🎥 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 $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. Join over 9,900 thought leaders from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield Oaktree, EQT, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Hightower, Focus Financial, Cerity Partners, and more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit altgoesmainstream.substack.com