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 $250B 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 $250B 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. Show Notes 00:00 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast 00:42 Interview with Marc Lipschultz 00:57 Blue Owl's Growth and Success 01:10 Marc's Background and Career 03:20 Marc's Journey at KKR 03:31 The Early Days of Private Markets 05:18 Building Owl Rock and Blue Owl 05:45 Growth at KKR and Blue Owl 06:17 Lessons from KKR 07:21 Serving Investors and Delivering Results 08:29 Operationalizing Culture 09:42 Serving Investors with Excellence 10:04 Focus on the Wealth Channel 10:25 Democratization of Alts 11:54 Building a Firm to Serve Individuals 13:41 Building a Scalable Firm 16:23 Unified Wealth Platform 18:42 Balancing Customization and Scale 23:48 Brand and Trust in Private Markets 26:27 Opportunities in Private Markets 28:38 Acquisition of IPI and Strategic Growth 28:53 The Role of Scale in Private Markets 31:10 Growth and Competition in Private Credit 32:19 Challenges in Moving from Base to High-End Markets 32:30 Meeting the Needs of Large Borrowers 32:38 Market Dynamics and Spread Variations 33:03 High-End Market Realities 33:31 Cost of Capital and Borrowing Limits 34:28 Predictability, Privacy, and Partnership 35:12 Natural Market Boundaries 35:41 Secular Trends in Private Credit 35:43 The One-Stop Shop Concept 36:10 Risk Management in Credit 36:15 Concentration Risks in Credit vs. Equity 37:01 Maintaining Low Loss Rates 37:40 Impact of Capital on Credit Performance 38:25 Durability of Large Companies 39:44 Private Financing Trends 40:28 Strategic Business Orientation 40:52 Growth Trends and Market Focus 41:46 Skating to Where the Puck is Going 46:48 Permanent Capital and Business Strategy 50:19 Building a Purpose-Built Firm 52:51 Lessons from the Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Lightning 53:15 The Role of Culture in Business and Sports 55:13 Intentionality and Good Fortune 55:52 Commitment to Culture and Values 57:04 People as the Core of Success 57:46 Wrapping Up the Conversation and Closing Remarks Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant .
