Alt Goes Mainstream

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

We had a chance to sit down with Blue Owl Co-CEO Marc Lipschultz recently at their Nest Network Summit for RIAs and private banks in Laguna Beach.

It was a perfect setting to discuss Blue Owl’s incredible growth, which has been in part due to its unique and focused partnership with the wealth channel.

Blue Owl is one of the industry’s largest alternative asset managers and has charted an impressive growth path in the nine years since its founding. Blue Owl has scaled to over $265B of AUM and has proven to be one of the top firms at raising capital from the wealth channel.

Marc is a private markets industry veteran who has been instrumental in building not just one, but two of the industry’s biggest players.

He spent over two decades at KKR, serving on the firm’s Management Committee, and as the Global Head of Energy and Infrastructure after joining the firm as one of the first 20 employees. He then partnered with Blackstone GSO Founder Doug Ostrover and Goldman Sachs Partner and Co-Head of Leveraged Finance Craig Packer to co-found Owl Rock Capital Partners, the predecessor firm to Blue Owl’s Credit platform. Owl Rock combined with Dyal Capital Partners to become the publicly traded entity Blue Owl in May 2021 and has since grown to over $265B in AUM and $2.2B in revenue.

Owl Rock and now, Blue Owl’s, flight is emblematic of the evolution of alternative asset managers. Marc and I had a fascinating conversation. We discussed:

* How Blue Owl’s growth highlights trends that have propelled alternative asset management into the mainstream.

* Why scale matters.

* Their focus on private credit, data centers, and digitalization.

* Their focus on private wealth.

* The power of permanent capital.

Thanks Marc for coming on the show to share your wisdom and expertise in private markets.

You can also see a recent Q&A with Marc on AGM here.

A number of the themes discussed by Marc in the podcast and Q&A appear in Blue Owl’s 2025 Market Outlook. You can read Blue Owl’s 2025 Market Outlooks across Credit, Real Estate, and GP Strategic Capital, where their teams outline themes that are top of mind and how it will impact their respective sectors.

Clip #1: How Blue Owl’s business was designed with wealth in mind from the very start: equal access to institutional opportunities.

Clip #2: Blue Owl’s focus on partnership with clients and how client needs might lead to Credit, Real Assets, and GP Stakes.

Clip #3: Why Blue Owl acquired IPI and how it fits into the Blue Owl family.

Show Notes

00:00 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

00:57 Blue Owl's Growth and Success

01:10 Marc's Background and Career

02:23 The Setting: Laguna Beach

02:30 Focus on Wealth Management

02:47 Marc's Journey in Private Markets

03:28 Early Days at KKR

05:22 Building Owl Rock and Blue Owl

05:47 Concept of Growth in Private Markets

06:41 The Role of Culture in Success

08:35 Operationalizing Culture

10:12 Focus on Wealth Channel

10:33 Democratization of Alts

12:02 Building a Firm for Individual Investors

16:43 Unified Wealth Platform

19:06 Balancing One-Stop Shop and Customization

24:22 Brand and Strategy

29:56 Scale in Private Markets

33:13 Meeting the Needs of Large Borrowers

33:21 Understanding Market Spreads

33:47 High-End Market Dynamics

34:16 Cost of Capital and Borrowing Limits

35:14 Predictability, Privacy, and Partnership

36:16 Trends in Private Credit

36:29 The One-Stop Shop Concept

36:57 Risk Management in Credit

37:48 Maintaining Low Loss Rates

38:44 Impact of Scale on Credit Quality

40:27 Private vs. Public Financing

40:54 Growth in Asset-Backed Financing

41:16 Strategic Business Orientation

42:34 Skating to Where the Puck is Going

47:58 Permanent Capital Advantage

48:39 Flexibility in Loan Terms

51:26 Building a Purpose-Built Firm

54:15 The Role of Culture in Business and Sports

55:34 Lessons from the Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Lightning

55:41 Leadership and Performance

56:37 Good Fortune and Success

57:00 Commitment to Culture and Outcome

57:26 Powerful Culture in Sports

58:06 People: The Core of Success

58:59 Wrapping Up the Conversation

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

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