Robert Morse

Robert Morse has helped Bridge Investment Group scale its commercial real estate platform since arriving 15 years ago, culminating in Apollo Global Management’s decision to acquire the firm in early 2025.

The $1.5 billion all-stock deal announced in February positions Bridge to further bolster its CRE offerings with direct access to Apollo’s asset management business. The transaction, which is slated to close in the third quarter of this year, underscores the sharp growth of Bridge since going public in 2021, jumping from $5 billion of gross assets under management to $50 billion.

“From the capital-raising side, we’ll have more access to the capital, which will allow us to express our views, because of the broad reach of the combined Apollo and Bridge distribution teams,” Morse said. “While both of us have invested in product development, and have been trying to stay cutting edge in terms of research and target focus, etc., we’re better together than we are separately.”

Bridge has been heavily invested in multifamily, single-family rental and industrial assets over the last few years, a strategy Morse is looking to continue following the merger with Apollo. 

Prior to joining Bridge, Morse was chief executive of Citigroup’s Asia institutional clients group from 2004 to 2008. Before that, he headed Citigroup’s global investment banking for six years. 

Going forward, Morse sees a continued positive trajectory for Bridge with the support of Apollo’s infrastructure. 

“They paid a meaningful premium over the then-stock price for the entity, and their intentions are to maintain the Bridge brand, so it’s really an acquisition premised on opportunity and promise,” Morse said. “We think that, collectively, we will be able to provide outstanding service for the real estate investor — both the institutional investor and the retail investor.”