Principal, Risk Manager - Residential Real Estate (AASP)

Apollo Management Holdings•New York City, NY

About The Position

AASP Risk (AASP) manages securitized products and structured finance assets sourced and serviced by ATLAS SP Partners and Apollo’s Asset Backed Lending business, serving as the dedicated risk management team. AASP is seeking a Principal to be the lead risk manager for the residential mortgage warehouse portfolio across all asset-backed lending activities. This role involves conducting asset-level and counterparty-level credit reviews, evaluating fraud, reputational, and collateral/security considerations, and continuously monitoring residential mortgage finance exposures. Reporting to the co-heads of Asset Backed Finance Risk Management, this Principal will collaborate with ATLAS and Apollo credit professionals, other AASP Risk team leaders, clients, and key partners. The role requires owning end-to-end portfolio risk, including transaction analysis, early risk identification, challenging deal teams, developing expertise in various asset classes, forming independent risk views, and writing succinct risk memos. This individual will be a self-sufficient risk manager, acting as a critical control function to protect capital and assess downside risks. The ideal candidate has experience as a Credit Risk Officer in a decision-making capacity for mortgage and asset-backed financing transactions, is comfortable challenging the status quo, and can establish operational guardrails. Product expertise in residential mortgage collateral, including agency, non-qualified mortgages, business purpose loans, single family rental, HELOC, closed-end seconds, mortgage servicing rights, and servicer advances, is essential. The role includes reviewing and assessing new and existing transactions, facility amendments, renewal requests, and monitoring ongoing credit quality.

Requirements

Strong subject matter knowledge of multiple asset classes in the consumer and commercial sectors, including unsecured consumer, renewables, credit cards, student loans.
Exposure to more bespoke or less liquid asset classes (venture debt, SME lending, fund finance) is highly beneficial.
Prior experience as an approver of credit.
Experience underwriting Corporates from a fundamental credit perspective.
Experience reviewing loan agreements.
Prior experience and responsibility for critical decisions of significant financial impact and complex criteria is a main requirement.
Ability to roll-up sleeves and work alongside 1LOD to underwrite highly structured warehouse (loan) facilities.
Strong foundation in risk while also very solution-oriented with a thorough understanding of the commercial needs of a business, especially one in a growth stage, but know how to balance that with risk discipline and control.
Strong analytical skills, multi-asset class experience, and an ability to build risk management tools to aid in governing the risk in the portfolio.
Extensive financial analysis and modelling skills, expertise in credit risk management, and strong understanding of risk metrics/models/systems.
Understanding of fundamental credit skills, ideally having spent time in a large bank or financial institution with structured credit training programs.
Exceptional attention to detail.
Must have exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal and be comfortable presenting prospective deals to investment committee(s).
Must be able to communicate complex risk-related concepts to both internal and external parties.
Ability to incorporate and understand information from a variety of sources to stay ahead of market/economic trends and evaluate the impact on the portfolio.

Nice To Haves

Product expertise is required for this role. Residential mortgage collateral includes but is not limited to agency, non-qualified mortgages, business purpose (or investor) loans, single family rental, HELOC and closed end seconds, mortgage servicing rights and servicer advances.

Responsibilities

Underwrite risk in each transaction, including evaluating financing structures, asset risk, originator and servicer risk profiles, reputational risks, collateral control risks, stress testing, and analytics, as well as gathering market intelligence.
Accountable for making risk decisions and approving transactions within a delegated authority level, acting like an investor.
Challenge the business (sales/portfolio/structuring teams), substantiate support or dissent for a deal, and work with deal teams on structural improvements for transactions.
Participate in the deal underwriting process from inception and throughout the lifecycle of a transaction, with increased involvement for underperforming, higher-risk, less liquid, or more esoteric asset classes.
Work with Legal and deal teams on loan agreements to ensure documents accurately reflect the deal structure, economic terms, and asset waterfalls.
Collaborate with other control function partners, including Legal, Due Diligence, and Compliance, to escalate and review reputational or franchise risk considerations such as fraud and double-pledging risk.
Work with Treasury to evaluate liability or liquidity considerations.
Present risk concerns and due diligence findings, make risk recommendations, and answer questions from Investment Committee members or other senior stakeholders.
Produce documentation including thorough market, borrower, structure, and collateral analysis to support recommendations, including understanding and sensitizing stress testing analysis and obtaining market intelligence.