Key Takeaways
- • Jess Lipsey exits as CEO of Apollo Realty Income Solutions (ARIS), a $123 billion nontraded REIT, effective end of September 2026; Bert Crouch, head of Apollo's real estate equity platform since 2025, assumes all three roles (CEO, president, director).
- • Spencer Propper resigns as portfolio manager of Apollo Diversified Real Estate Fund, effective September 30, 2026, with a transition period extending through March 31, 2027; Jonathan Stachel promoted to associate portfolio manager alongside existing COO Stuart Rothstein.
- • Leadership transitions follow Apollo's June 2026 announcement to shut down its publicly traded mortgage REIT, signaling broader portfolio restructuring within the firm's real estate wealth-channel offerings.
- • ARIS portfolio composition as of June 30, 2026: $123B in assets split across 50% equity, 43% credit holdings, and 7% securities, with industrial and residential assets representing 64% of holdings, data centers 15%, and other asset types 21%.
- • Apollo Diversified Real Estate Fund operates as a closed-end interval fund with 67% private equity exposure and 33% debt exposure, focusing on quarterly share buybacks and private real estate investments.
Summary
Apollo Global Management is executing significant leadership changes across two major real estate funds targeting wealth-channel investors, marking the second major restructuring in its real estate business within three months. Jess Lipsey, who has led Apollo Realty Income Solutions as CEO, president, and director, is departing at the end of September 2026. Bert Crouch, a partner at Apollo and head of the firm's real estate equity franchise since joining in 2025, assumes Lipsey's three roles. Crouch's appointment reflects Apollo's strategy to consolidate leadership of its real estate equity platform, which encompasses Bridge Investment Group—the real estate platform Apollo acquired in 2025—as well as legacy real estate strategies.
Simultaneously, Spencer Propper is exiting his position as portfolio manager of Apollo Diversified Real Estate Fund, effective September 30, 2026. Propper will remain with Apollo through March 31, 2027, to facilitate the transition. Jonathan Stachel, a principal in Apollo's real estate group, has been promoted to associate portfolio manager and will co-manage the fund alongside Stuart Rothstein, chief operating officer of Apollo's real estate group. Propper, who joined Apollo in 2022 from Griffin Capital Company where he held senior roles, departs after four years with the firm.
These transitions occur three months after Apollo announced the shutdown of its publicly traded mortgage REIT, indicating broader portfolio consolidation within the firm's real estate business. ARIS, the nontraded REIT at the center of the leadership change, manages $123 billion in real estate debt and assets. As of June 30, 2026, the portfolio allocation was 50% equity assets, 43% credit holdings, and 7% securities. The fund emphasizes industrial and residential real estate (64% of portfolio), data center exposure (15%), and other asset classes. Apollo Diversified Real Estate Fund, the second fund affected, operates as a closed-end interval fund with quarterly share redemptions, maintaining a 67% private equity and 33% debt allocation focused on private real estate investments across the United States.
Apollo declined to comment on the staffing changes. The transitions represent continuity planning within Apollo's wealth-channel real estate offerings following the firm's 2025 acquisition of Bridge Investment Group and its subsequent strategic decisions regarding publicly traded mortgage products.
Simultaneously, Spencer Propper is exiting his position as portfolio manager of Apollo Diversified Real Estate Fund, effective September 30, 2026. Propper will remain with Apollo through March 31, 2027, to facilitate the transition. Jonathan Stachel, a principal in Apollo's real estate group, has been promoted to associate portfolio manager and will co-manage the fund alongside Stuart Rothstein, chief operating officer of Apollo's real estate group. Propper, who joined Apollo in 2022 from Griffin Capital Company where he held senior roles, departs after four years with the firm.
These transitions occur three months after Apollo announced the shutdown of its publicly traded mortgage REIT, indicating broader portfolio consolidation within the firm's real estate business. ARIS, the nontraded REIT at the center of the leadership change, manages $123 billion in real estate debt and assets. As of June 30, 2026, the portfolio allocation was 50% equity assets, 43% credit holdings, and 7% securities. The fund emphasizes industrial and residential real estate (64% of portfolio), data center exposure (15%), and other asset classes. Apollo Diversified Real Estate Fund, the second fund affected, operates as a closed-end interval fund with quarterly share redemptions, maintaining a 67% private equity and 33% debt allocation focused on private real estate investments across the United States.
Apollo declined to comment on the staffing changes. The transitions represent continuity planning within Apollo's wealth-channel real estate offerings following the firm's 2025 acquisition of Bridge Investment Group and its subsequent strategic decisions regarding publicly traded mortgage products.
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