo obtained by Business Insider.
- • The memo, signed by David Sambur, co-head of Private Equity, and Antoine G. Munfakh, deputy global head of Private Equity, says Apollo will wait until candidates are closer to completing one full year of professional experience before formal recruiting.
- • The move follows Apollo's 2025 decision to delay recruiting for the 2027 class, which Apollo and General Atlantic both pursued and which helped slow the industry's accelerating recruiting timeline.
- • Apollo explicitly urged other private equity firms to follow suit, saying it hopes "more firms will do the same this year."
- • JPMorgan's CEO Jamie Dimon, a long-standing critic of on-cycle recruiting, has previously called the practice "unethical"; JPMorgan adopted a 2025 policy allowing termination of incoming analysts who accepted future-dated private equity offers.
Summary
Apollo has told prospective candidates that it will not recruit its 2028 associate class during the current calendar year, according to an email obtained by Business Insider. The memo, signed by David Sambur, co-head of Private Equity, and Antoine G. Munfakh, deputy global head of Private Equity, states that the firm will wait until candidates who began investment banking careers over the summer are "closer to completing one full year of professional experience" before engaging in formal recruiting.
The memo says the goal is to encourage other private equity firms to delay their own processes so that candidates and employers can make "better decisions." It notes that Apollo's 2025 delay for the 2027 class was followed by others, including General Atlantic, and states: "We were encouraged that others in the industry took similar steps, and we hope more firms will do the same this year." Apollo said it will continue informal engagement with candidates, including introducing them to its platform, during the interim period.
On-cycle recruiting, the practice through which private equity firms hire junior investment bankers for associate roles one to two years before they start, had moved progressively earlier since the pandemic as firms competed for top talent. The process was widely criticized for its intensity, with candidates sometimes interviewing late at night or calling in sick to avoid jeopardizing their current roles. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has been a prominent critic, describing the practice as "unethical." In 2025, JPMorgan introduced a policy under which incoming analysts could be terminated for accepting future-dated private equity offers.
Business Insider reports that questions had circulated about whether on-cycle recruiting would again begin early for the 2028 class. Apollo's latest move suggests it is seeking to slow the industry timeline again.
The memo says the goal is to encourage other private equity firms to delay their own processes so that candidates and employers can make "better decisions." It notes that Apollo's 2025 delay for the 2027 class was followed by others, including General Atlantic, and states: "We were encouraged that others in the industry took similar steps, and we hope more firms will do the same this year." Apollo said it will continue informal engagement with candidates, including introducing them to its platform, during the interim period.
On-cycle recruiting, the practice through which private equity firms hire junior investment bankers for associate roles one to two years before they start, had moved progressively earlier since the pandemic as firms competed for top talent. The process was widely criticized for its intensity, with candidates sometimes interviewing late at night or calling in sick to avoid jeopardizing their current roles. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has been a prominent critic, describing the practice as "unethical." In 2025, JPMorgan introduced a policy under which incoming analysts could be terminated for accepting future-dated private equity offers.
Business Insider reports that questions had circulated about whether on-cycle recruiting would again begin early for the 2028 class. Apollo's latest move suggests it is seeking to slow the industry timeline again.
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