On Fiduciary Concerns Regarding Investments with Apollo Global Management

WHEREAS, the retirement security of AFT members depends on prudent management of our public pension funds, with fiduciary duty requiring that all investment decisions be made solely in the best financial interests of beneficiaries; and

WHEREAS, public pension funds have significant investments managed by or through Apollo Global Management, a major private equity firm whose actions and leadership have material implications for the long-term value and ethical profile of those investments; and

WHEREAS, Apollo Global Management Chairman and CEO Marc Rowan has played a central role in writing, promoting and supporting the Trump administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, a political initiative that has drawn criticism for using federal benefits as coercive leverage in an attempt to undermine public education, free speech, collective bargaining rights and students’ equitable access to higher education; and

WHEREAS, records obtained through public-records requests and other sources raise concerns that Apollo Global Management staff and resources may have been used to support Marc Rowan’s higher education advocacy in ways that may conflict with Apollo’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and its obligations to shareholders and limited partner clients; and

WHEREAS, Apollo also has a direct financial connection to for-profit higher education through its ownership and control of the University of Phoenix, a for-profit school with a troubling record on student outcomes and federal oversight; and

WHEREAS, Marc Rowan’s higher-education activities raise additional concerns in light of the student-debt crisis, including his $50 million donation to create the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a policy tool that has been used in congressional debates to oppose legislative proposals for student-loan cancellation; and

WHEREAS, many public pension beneficiaries are AFT members, i.e., educators, public employees, healthcare workers, retirees, and workers whose professional lives and public institutions may be directly affected by the higher education agenda advanced by Apollo’s senior leadership; and

WHEREAS, the political and policy activities of senior executives at firms entrusted with public pension assets can reflect on the values, public perception, and potential reputational risks borne by AFT members’ retirement funds; and

WHEREAS, fiduciaries are obligated to consider not only financial returns but also the risks associated with governance, social responsibility, and reputational exposure that may affect the long-term stability of pension investments:

RESOLVED, that the AFT urge our public pension systems and their governing bodies to:

1. Undertake a fiduciary review of current and prospective investments with Apollo Global Management in light of governance and reputational risks connected to the political advocacy of its leadership;
2. Request full transparency from Apollo Global Management concerning any executive activities, political expenditures, or affiliations that could materially conflict with the values and missions of public education and public service;
3. Reaffirm that pension fund investments must align with fiduciary obligations that prioritize beneficiaries’ long-term financial security and the integrity of the public institutions their labor sustains; 
4. Report publicly on findings and any recommended changes in investment policies or managers to safeguard pension beneficiaries from undue risk connected to such associations; and

RESOLVED, that this resolution be transmitted to the relevant pension funds, state treasurers and other oversight bodies responsible for fiduciary governance of our members’ public retirement assets.

Adopted July 19, 2026