Blue Owl's Marc Lipschultz - skate to where the puck is going

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.