As the Federal Reserve's May meeting approaches, Apollo Global Management (APO) co-founder and CEO Marc Rowan isn't worried if the tight liquidity environment sticks around.

"When rates are down and credit is free and liquidity is plentiful, everything moves up and to the right," Rowan told Yahoo Finance at the 2023 Milken Global Conference (video above). "So public equity markets, technology, [and] growth clearly succumbed to the siren song of liquidity. People now have to figure out were they good investors or was this all market beta?"

"Private equity was not immune to that," he added. "While it was happening, it felt really good, and now that it’s not happening anymore, it doesn’t feel so good...We did just fine over 10 years, but this is the period of time when liquidity has been withdrawn, when we’re playing offense and lots are playing defense." (Disclosure: Apollo Global Management is the parent company of Yahoo Finance.)

Apollo had $547.6 billion in assets under management (AUM) as 2022 came to a close, according to SEC filings. The company does business in private equity and private credit. It also owns retirement reinsurer Athene, which offers a range of annuity products and accounts for about 40% of Apollo's AUM.

Still, the alternative asset manager's portfolio continues to get a lot of attention from market watchers, and rightfully so given the high-profile names it holds.

In addition to the aforementioned Athene, an $11 billion all-stock acquisition it closed in 2022, Apollo currently owns security firm ADT, which it bought in 2016, and Yahoo Inc. (Yahoo Finance's parent company), which it acquired in 2021 for $5 billion.

In February, Apollo clocked a profit after three quarters of losses. However, it hasn't been immune to concerns in the broader economy. In March, Rowan reassured investors that Athene wasn't at risk of a run similar to those seen at regional banks in the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse.