Blue Owl Capital (OWL) 10-K2023 FY Annual report

This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, which reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, future events, operations and financial performance. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking words such as “outlook,” “believes,” “expects,” “potential,” “continues,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “predicts,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” “anticipates” or the negative version of those words, other comparable words or other statements that do not relate to historical or factual matters. The forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and expectations of our future performance, taking into account all information currently available to us. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions relating to our operations, financial results, financial condition, business prospects, growth strategy and liquidity that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Some of these factors are described under the headings “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the risk factors and other cautionary statements that are included in this report and in our other periodic filings. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements. New risks and uncertainties arise over time, and it is not possible for us to predict those events or how they may affect us. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

Blue Owl is a global alternative asset manager with $165.7 billion in AUM as of December 31, 2023. Anchored by a strong Permanent Capital base, the firm deploys private capital across Credit, GP Strategic Capital and Real Estate platforms on behalf of institutional and private wealth clients. Blue Owl’s flexible, consultative approach helps position the firm as a partner of choice for businesses seeking capital solutions to support their sustained growth. The firm’s management team is comprised of seasoned investment professionals with decades of experience building alternative investment businesses. Blue Owl employs over 685 people globally.

As part of our brand’s evolution, we have transitioned to one Blue Owl. In connection with this initiative, our legacy brands - Owl Rock, Dyal Capital and Oak Street - have been renamed to Credit, GP Strategic Capital and Real Estate investment platforms, respectively. In connection with the transition to one Blue Owl, our products were also renamed. The strategic shift to a unified brand reflects our long-term commitment to delivering the collective power of our investment capabilities to the market. As one Blue Owl, our mission and the solutions we provide to our investors and users of our capital remain unchanged.

We have three major product platforms: Credit, GP Strategic Capital and Real Estate. We believe our products, while distinct, are complementary to each other and together enable us to provide a differentiated offering of varied capital solutions. All of our products employ a disciplined investment philosophy with a focus on long-term investment horizons and are managed by tenured leadership and investment professionals with significant experience in their respective platforms.

Our Credit products offer private financing solutions to middle-market companies seeking capital solutions. We believe our breadth of offerings establishes us as a lending partner of choice for private-equity sponsored companies, as well as non-sponsored borrowers. We aim to lend capital to sizable, defensive businesses operating in recession-resistant industries or non-cyclical end markets. Since the launch of our flagship institutional product, OBDC, we have continued to prudently expand our offerings, focusing on adjacent strategies that are both additive and complementary to our existing product base. Our Credit products are generally offered through a mix of BDCs, long-dated private funds, managed accounts and CLOs across the following investment strategies:

Our GP Strategic Capital products position us as a leading capital solutions provider to private capital managers. We primarily focus on acquiring equity stakes in, or providing debt financing to private capital firms, which we may refer to as “GPs” or “Partner Managers.” Our Business Services Platform is a boutique consulting unit within Blue Owl and was established to provide strategic support to our Partner Managers. Our GP Strategic Capital products are offered primarily through Permanent Capital private fund vehicles across the following investment strategies:

Our Real Estate products focus on acquiring triple net lease real estate occupied by investment grade or creditworthy tenants. Our Real Estate products are offered primarily through Permanent Capital vehicles, including our recently launched REIT, and long-dated private funds.

Blue Owl’s history is predicated on the key milestones of Owl Rock, Dyal Capital and Oak Street. Owl Rock was founded in 2016 by Doug Ostrover, Marc Lipschultz and Craig Packer to address the evolving need for credit solutions by middle-market companies. Dyal Capital was founded in 2010 by Michael Rees to fill the need for flexible capital solutions for private capital managers. Oak Street was founded in 2009 by Marc Zahr and established itself as a leader in private equity real estate, offering flexible and unique capital solutions to a variety of organizations.

With respect to our GP debt financing strategy, many banks provide revolving lines of credit to private equity managers, but these credit lines are typically short duration, amortize and require blanket personal guarantees. A small number of firms provide structured or preferred equity to private capital managers, but these investments are also structurally very different from our products’ long-term loans. We believe that this limited competition is likely to persist, as conflicts of interest, regulatory restrictions, capital constraints and other considerations make lending to private capital managers challenging for financial institutions, insurance companies and other private market firms.

Our current GP Strategic Capital strategies compete with among others, a number of private equity funds, specialized funds, hedge funds, corporate buyers, traditional asset managers, real estate companies, commercial banks, investment banks, other investment managers and other financial institutions, including the owners of certain of our stockholders, as well as domestic and international pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, and we expect that competition will continue to increase. We compete globally and on a regional, industry and asset basis.

Competitors in the publicly traded net lease sector generally exhibit less stringent criteria than we do with respect to pricing and lease durations, and their portfolios are comprised substantially of non-investment grade credits, shorter average lease terms, and meaningful near-term lease rollover. Additionally, many net lease peers focus on acquiring retail properties with an average deal size of less than $10 million, whereas our Real Estate products’ transactions are frequently $100 million and greater in size.

Competition from other private equity funds has grown, as many have either shifted their current real estate focus to building net lease teams or acquiring existing net lease strategies. Despite this increased activity, competition with our Real Estate products on the deal level has remained relatively low, as those strategies concentrate their efforts in the non-investment grade space, prefer to develop properties themselves, and to deploy capital in sectors that are outside of our traditional focus of industrial assets, mission critical office properties and essential retail. As the monetization of real estate through sale-leasebacks continues to gain traction as a capital allocation tool for companies, we expect the net lease sector to grow even larger, and that will continue to attract more competition into the space.

As an alternative asset manager, we believe that our people are key to the success of our business. We embrace four core values we view as integral to creating a culture in which our people can thrive personally and professionally, including mutual respect, excellence, constructive dialogue and a “one team” mindset.

We design our compensation programs to motivate and retain employees and align their interests with those of our stockholders. In particular, annual compensation for our executives and other senior employees involves a combination of cash and deferred equity awards in the form of Incentive Units and RSUs (as defined in Note 1 to the Financial Statements). The proportion of compensation that is deferred and at risk of forfeiture generally increases as an employee’s level of compensation rises. Employees at higher total compensation levels are generally targeted to receive a greater percentage of their total compensation payable in Incentive Units and RSUs. To further align their interests with those of investors in our products, our employees have the opportunity to make investments in or alongside our products. We also provide our employees robust health and other wellness offerings, as well as a variety of quality-of-life benefits, including family planning resources. We believe our approach to compensation and benefits is consistent with companies in the alternative asset management industry and helps enable us to attract and retain best-in-class talent in our industry. Our senior management periodically reviews the effectiveness and competitiveness of our compensation program.

Blue Owl’s corporate sustainability efforts seek to enable positive outcomes for our most critical stakeholders, including our investors, our public stockholders, our employees and the communities in which we operate. Almost three years after our listing as a public company, we have made meaningful strides developing a strategic approach to advancing our corporate sustainability objectives across three priority areas of focus: Responsible Investing, DEI and Citizenship.

We recognize the importance of business relevant ESG issues and opportunities and are committed to the consideration of these factors in relation to our business operations and investment activities to manage risk and identify opportunities. The firm adopted an ESG policy, which applies to all asset classes, industries and countries in which Blue Owl does business and the products it manages.

Blue Owl is committed to fostering and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. We seek to create an inclusive, merit-based environment that is supportive of people from all backgrounds. We have formalized our approach by adopting a DEI Policy.

We seek to engage with our stakeholders to support the causes most important to our communities. We take our role as a corporate citizen seriously and aim to contribute to meaningful causes and partner with various organizations to support the communities in which we operate and reside. We believe there is an opportunity to “make community our culture” by building a robust citizenship program that is integrated, community-centered and employee-enriched, including:

The Registrant is a publicly traded holding company, and its primary assets are ownership interests in the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships, which are held indirectly through Blue Owl GP. We conduct our business through the Blue Owl Operating Group. See Note 1 to our Financial Statements for a description of the various share and unit classes outstanding at the Registrant and Blue Owl Operating Partnership levels.

Economic and voting percentages above do not include the potential dilutive impact of the exercise of the warrants held by Altimar Sponsor LLC (the “Private Placement Warrants”) to purchase Class A Shares, as well as RSUs, unvested Incentive Units, Second Oak Street Earnout Units (as defined in Note 1 to the Financial Statements), as these interests do not participate in dividends and distributions (other than to the extent of certain tax distributions on unvested Incentive Units). See Note 1 to our Financial Statements for additional information on these interests.

Rigorous legal and compliance analysis of our business and investments made by our products is important to our culture. We strive to maintain a culture of compliance through the use of policies and procedures such as oversight compliance, codes of ethics, compliance systems, communication of compliance guidance and employee education and training. All employees must annually certify that they have received copies of and agree to comply with our compliance manual, including our Code of Ethics. Our Chief Compliance Officer supervises our compliance group, which group is responsible for monitoring all regulatory and compliance matters that affect our activities and manages our compliance policies and procedures. Our compliance policies and procedures address a variety of regulatory and compliance risks such as the handling of material non-public information, personal securities trading, valuation of investments, document retention, potential conflicts of interest and the allocation of investment opportunities.

Many jurisdictions in which we operate have laws and regulations relating to data privacy, cybersecurity and protection of personal information. Any failure to comply with such laws or regulations could result in substantial fines, penalties and/or sanctions, litigation, as well as reputational harm. As these laws and regulations or the enforcement of the same become more stringent, or if new laws or regulations or enacted, our financial performance or plans for growth may be adversely impacted.

Under the Advisers Act, an investment adviser (whether or not registered under the Advisers Act) has fiduciary duties to its clients. The SEC has interpreted these duties to impose standards, requirements and limitations on, among other things, trading for proprietary, personal and client accounts; allocations of investment opportunities among clients; and conflicts of interest.

The Advisers Act also imposes specific restrictions on an investment adviser’s ability to engage in principal and agency cross transactions. Our registered investment advisers are subject to many additional requirements that cover, among other things, disclosure of information about our business to clients; maintenance of written policies and procedures; maintenance of extensive books and records; restrictions on the types of fees we may charge, including performance revenues or carried interest; solicitation arrangements; maintaining effective compliance program; custody of client assets; client privacy; advertising; and proxy voting. The SEC has authority to inspect any registered investment adviser and typically inspects a registered investment adviser periodically to determine whether the adviser is conducting its activities in compliance with (i) applicable laws, (ii) disclosures made to clients and (iii) adequate systems, policies and procedures to ensure compliance.

A significant portion of our revenues are derived from our advisory services to our BDCs. The Investment Company Act imposes significant requirements and limitations on BDCs, including with respect to their capital structure, investments and transactions. While we exercise broad discretion over the day-to-day management of our BDCs, each of our BDCs is also subject to oversight and management by a board of directors, a majority of whom are not “interested persons” as defined under the Investment Company Act. The responsibilities of each board include, among other things, approving our advisory contract with our BDC, approving certain service providers and monitoring transactions involving affiliates, and approving certain co-investment transactions. Additionally, each quarter, the applicable investment adviser, as the valuation designee, will provide the audit committee of each of our BDCs with a summary or description of material fair value matters that occurred in the prior quarter and on an annual basis, as well as a written assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of its fair value process. The audit committee of each of our BDCs oversees the valuation designee and reports to the respective BDC’s board of directors on any valuation matters requiring such board’s attention. The advisory contracts with each of our BDCs may be terminated by the stockholders or directors of such BDC on not more than 60 days’ notice, and are subject to annual renewal by each respective BDC’s board of directors after an initial two-year term.

Generally, affiliates of our BDCs are prohibited under the Investment Company Act from knowingly participating in certain transactions with their affiliated BDCs without prior approval of the BDC’s board of directors who are not interested persons and, in some cases, prior approval by the SEC. The SEC has interpreted the prohibition on transactions with affiliates to prohibit “joint transactions” among entities that share a common investment adviser.

Certain of our products are permitted to co-invest with other products managed by us as a result of exemptive relief granted by the SEC, so long as such transactions are negotiated in a manner consistent with our BDCs’ investment objectives, positions, policies, strategies and restrictions as well as regulatory requirements and other pertinent factors, provided that certain directors of any of our participating BDCs make certain determinations. Our investment allocation policy incorporates the conditions of the exemptive relief. As a result of the exemptive relief, there could be significant overlap in the investment portfolios of our BDCs and other of our products that could avail themselves of the exemptive relief. Additionally, we have been granted exemptive relief to permit certain of our BDCs to offer multiple classes of shares of common stock and to impose asset-based distribution fees and early withdrawal fees.

The SEC also has signaled an increased emphasis on investment adviser and private fund regulation and has proposed and enacted significant rules that will impact investment advisers and their management of private investment funds and the SEC is expected to propose additional changes in the future. Such current and future rule making is expected to materially impact private funds and private fund advisers and their operations, including increasing compliance burdens and regulatory costs, and heightened risk of regulatory enforcement action such as public sanctions, restrictions on activities, fines and reputational damage. For example, significant time and resources are expected to be required to comply with the private fund adviser rules that the SEC adopted on August 23, 2023, including costs related to reporting and disclosures to investors. Any of the foregoing could lead to further regulatory uncertainty, particularly regarding those rules that are currently (or in the future may become) subject to legal challenge from private fund industry groups and others, result in changes to our operations and could materially impact our products and/or their investments, including by causing us to incur additional expenses.

Blue Owl Securities is registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC, which maintains registrations in many states, and is a member of FINRA. As a broker-dealer, Blue Owl Securities is subject to regulation and oversight by the SEC and state securities regulators. In addition, FINRA, a self-regulatory organization that is subject to oversight by the SEC, promulgates and enforces rules governing the conduct of, and examines the activities of, its member firms. Due to the limited authority granted to Blue Owl Securities in its capacity as a broker-dealer, it is not required to comply with certain regulations covering trade practices among broker-dealers and the use and safekeeping of customers’ funds and securities. As a registered broker-dealer and member of a self-regulatory organization, Blue Owl Securities is, however, subject to the Rule 15c3-1 of the Exchange Act, which specifies the minimum level of net capital a broker-dealer must maintain and also requires that a significant part of a broker-dealer’s assets be kept in relatively liquid form.

The following is a summary of the risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and should be read in conjunction with the complete discussion of risk factors set forth in “Item 1A. Risk Factors.” Some of the factors that could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows include, but are not limited to, the following:

Our business is affected by conditions and trends in the global financial markets and the global economic and political climate relating to, among other things, elevated and rising interest rates, the availability and cost of credit, persistent inflation, economic uncertainty, changes in laws (including laws and regulations relating to our taxation, taxation of our clients and applicable to alternative asset managers), trade policies, commodity prices, tariffs, currency exchange rates and controls, political elections and administration transitions, and national and international political events (including wars and other forms of conflict, terrorist acts, and security operations), work stoppages, labor shortages and labor disputes, supply chain disruptions and catastrophic events such as fires, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and global health pandemics. These factors are outside of our control and may affect the level and volatility of credit and securities prices and the liquidity and value of fund investments, and we and our products may not be able to or may choose not to manage our exposure to these conditions. Global financial markets have experienced heightened volatility in recent periods, including as a result of economic and political events in or affecting the world’s major economies, such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and more recently between Israel and Hamas. Concerns over increasing inflation, economic recession, as well as interest rate volatility and fluctuations in oil and gas prices resulting from global production and demand levels, as well as geopolitical tension, have exacerbated market volatility.

Certain of our products and their portfolio companies operate in industries that have been impacted by inflation. Although the U.S. inflation rate has decreased in the fourth quarter, it remains well above the historic levels over the past several decades. Such inflationary pressures have increased the costs of labor, energy and raw materials and have adversely affected consumer spending, economic growth and our products’ portfolio companies’ operations. If such portfolio companies are unable to pass any increases in the costs of their operations along to their customers, it could adversely affect their operating results. Such conditions would increase the risk of default on their obligations as a borrower. In addition, any projected future decreases in the operating results of our products’ portfolio companies due to inflation could adversely impact the fair value of those investments. Any decreases in the fair value of our products’ investments could result in future realized or unrealized losses.

Elevated and rising interest rates could have a dampening effect on overall economic activity, the financial condition of our customers and the financial condition of the end customers who ultimately create demand for the capital we supply, all of which could negatively affect demand for our products’ capital. The Federal Reserve increased the federal funds rate four times in 2023, increasing the federal funds rate by 1% since the start of 2023 and 5.25% since the start of 2022. Although the Federal Reserve has signaled the potential for federal funds rate cuts in 2024, the rate and timing of such decreases remains unknown. Persistently high interest rates and uncertainty surrounding future Federal Reserve actions may have a material effect on our business making it particularly difficult for us to obtain financing at attractive rates, impacting our ability to execute on our growth strategies or future acquisitions.

We regularly maintain cash balances at third-party financial institutions in excess of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance limits. If a depository institution fails to return these deposits or is otherwise subject to adverse conditions in the financial or credit markets, our access to invested cash or cash equivalents could be limited which adversely impact our results of operations or financial condition.

The investment advisory and management agreements we have with each of our BDCs categorize the fees we receive as: (a) base management fees, which are paid quarterly and generally increase or decrease based on the average fair value of our BDC’s gross assets (excluding cash and cash equivalents) or average fair value of gross assets (excluding cash) plus undrawn commitments, (b) Part I Fees and (c) Part II Fees. We classify the Part I Fees as management fees because they are predictable and recurring in nature, not subject to contingent repayment and generally cash-settled each quarter. If any of our BDCs’ gross assets or net investment income (before Part I Fees and Part II Fees) were to decline significantly for any reason, including, without limitation, due to fair value accounting requirements, the poor performance of its investments or the inability or increased cost to obtain or maintain borrowings for each of our BDCs, the amount of the fees we receive from our BDCs, including the base management fee and the Part I Fees, would also decline significantly, which could have an adverse effect on our revenues and results of operations. Our investment advisory and management agreements typically provide that the rates at which we earn advisory fees from certain of our BDCs increase after our BDCs are publicly listed (where before the listing the advisory fees typically are a reduced base management fee with a reduced or no Part I or II Fees). If our BDCs do not become publicly listed on anticipated timeframes or at all for any reason, including the NAV performance of our BDCs, Blue Owl will not benefit from this increase, and those BDCs may need to return their capital to investors, further reducing our management fees. We may also, from time to time, (a) waive or voluntarily defer any fees payable to us by our BDCs or any BDCs that we may manage after the date hereof and (b) restructure any existing fee waivers in place with our BDCs so that such of our BDCs will be obligated to pay fee amounts that are less than the full fee amounts owed to us pursuant to the terms of the applicable investment advisory and management agreements between us and such BDC, and the duration and extent of such waivers and deferrals in each of (a) and (b) may need to be significant to support continued fundraising. In addition to those arrangements, we have entered into and in the future may enter into expense supporting arrangements with certain of our BDCs where we pay or reimburse certain expenses of our BDCs in order to support their target dividend payments.

For our other non-BDC Credit products, as well as GP Strategic Capital and certain Real Estate products, which we refer to as our private funds, we enter into investment advisory and management agreements whereby we generally receive base management fees from the inception of such fund through the liquidation of such fund or for most of our GP Strategic Capital products for a set period. Non-BDC Credit products generally have a base management fee that is typically based on a percentage of gross asset value (which, if applicable, includes the portion of such investments purchased with leverage), whereas our GP Strategic Capital products generally have a management fee that is initially a set percentage of capital committed by investors, and then, following a step down event (generally either the end of the investment period or, for certain funds, when the fund’s commitments become substantially invested or drawn), is adjusted to a lower percentage of the fund’s cost of unrealized investments, subject to impairment losses for certain funds. With respect to our Real Estate products, our Permanent Capital vehicles have a management fee that is typically based on a percentage of net asset value, and our closed-end vehicles generally have a management fee that is initially a set percentage of capital committed by investors, and then, following a step down event (generally the end of the investment period or commencement of a successor fund), is adjusted to the same or in some cases a lower percentage of the fund’s cost of unrealized investments. Following a management fee step down event, the management fee we receive will be reduced when a fund realizes investments or in certain cases when there are

permanent changes to the cost basis of unrealized investments. While those funds are not required to realize assets as of any date, there is an obligation to explore liquidity strategies with respect to a fund, and should a liquidity strategy event occur prior to the management fee end date, it could cause a reduction in the amount of management fees we are otherwise entitled to receive. Further, any realization of assets will be within the control of certain of our employees who own an interest in a portion of the carried interest that does not belong to us and who may have an incentive to effect a realization earlier than one otherwise would expect had carried interest not been applicable.

relevant legal and regulatory frameworks, and our business determination to negotiate for those fees. As a result, any change to the willingness of portfolio companies to bear those fees, the terms of our products that permit us to receive and retain those fees, the legal and regulatory framework in which we operate or our willingness to negotiate for those fees with portfolio companies of our products, could result in a decrease to our revenues and net income, and ultimately decrease the value of our common stock and our dividends to our stockholders. In addition, the fees generated are typically dependent on transaction frequency and volume, and a slowdown in the pace or size of investments by our products could adversely affect the amount of fees generated.

A significant portion of our revenue from our products in any given period is dependent on the size of our FPAUM in such period and fee rates charged on the FPAUM. We may not be successful in procuring investment returns and prioritizing services that will allow us to maintain our current fee structure, to maintain or grow our FPAUM, or to generate performance income. A decline in the size or pace of growth of FPAUM or applicable fee rates will reduce our revenues. A decline in the size or pace of growth of FPAUM or applicable fee rates may result from a range of factors, including:

The investment management business is intensely competitive, with competition based on a variety of factors, including investment performance, business relationships, quality of service provided to clients, fund investor liquidity, fund terms (including fees and economic sharing arrangements), brand recognition and business reputation. Maintaining our reputation is critical to attracting and retaining fund investors and for maintaining our relationships with our regulators, sponsors, Partner Managers, potential co-investors and joint venture partners, as applicable. Negative publicity regarding our company, our personnel or our Partner Managers could give rise to reputational risk that could significantly harm our existing business and business prospects. We are also currently subject to and may be subject in the future to litigation between ourselves and our Partner Managers, which may harm our reputation.

Certain investors in our products have been granted, and may in the future receive various forms of, participation rights with respect to certain products or strategies, including, but not limited to, the right to the net profits or gross revenues of certain products. To the extent gross revenue participations or similar arrangements are offered, they will reduce the revenue earned by us, but we will continue to bear all applicable expenses, even if the product is not generating positive cash flow. We may also offer our employees the opportunity to participate in certain types of these arrangements in certain circumstances as a way of compensating or incentivizing employees. There is generally no limitation on the size or the duration of future economic sharing arrangements.

The historical performance of our products is relevant to us primarily insofar as it is indicative of our reputation and ability to raise new products. The historical and potential returns of the products we advise are not, however, directly linked to returns on shares of our Class A Shares. Therefore, holders of our Class A Shares should not conclude that positive performance of the products we advise will necessarily result in positive returns on a return on investment in our Class A Shares. However, poor performance of our products we advise would likely cause a decline in our revenues and would therefore likely have a negative effect on our operating results, returns on our Class A Shares and a negative impact on our ability to raise new products. Also, there is no assurance that projections in respect of our products or unrealized valuations will be realized.

Many of the investments in our products are illiquid and thus have no readily ascertainable market prices. We value these investments based on our estimate, or an independent third party’s estimate, of their value as of the date of determination. The determination of fair value, and thus the amount of unrealized appreciation or depreciation our products may recognize in any reporting period, is to a degree subjective. Our products generally value their investments quarterly at fair value, based on, among other things, the input of third party valuation firms and taking into account the nature and realizable value of any collateral, the portfolio company’s ability to make payments and its earnings, the markets in which the portfolio company operates, comparison to publicly traded companies, discounted cash flow, current market interest rates and other relevant factors. Because such valuations, and particularly valuations of private securities, private companies and privately owned real estate, are inherently uncertain, the valuations may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time due to changes in current market conditions. A fund’s net asset value could be adversely affected if the determinations regarding the fair value of the investments were materially higher than the values that are ultimately realized upon the disposal of such investments. These valuations could, in turn, affect the management fees or performance income that our business receives.

Our products, particularly our Credit and Real Estate products, use leverage as part of their respective investment programs and in certain products regularly borrow a substantial amount of their capital. The use of leverage poses a significant degree of risk and enhances the possibility of a significant loss in the value of the investment portfolio. A fund may borrow money from time to time to purchase or carry securities or may enter into derivative transactions with counterparties that have embedded leverage. The use of leverage by our products increases the volatility of investments by magnifying the potential for gain or loss

on invested equity capital. If the value of a fund’s assets were to decrease, leverage would cause net asset value to decline more sharply than it otherwise would if the fund had not employed leverage. Similarly, any decrease in the fund’s income would cause net income to decline more sharply than it would have if it had not borrowed and employed leverage. Such a decline could negatively affect the fund’s ability to service its debt, which could have a material adverse effect on our products, and as a result, on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

We currently pursue, through our products, multiple investment strategies. While we believe that there may be certain synergies amongst the various strategies, there can be no assurance that the benefits will manifest or that there will not be unanticipated consequences resulting therefrom. Although we are seeking additional investment strategies, relative to more diversified asset managers, our products’ limited and specialized focus also leaves us more exposed to risks affecting the sectors in which our products invest. As our investment management program is not broadly diversified, we may be uniquely exposed to market, tax, regulatory and other risks affecting the sectors in which we invest. There can be no assurance that we will be able to take actions necessary to mitigate the effect of such risks or otherwise diversify our investment program to minimize such exposure.

As our GP Strategic Capital products’ investments in Partner Managers are intended to be held for an indefinite duration, we are dependent upon the ability of our Partner Managers to execute successfully their investment program and grow their assets under management. In the event that a Partner Manager is unable to grow their assets under management or such Partner Manager’s investment returns fail to meet expectations, the returns attributable to such investment may be reduced or our products may suffer a loss on such investment. A Partner Manager’s failure to grow assets under management may result from a range of factors common to asset managers, including factors to which we are subject ourselves, or specific factors attributable to its business including the departure of key persons, the inability of such Partner Manager to diversify into new investment strategies, investment performance and regulatory enforcement actions.

Our professional sports minority stakes strategy is small and may be difficult to grow. Our Blue Owl HomeCourt Fund makes minority investments in NBA franchises. The NBA provides certain services with respect to the Blue Owl HomeCourt Fund and receives a share of management fees and incentive allocations attributable to the fund. There is no assurance that we will be able to raise sufficient funds to continue to execute this strategy in the future. As adviser to the Blue Owl HomeCourt Fund, we may be exposed to liability to the NBA or one or more NBA teams in which we invest in a range of circumstances, including as a result of a violation of rules applicable to NBA franchise owners by us or investors in our Blue Owl HomeCourt Fund or, in certain circumstances, by our co-owners of a team (regardless of whether such persons were acting under our direction or control). In addition, the NBA may terminate its relationship with the adviser for a variety of reasons, including the departure of certain key persons or the occurrence of certain events constituting cause.The Blue Owl HomeCourt Fund may also evoke a high profile in the marketplace relative to its economic significance to our business. Therefore, any failure in the growth or performance of the professional sports minority stakes strategy could not only result in a decrease in our FPAUM growth potential but could also have a disproportionately adverse effect on our reputation.

As an asset manager with multiple clients, including our various and expanding strategies and products, we increasingly confront conflicts of interests relating to our investment activities and operations. In particular, our allocation of capital and co-investment opportunities across our products are subject to numerous actual or potential conflicts of interest. Although we have implemented policies and procedures to address those conflicts, our failure to effectively identify and address them could cause reputational harm and a loss of investor confidence in our business. It could also result in regulatory lapses that could lead to applicable penalties, as well as increased regulatory oversight of our business. Identifying potential conflicts of interest is complex and fact-intensive, and it is not possible to foresee every conflict of interest that could or will arise.

Certain of our products may have overlapping investment objectives, including products that have different fee structures, and conflicts may arise with respect to our allocation of investment opportunities among those products as well as other co-investors. We may allocate an investment opportunity that is appropriate for two or more investment products in a manner that excludes one or more products or results in a disproportionate allocation based on factors or criteria that we determine, including but not limited to differences with respect to available capital, the current or anticipated size of a product, minimum investment amounts, the remaining life of a product, differences in investment objectives, guidelines or strategies, diversification, portfolio construction considerations, liquidity needs, legal, tax and regulatory requirements and other considerations deemed relevant to us and in accordance with our policy. Although we have adopted investment allocation policies and procedures that are designed to ensure fair and equitable treatment over time, and expect these policies and procedures to continue to evolve, those policies and procedures will not eliminate all potential conflicts. Certain investment opportunities may be allocated to certain products that have lower fees or to our co-investment products that pay no fees. To the extent that those investments could otherwise have been allocated to products generating FPAUM, our revenues will be less than what would otherwise have been generated were those investments made through fee paying structures.

Our BDCs are permitted to co-invest in portfolio companies with each other and with affiliated investment funds in negotiated transactions pursuant to an SEC order (the “Co-investment Exemptive Order”). Pursuant to that exemptive relief, our BDCs and other affiliated investment funds generally are permitted to make such co-investments if a “required majority” (as defined in Section 57(o) of the Investment Company Act) of such BDC’s directors (including the independent directors) makes certain conclusions in connection with the co-investment transaction, including that (1) the terms of the transaction, including the consideration to be paid, are reasonable and fair to such BDC and its shareholders and do not involve overreaching in respect of such BDC or its shareholders on the part of any person concerned, (2) the transaction is consistent with the interests of such BDC’s shareholders and with its investment objective and strategies, and (3) the investment by one of our BDCs and other affiliated investment funds would not disadvantage any other of our BDCs, and such BDC’s participation would not be on a basis different from or less advantageous than that on which the other BDCs or other affiliated investment funds are investing. The different investment objectives or terms of the BDCs and affiliated investment funds may result in a potential conflict of interest, including in connection with the allocation of investments among our BDCs and/or our affiliated investment funds pursuant to the Co-investment Exemptive Order or otherwise.

Different products that we advise may invest in a single portfolio company, including at different levels of the capital structure of the same portfolio company. For example, in the normal course of business, one of our products may acquire debt positions in, or lend to, companies in which another of our products owns common equity securities or a subordinated debt position. Such investments or commitments may be made at different times, at different prices and on different terms. The interests of these

different products invested in different levels of the capital structure of a portfolio company may not always be aligned and actions taken for one product may be adverse to one or more other products, which may give rise to conflicts of interest. The interests of these different products may diverge significantly particularly in the case of financial distress of the portfolio company. For example, in a bankruptcy proceeding or out-of-court restructuring, the interests of a product owning equity or subordinated debt securities may be subordinated or otherwise adversely affected by virtue of a different product’s actions in respect of its own interests as a senior debt holder. Alternatively, we may be incentivized to cause a product invested in a senior debt position to be more passive or refrain from taking actions adverse to other products invested in equity or subordinated debt given the possibility for losses for these products. In addition, if one of our BDCs is an investor in a portfolio company alongside other of our products that have invested in a different part of the portfolio company’s capital structure, the Investment Company Act may prohibit us from negotiating on behalf of any such product in connection with a reorganization or restructuring of the portfolio company. While we have developed general guidelines regarding when two or more products can invest in different parts of the same company’s capital structure and created a process that we employ to handle those conflicts when they arise, our decision to permit the investments to occur in the first instance or our judgment on how to minimize the conflict could be challenged. If we fail to appropriately address those conflicts, it could negatively impact our reputation and ability to raise additional products and the willingness of counterparties to do business with us or result in potential litigation against us.

As an asset manager with multiple products, we regularly allocate costs and expenses among our products and between our products and us. Certain of those allocation determinations are inherently subjective and virtually all of them are subject to regulatory oversight. Allegations of, or investigation into, a potential improper expense allocation could cause reputational harm and a loss of investor confidence in our business. It could also result in regulatory lapses or penalties, as well as increased regulatory oversight of our business. In addition, any determination to allocate costs and expenses to us could negatively affect our net income, and ultimately decrease the value of our common stock and our dividends to our stockholders. Similar considerations arise when allocating expenses to, or away from vehicles to which specified interests apply.

Certain of our products may have overlapping investment objectives with Blue Owl, and conflicts may arise with respect to our decisions regarding how to allocate investment opportunities amongst our products or between Blue Owl and our products. We have provided and expect to continue to provide funds to support new product and strategy launches to enable our products to achieve a level of scale and profitability. We have used, and expect to continue to use, our balance sheet capital to warehouse seed investments in our products pending the contribution of committed capital by the investors in such products and/or to extend bridge loans to our products, which may decrease the liquidity available for other parts of our business. If new strategies or products do not develop as anticipated or our balance sheet assets cease to provide adequate liquidity, we may be forced to realize losses or become limited in our ability to seed new products or strategies or support existing ones as currently contemplated.

Certain of our GP Strategic Capital products’ Partner Managers directly or through their investment funds, own securities in Blue Owl or its subsidiaries. In addition, Blue Owl GPSC IV Advisors LLC, a controlled affiliate of Blue Owl, serves as investment manager to Blue Owl GP Stakes IV. Blue Owl GP Stakes IV may have different interests, including different investment horizons, than Blue Owl. However, any decision made with respect to holding or disposing of Blue Owl GP Stakes IV’s interest in Blue Owl will be determined by Blue Owl GPSC IV Advisors LLC in a manner consistent with its duties to Blue Owl GP Stakes IV. Because those decisions will be made independent from consideration of Blue Owl’s interests, they may, due to a range of factors, conflict with Blue Owl’s or its stockholders’ own interests at such time.

Our products, investment platforms and investment professionals regularly obtain non-public information regarding target companies and other investment opportunities. Since we do not currently maintain permanent information barriers among our businesses, we generally impute non-public information received by one investment team to all other investment professionals, including all of the personnel who make investment decisions for our products. In the event that any of our products or people obtain confidential or material non-public information, we and our products may be restricted in acquiring or disposing of investments. Notwithstanding the maintenance of restricted securities lists and other internal controls, the internal controls relating to the management of material non-public information could fail and result in us, or one of our people, buying or selling a security while deemed to be in possession of material non-public information. Inadvertent trading on material non-public information could negatively impact our reputation, result in the imposition of regulatory or financial sanctions and, consequently, negatively impact our ability to provide investment management services to our products and clients. These risks are heightened by the existence of our public equity products, which may limit the products’ investment opportunities or ability to dispose of investments. In limited circumstances, we may put in place temporary information barriers to restrict the transfer of non-public information, which limit our products’ abilities to benefit from Blue Owl expertise and such temporary information barriers could be breached, resulting in the same restrictions on such products’ investment activities.

In addition to the conflicts outlined above, we may experience conflicts of interest in connection with the management of our business affairs relating to and arising from a number of matters, including the amounts paid to us by our products; services that may be provided by us and our affiliates to investments in which our products invest (including the determination of whether or not to charge fees to our investments for our provision of such services); investments by our products and our other clients, subject to the limitations of the Investment Company Act; our formation of additional products; differing recommendations given by us to different clients; and our use of information gained from a products’ investments used to inform investments by other clients, subject to applicable law. In resolving these conflicts of interest, we may favor our products’ interests or investors’ interests over the interests of our stockholders.

The terms of our GP Strategic Capital products’ investments in Partner Managers generally include provisions relating to competitors of the Partner Managers, access to information about the Partner Managers and their business, and affirmative and negative confidentiality obligations regarding the Partner Managers. While we have implemented information control procedures with restrictions regarding the sharing of a Partner Manager’s confidential information, such procedures may not reduce a Partner Manager’s concern over the sharing of confidential and competitively sensitive information. Certain Partner Managers that are engaged in managing funds focused on similar businesses as our other product lines may consider Blue Owl to be a competitor with respect to their business and may seek to invoke remedies available to them under the investment agreements or pursue other remedies. Potential remedies available to them under the investment agreements, as applicable, include limiting the rights of our products to receive confidential information from the Partner Manager regarding its business, requiring us to sequester confidential information received from the Partner Manager, or requiring us to sell our interests in the Partner Manager for fair value as determined under the relevant investment agreement. A forced sale of a Partner Manager interest may reduce the amount of fees we receive with respect to the applicable GP Strategic Capital product, and any reduction in information may impede our ability to supervise our products’ investments. Further, the affiliation may hinder the GP Strategic Capital products’ ability to make future investments in Partner Managers who are in the same space and who may

consider Blue Owl a competitor, including follow-on investments in existing Partner Managers and investments with new Partner Managers.

We are reliant upon our strong relationships with our Partner Managers for the continued growth and development of business. Due to the number of Partner Managers with which we have relationships, we may compete with existing or prospective Partner Managers, which could negatively impact our ability to attract new Partner Managers to our products who may seek relationships with non-competitors over concerns of sharing information with competitors or other potential conflicts, including the ability to exercise our fiduciary duties. Additionally, our investments in Partner Managers may affect our relationships with other sponsors that are key relationships for our Credit products, because of similar concerns around information sharing or other reasons. While we have implemented procedures to address any such conflict, such procedures may not reduce the perception that such conflicts exist and may make us a less attractive partner/investor.

Some of our products generate performance-based fees, including carried interest. With respect to Blue Owl GP Stakes I - V and their related co-investment vehicles, none of the carried interest will be allocated to us. We will generally be allocated 15% of the carried interest attributable to Blue Owl GP Stakes V and future GP Strategic Capital products as well as 15% of the carried interest in existing and future Real Estate and Credit products. If a new GP Strategic Capital product is formed to facilitate a secondary transaction with respect to any of Blue Owl GP Stakes I - V (which would include, without limitation, any continuation fund or other new product whose primary purpose is to acquire directly or indirectly all or a portion of the assets of or interests in Blue Owl GP Stakes I - V), any carried interest generated by such product will not be allocated to us, notwithstanding that such secondary vehicle is formed in the future. Performance revenues not allocated to us is allocated to certain Principals and employees in vehicles not controlled by us. Carried interest and performance based fees or allocations may create an incentive for us or our investment professionals to make more speculative or riskier investments and determinations, directly or indirectly on behalf of our products, or otherwise take or refrain from taking certain actions than it would otherwise make in the absence of such carried interest or performance-based fees or allocations. It may also create incentives to influence how we establish economic terms for future products. In addition, we may have an incentive to make exit determinations based on factors that maximize economics in favor of the Principals and employees relative to us and our non-participating stockholders. Our failure to appropriately address any actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest resulting from our entitlement to receive performance income from many of our products could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, which could materially and adversely affect our business in a number of ways, including limiting our ability to raise additional products, attract new clients or retain existing clients.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting, accounting and corporate governance requirements of the NYSE, the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) and Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) that apply to issuers of listed equity, which impose certain significant compliance requirements, costs and obligations upon us. The requirements of being a publicly listed company and ongoing compliance with these rules and regulations require a significant commitment of additional resources and management oversight, which increases our operating costs and could divert the attention of our management and personnel from other business concerns.

We may pursue acquisitions of assets or business that are complementary to our business. For any such acquisitions, the optimization of our combined operations may be a complex, costly and time-consuming process and if we experience difficulties in this process, the anticipated benefits may not be realized fully or at all, or may take longer to realize than expected, which could have an adverse effect on us for an undetermined period after any such future acquisition. There can be no assurances that we will realize any potential operating efficiencies, synergies and other benefits anticipated in connection with such acquisitions.

Many of our products depend on the services of custodians, counterparties, administrators and other agents to carry out certain transactions and other administrative services, including compliance with regulatory requirements in U.S. and non-U.S. jurisdictions. We are subject to risks of errors and mistakes made by these third parties, which may be attributed to us and subject us or our products’ investors to reputational damage, penalties or losses. We depend on third parties to provide primary and back up communications and information systems. Any failure or interruption of those systems, including as a result of the termination of an agreement with any third-party service providers, could cause delays or other problems in our activities. Our financial, accounting, data processing, portfolio monitoring, backup or other operating systems and facilities may fail to operate properly or become disabled or damaged as a result of a number of factors including events that are wholly or partially beyond our control.

We intend, if market conditions warrant, to grow our business by increasing FPAUM in existing products and expanding into new investment strategies, geographic markets (including in both U.S. and non-U.S. markets) and products. For example, in December 2023, we completed the CHI Acquisition, which expanded our offerings to include life sciences-focused products. We may pursue growth through acquisitions of other investment management companies, expansion into new markets, acquisitions of critical business partners or other strategic initiatives, in each case, which may include entering into new lines of business.

Our AUM has grown significantly in the past, and we intend to pursue further growth in the near future, including through acquisitions. Our rapid growth has placed, and future growth, if successful, will continue to place, significant demands on our legal, compliance, accounting and operational infrastructure and will result in increased expenses. In addition, we are, and will continue to be, required to continuously develop our systems and infrastructure in response to the increasing sophistication of the investment management market; legal, accounting, regulatory and tax developments and continually evolving cybersecurity risks.

We may choose to finance our business operations through the issuance of senior notes, borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility or by issuing additional debt in the future. Our existing and future indebtedness exposes us to the typical risks associated with the use of leverage. The occurrence or continuation of any of these events or trends could cause us to suffer a decline in the credit ratings assigned to our debt by rating agencies, which could cause the interest rate applicable to borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility to increase and could result in other material adverse effects on our business. We depend on financial institutions extending credit to us on terms that are reasonable to us. There is no guarantee that such institutions will continue to extend credit to us or renew any existing credit agreements we may have with them, or that we will be able to refinance outstanding facilities when they mature. In addition, the incurrence of additional debt in the future could result in potential downgrades of our existing corporate credit ratings, which could limit the availability of future financing and increase our cost of borrowing. Furthermore, our Revolving Credit Facility contains certain covenants with which we need to comply. Non-compliance with any of the covenants without cure or waiver would constitute an event of default, and an event of default resulting from a breach of certain covenants could result, at the option of the lenders, in an acceleration of the principal and interest outstanding. Additionally, for many Credit products, the gross asset value used as the base for the management fee

includes investments purchased with leverage. If we are unable to obtain leverage at the expected level, or at all, this will have a negative impact on our ability to realize the full fee potential of any particular fund.

When managing our exposure to market risks, we may (on our own behalf or on behalf of our products) from time to time use forward contracts, options, swaps, caps, collars and floors or pursue other strategies or use other forms of derivative instruments to limit our exposure to changes in the relative values of investments that may result from market developments, including changes in prevailing interest rates, currency exchange rates and commodity prices. The scope of risk management activities undertaken by us varies based on the level and volatility of interest rates, prevailing foreign currency exchange rates, the types of investments that are made and other changing market conditions. The use of hedging transactions and other derivative instruments to reduce the effects of a decline in the value of a position does not eliminate the possibility of fluctuations in the value of the position or prevent losses if the value of the position declines. Such transactions may also limit the opportunity for gain if the value of a position increases. Moreover, it may not be possible to limit the exposure to a market development that is so generally anticipated that a hedging or other derivative transaction cannot be entered into at an acceptable price. Currency fluctuations, in particular, can have a substantial effect on our cash flow and financial condition. The success of any hedging or other derivative transaction generally will depend on our ability to correctly predict market changes, the degree of correlation between price movements of a derivative instrument and the position being hedged, the creditworthiness of the counterparty and other factors. As a result, while we may enter into such a transaction in order to reduce our exposure to market risks, the transaction may result in poorer overall firm or investment performance than if it had not been executed. Such transactions may also limit the opportunity for gain if the value of a hedged position increases.

There has been an increase in the frequency and sophistication of the cyber and security threats we face, with attacks ranging from those common to businesses generally to those that are more advanced and persistent, which may target us because, as an alternative asset management firm, we hold confidential and other price sensitive information about existing and potential investments. Cyber-attacks and other security threats could originate from a wide variety of sources, including cyber criminals, nation state hackers, hacktivists and other outside parties. As a result, we may face a heightened risk of a security breach or disruption with respect to sensitive information resulting from an attack by computer hackers, foreign governments or cyber terrorists.

Our success depends on the efforts, judgment and personal reputations of our senior management team, senior investment professionals and other key personnel. Their reputations, expertise in investing, relationships with fund investors and with other members of the business communities on whom we and our products depend on for investment opportunities and financing are each critical elements in operating and expanding our business. The loss of the services of our senior management team, senior investment professionals or other key personnel could have a material adverse effect on us and our products, and on the performance of our products, including on our ability to retain and attract fund investors and raise capital.

Our ability to attract and retain fund investors and to pursue investment opportunities for our clients depends heavily upon the reputation of our professionals, especially our senior professionals as well as third-party service providers. We are subject to a number of obligations and standards arising from our investment management business and our authority and statutory fiduciary status over the assets managed by our investment management business. Further, our employees are subject to various internal policies including a Code of Business Conduct and policies covering conflicts of interest, information systems, business continuity and information security. The violation of those obligations, standards and policies by any of our employees or misconduct by one of our third-party service providers could adversely affect investors in our products and us. Our business often requires that we deal with confidential matters of great significance to companies in which our products may invest. If our employees, former employees or third-party service providers were to use or disclose confidential information improperly, we could suffer serious harm to our reputation, financial position and current and future business relationships. Employee or third-party service provider misconduct could also include, among other things, binding us to transactions that exceed authorized limits or present unacceptable risks and other unauthorized activities or concealing unsuccessful investments (which, in either case, may result in unknown and unmanaged risks or losses), or otherwise charging (or seeking to charge) inappropriate expenses or inappropriate or unlawful behavior or actions directed towards other employees.

The success of our business will continue to depend upon us attracting, developing and retaining human capital. Competition for qualified, motivated, and highly-skilled executives, professionals and other key personnel in asset management firms is significant. Turnover and associated costs of rehiring, the loss of human capital through attrition, death, or disability and the reduced ability to attract talent could impair our ability to implement our future growth and maintain our standards of excellence. Our future success will depend upon our ability to find, attract, retain and motivate highly-skilled and highly-qualified individuals. We seek to provide our personnel with competitive benefits and compensation packages. However, our efforts may not be sufficient to enable us to attract, retain and motivate qualified individuals to support our growth. Moreover, if our personnel join competitors or form businesses that compete with ours, that could adversely affect our ability to raise new or successor products.

Our business, as well as the financial services industry generally, is subject to extensive regulation, including periodic examinations, by governmental agencies and self-regulatory organizations or exchanges in the U.S. and foreign jurisdictions in which we operate relating to, among other things, securities, antitrust, anti-money laundering, anti-bribery, tax and privacy. Each of the regulatory bodies with jurisdiction over us has regulatory powers dealing with many aspects of financial services, including the authority to grant, and in specific circumstances to cancel, permissions to carry on particular activities. The financial services industry may continue to face a difficult regulatory environment under the current presidential administration. In particular, the SEC has signaled an increased emphasis on investment adviser and private fund regulation and has proposed and enacted a number of new rules that would impose significant changes on investment advisers and their management of private funds (including with respect to fund audits, adviser-led secondary transactions, fee and expense allocation and reporting, and preferential rights), and the SEC is expected to propose additional changes in the future. Any of the foregoing could lead to further regulatory uncertainty, particularly regarding those rules that are currently (or in the future may become)

subject to legal challenge from private fund industry groups and others, result in changes to our operations and could materially impact our products and/or their investments, including by causing us to incur additional expenses.

The Advisers Act imposes specific restrictions on an investment adviser’s ability to engage in principal and agency cross transactions. Our registered investment advisers are subject to additional requirements that cover, among other things, disclosure of information about our business to clients; maintenance of written policies and procedures; maintenance of extensive books and records; restrictions on the types of fees we may charge, including performance fees and carried interest; solicitation arrangements; maintaining effective compliance programs; custody of client assets; client privacy; advertising; and proxy voting. Failure to comply with the obligations imposed by the Advisers Act could result in investigations, sanctions, fines, restrictions on the activities of us or our personnel and reputational damage.

Our subsidiaries are the advisers to our BDCs, which are subject to the rules and regulations under the Investment Company Act. Our BDCs are required to file periodic and annual reports with the SEC and may also be required to comply with the applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Furthermore, advisers to our BDCs have a fiduciary duty under the Investment Company Act not to charge excessive compensation, and the Investment Company Act grants BDC stockholders a direct private right of action against investment advisers to seek redress for alleged violations of this fiduciary duty.

In addition, the Dodd-Frank Act authorizes federal regulatory agencies to review and, in certain cases, prohibit compensation arrangements at financial institutions that give employees incentives to engage in conduct deemed to encourage inappropriate risk-taking by covered financial institutions. In 2016, federal bank regulatory authorities and the SEC revised and re-proposed a rule that generally (1) prohibits incentive-based payment arrangements that are determined to encourage inappropriate risks by certain financial institutions by providing excessive compensation or that could lead to material financial loss and (2) requires those financial institutions to disclose information concerning incentive-based compensation arrangements to the appropriate federal regulator. The Dodd-Frank Act also directs the SEC to adopt a rule that requires public companies to adopt and disclose

policies requiring, in the event the company is required to issue an accounting restatement, the contingent repayment of obligations of related incentive compensation from current and former executive officers. The SEC has proposed but not yet adopted such rule. To the extent the aforementioned rules are adopted, our ability to recruit and retain investment professionals and senior management executives could be limited.

In addition, we regularly rely on exemptions from various requirements of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, the Commodity Exchange Act, state securities (blue sky) laws and foreign securities laws. Those exemptions are sometimes highly complex and may in certain circumstances depend on compliance by third parties whom we do not control. The revocation, challenge or unavailability of these exemptions could increase our cost of doing business or subject us to regulatory action or third-party claims, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. For example, Rule 506 of Regulation D under the Securities Act includes “bad actor” disqualification provisions that ban an issuer from offering or selling securities pursuant to the safe harbor in Rule 506 if the issuer, or any other “covered person,” is the subject of a criminal, regulatory or court order or other “disqualifying event” under the rule which has not been waived by the SEC. The definition of a “covered person” under the rule includes an issuer’s directors, general partners, managing members and executive officers and promoters and persons compensated for soliciting investors in the offering. Accordingly, our ability to rely on Rule 506 to offer or sell our products and therefore a significant portion of our business would be impaired if we or any “covered person” is the subject of a disqualifying event under the rule and we are unable to obtain a waiver or, in certain circumstances, terminate our involvement with such “covered person”.

On 31 January 2020, the UK formally withdrew from the European Union (“Brexit”). After this, the UK entered into a transition period during which the majority of the existing EU rules continued to apply in the UK. Following the end of the transition period on 31 December 2020, EU rules ceased to apply in the UK.

The AIFMD regulates the activities of certain private fund managers undertaking fund management activities or marketing fund interests to investors in the EEA and the UK respectively.

The financial services industry has been the subject of heightened scrutiny by regulators around the globe. In particular, the SEC and its staff have focused more narrowly on issues relevant to alternative asset management firms, including by forming specialized units devoted to examining such firms and, in certain cases, bringing enforcement actions against the firms, their principals and employees. In recent periods there have been a number of enforcement actions within the industry, and it is expected that the SEC will continue to pursue enforcement actions against asset managers. This increased enforcement activity has caused, and could further cause us to reevaluate certain practices and adjust our compliance control function as necessary and appropriate.

Our BDCs have elected to be regulated as business development companies under the Investment Company Act. Many of the regulations governing business development companies restrict, among other things, the amount of leverage they can incur and co-investments and other transactions with other entities within Blue Owl. Certain of our products may be restricted from engaging in transactions with our BDCs and their subsidiaries. As BDCs regulated under the Investment Company Act, our BDCs may issue debt securities or preferred stock and borrow money from banks or other financial institutions, which we refer to collectively as “senior securities,” up to the maximum amount permitted by the Investment Company Act.

We and our products face increasing scrutiny from certain investors, third party assessors that measure companies’ ESG performance, our stockholders and other stakeholders related to ESG-related topics, including in relation to diversity and inclusion, human rights, environmental stewardship, support for local communities, corporate governance and transparency. For example, we, our products and our products’ portfolio companies risk damage to our brands and reputations if we or they do not act (or are perceived to not act) responsibly either with respect to responsible investing processes or ESG-related practices. Adverse incidents related to ESG practices could impact the value of our brand, the brand of our products or our products’ portfolio companies, or the cost of our or their operations and relationships with investors, all of which could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Further, there can be no assurance that investors and other stakeholders will determine that any of our ESG initiatives or commitments are sufficiently robust. There can be no assurance that we will be able to accomplish our goals related to responsible investing or ESG practices, as statements regarding our ESG and responsible investing commitments and priorities reflect our current estimates, plans and/or aspirations and are not guarantees that we will be able to achieve them within the timelines we announce or at all. Additionally, we are permitted to determine that it is not feasible or practical to implement or complete certain aspects of our responsible investing program or ESG initiatives based on cost, timing or other considerations.

In recent years, certain investors have placed increasing importance on policies and practices related to responsible investing and ESG for the products to which they commit capital and investors may decide not to commit capital to future fundraises based on their assessment of our approach to and consideration of ESG-related issues or risks. Similarly, a variety of organizations measure the performance of companies on ESG topics, and the results of these assessments are widely publicized. If our responsible investing or ESG-related practices or ratings do not meet the standards set by such investors or organizations, or if we receive a negative rating or assessment from any such organization, or if we fail, or are perceived to fail, to demonstrate progress toward our ESG priorities and initiatives, they may choose not to invest in our products or common stock, and we may face reputational damage. Similarly, it is expected that investor and/or stockholder demands will require us to spend additional resources and place increasing importance on business relevant ESG factors in our review of prospective investments and management of existing ones. Devoting additional resources to our responsible investing or ESG-related practices could increase the amount of expenses we or our investments are required to bear. For example, collecting, measuring, and reporting ESG information and metrics can be costly, difficult and time consuming, is subject to evolving reporting standards, and can present numerous operational, reputational, financial, legal and other risks. To the extent our access to capital from investors focused on ESG ratings or ESG-related matters is impaired, we may not be able to maintain or increase the size of our existing products or raise sufficient capital for new products, which may adversely affect our revenues. Further, growing interest on the part of investors and regulators in ESG-related topics and themes and increased demand for, and scrutiny of, ESG-related disclosure by asset managers, have also increased the risk that asset managers could be perceived as, or accused of, making inaccurate or misleading statements regarding the ESG-related investment strategies or their and their funds’ responsible investing or ESG-related efforts or initiatives, or “greenwashing.” Such perception or accusation could damage our reputation, result in litigation or regulatory actions and adversely impact our ability to raise capital.

“discriminate against” companies in certain industries (e.g., energy and mining) and prohibit state entities from doing business with such institutions and/or investing the state’s assets (including pension plan assets) through such institutions and (ii) ESG investment prohibitions require that state entities or managers/administrators of state investments make investments based solely on pecuniary factors without consideration of ESG factors. If investors subject to such legislation view our products’ responsible investing or ESG practices as being in contradiction of such “anti-ESG” policies, legislation or legal opinions, such investors may not invest in our products, our ability to maintain the size of our products could be impaired, and/or it could negatively affect the price of our common stock. Further, asset managers have been subject to recent scrutiny related to ESG-focused industry working groups, initiatives and associations, including organizations advancing action to address climate change or climate-related risk. Such scrutiny could expose us to the risk of antitrust investigations or challenges by federal authorities, result in reputational harm and/or discourage certain investors from investing in our products. In addition, state attorneys general, among others, have asserted that the Supreme Court’s decision striking down race-based affirmative action in higher education in June 2023 should be analogized to private employment matters and private contract matters. Several new cases alleging discrimination based on similar arguments have been filed since that decision, with scrutiny of certain corporate DEI practices increasing. If we do not successfully manage expectations across these varied stakeholder interests, it could erode stakeholder trust, impact our reputation, and/or constrain our investment and fundraising opportunities.

Responsible investing, ESG practices and ESG-related disclosures have been the subject of increased focus by certain regulators, and new regulatory initiatives related to ESG-specific topics that are applicable to us, our products and our products’ portfolio companies could adversely affect our business. There is a growing regulatory interest across jurisdictions in improving transparency regarding the definition, measurement and disclosure of ESG factors in order to allow investors to validate and better understand sustainability claims, including in the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.

On March 21, 2022, the SEC issued a proposed rule regarding the enhancement and standardization of mandatory climate-related disclosures. The proposed rule would mandate extensive disclosure of climate-related data, risks, and opportunities, including financial impacts, physical and transition risks, related governance and strategy, and greenhouse gas emissions, for certain public companies. Although the ultimate date of effectiveness and the final form and substance of the requirements for this proposed rule is not yet known and the ultimate scope and impact on our business is uncertain, compliance with this proposed rule, if finalized, may result in increased legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly, and place strain on our personnel, systems and resources. Further, on May 25, 2022, the SEC proposed amendments to rules and reporting forms concerning, among other things, enhanced disclosure requirements for investment managers regarding the ability to market products as green, sustainable or ESG-focused and the incorporation of ESG factors by registered investment companies and advisers. On August 23, 2023, the SEC adopted its final rule enhancing the regulation of private fund advisers, which includes requirements with respect to the disclosure of certain information to investors that could affect the way certain ESG-related information is shared. In addition, in 2021 the SEC established an enforcement task force to look into ESG practices and disclosures by public companies and investment managers and has begun to bring enforcement actions based on ESG disclosures not aligning with actual investment processes.

Further, in October 2023, California enacted legislation that will ultimately require certain companies that (i) do business in California to publicly disclose their Scopes 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions, with third party assurance of such data, and issue public reports on their climate-related financial risk and related mitigation measures and (ii) operate in California and make certain climate-related claims to provide enhanced disclosures around the achievement of climate-related claims, including the use of voluntary carbon credits to achieve such claims. From a European perspective, the European Union has adopted legislative reforms which include, without limitation: (a) Regulation 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector (the “SFDR”), for which most rules to effect beginning on March 10, 2021 and (b) Regulation (EU) 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment (the “Taxonomy”). Further, there are ongoing consultations that may result in further changes or amendments to the SFDR. There is an increasing focus on anti-greenwashing and transparency initiatives affecting investment managers. The EU’s European Securities and Markets Authority announced in its 2024 Work Program a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing transparency around sustainability risks and disclosures, including a stocktaking report on the supervision of sustainability information and greenwashing and remediation actions, the introduction of guidelines on funds’ names with ESG or sustainability-related terms, common supervisory actions on the integration of sustainability risks and disclosures in the investment management sector.

There are still some uncertainties regarding the operation of these requirements, and an established market practice is still being developed in certain cases, which can lead to diverging implementation and/or operationalization, data gaps or methodological challenges which may affect our ability to collect relevant data. These regimes continue to evolve and there is still a lack of clarity and established practice around the approach to their supervision and enforcement, which may vary across national

competent authorities. There is a risk that a development or reorientation in the regulatory requirements or market practice in this respect could be adverse to our investments if they are perceived to be less valuable as a consequence of, among other things, their carbon footprint or perceived “greenwashing.” Compliance with requirements of this nature may also increase risks relating to financial supervision and enforcement action. There is the additional risk that market expectations in relation to certain commitments under the SFDR, such as categorization of financial products, could adversely affect our ability to raise capital, especially from EEA investors.

Outside of the EU, the U.K. Government’s stated policy goal is to introduce economy-wide mandatory Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) reporting by 2025. The U.K. has introduced mandatory TCFD-aligned disclosure requirements for certain U.K. regulated firms. The regime captures (amongst others) any firm providing portfolio management (which includes managing investments or private equity or other private market activities consisting of either advising on investments or managing investments on a recurring or ongoing basis in connection with an arrangement which aims to invest in unlisted securities) where the assets under management exceed £5.0 billion calculated as a 3-year rolling average.

In November 2023, the Sustainability Labelling and Disclosure of Sustainability-Related Financial Information Instrument 2023 (“SDR”) introduced sustainability disclosure requirements, investment product labels and an ‘anti-greenwashing’ rule. The anti-greenwashing rule applies to all UK-authorised firms in relation to ESG-related claims made in their financial promotions and communications with clients in the UK. The balance of the new regime is directed at UK investment funds and UK-regulated asset management firms as well as distributors of such funds. The FCA has indicated it will continue to work with His Majesty’s Treasury on their approach to overseas funds and consult on an alternative approach to applying the regime to all types of portfolio managers.

In Asia, regulators in Singapore and Hong Kong have introduced requirements for asset managers to integrate climate risk considerations in investment and risk management processes, together with enhanced disclosure and reporting and have also issued enhanced rules for certain ESG funds on general ESG risk management and disclosure.

As a result of these legislative and regulatory initiatives, we may be required to provide additional disclosure to investors in our products with respect to ESG matters. This exposes us to increased disclosure risks, for example due to a lack of available or credible data, and the potential for conflicting disclosures may also expose us to an increased risk of misstatement litigation or miss-selling allegations. Failure to manage these risks could result in a material adverse effect on our business in a number of ways. Compliance with frameworks of this nature may create an additional compliance burden and increased legal, compliance, governance, reporting and other costs to funds and/or fund managers because of the need to collect certain information to meet the disclosure requirements. In addition, where there are uncertainties regarding the operation of the framework, a lack of official, conflicting or inconsistent regulatory guidance, a lack of established market practice and/or data gaps or methodological challenges affecting the ability to collect relevant data, funds and/or fund managers may be required to engage third party advisers and/or service providers to fulfil the requirements, thereby exacerbating any increase in compliance burden and costs. To the extent that any applicable jurisdictions enact similar laws and/or frameworks, there is a risk that our products may not be able to maintain alignment of a particular investment with such frameworks, and/or may be subject to additional compliance burdens and costs, which might adversely affect the investment returns of our products.

Global climate change is widely considered to be a significant threat to the global economy. We, our products and our products’ portfolio companies may face risks associated with climate change, including physical risks such as an increased frequency or severity of extreme weather events and rising sea levels and temperatures. For some of our products and our products’ portfolio companies, climate change may also impact their profitability and costs, as well as pose systemic risks for their businesses. For example, to the extent weather conditions are affected by climate change, energy use by us, our products or our products’ portfolio companies could increase or decrease depending on the duration and magnitude of any changes. Increases in the cost of energy could adversely affect the cost of operations of us, our products or our products’ portfolio companies. On the other hand, a decrease in energy use due to weather changes may affect some of our products’ portfolio companies’ financial condition through decreased revenues. Additionally, extreme weather conditions in general require more system backup, adding to costs, and can contribute to increased system stresses, including service interruptions.

Our business is highly dependent on information systems and technology. The costs related to cyber or other security threats or disruptions may not be fully insured or indemnified by other means. Cybersecurity has become a priority for regulators in the U.S. and around the world. Recently, the SEC adopted new rules related to cybersecurity risk management for registered investment advisers, registered investment companies and business development companies, as well as amendments to certain rules that govern investment adviser and fund disclosures. In July 2023, the SEC adopted rules requiring public companies to disclose material cybersecurity incidents on Form 8-K and periodic disclosure of a registrant’s cybersecurity risk management, strategy, and governance in annual reports. The rules became effective beginning with annual reports for fiscal years ending on or after December 15, 2023 and beginning with Form 8-Ks on December 18, 2023. The SEC has also particularly focused on cybersecurity, and we expect increased scrutiny of our policies and systems designed to manage our cybersecurity risks and our related disclosures as a result. We also expect to face increased costs to comply with the new SEC rules, including increased costs for cybersecurity training and management. Many jurisdictions in which we operate have laws and regulations relating to data privacy, cybersecurity and protection of personal information, including, for example the CCPA, the GDPR and the U.K. GDPR. In addition, the SEC has indicated in recent periods that one of its examination priorities for the Division of Examinations is to continue to examine cybersecurity procedures and controls, including testing the implementation of these procedures and controls.

Legal liability could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations or cause reputational harm to us. We depend to a large extent on our business relationships and our reputation for integrity and high-caliber professional services to attract and retain fund investors and to pursue investment opportunities for our products. As a result, allegations of improper conduct asserted by private litigants or regulators, regardless of whether the ultimate outcome is favorable or unfavorable to us, as well as negative publicity and press speculation about us, our investment activities or the investment industry in general, whether or not valid, may harm our reputation, which may be damaging to our business.

We may not be able to maintain sufficient insurance on commercially reasonable terms or with adequate coverage levels against potential liabilities we may face in connection with potential claims, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. We may face a risk of loss from a variety of claims, including related to securities, antitrust, contracts, cybersecurity, fraud and various other potential claims, whether or not such claims are valid. Insurance and other safeguards might only partially reimburse us for our losses, if at all, and if a claim is successful and exceeds or is not covered by our insurance policies, we may be required to pay a substantial amount in respect of such successful claim. Certain losses of a catastrophic nature, such as losses arising as a result of wars, earthquakes, typhoons, terrorist attacks or other similar events, may be uninsurable or may only be insurable at rates that are so high that maintaining coverage would cause an adverse impact on our business, our investment funds and their investments. In general, losses related to terrorism are becoming harder and more expensive to insure against. Some insurers are excluding terrorism coverage from their all-risk policies. In some cases, insurers are offering significantly limited coverage against terrorist acts for additional premiums, which can greatly increase the total cost of casualty insurance for a property. As a result, we, our products and their investments may not be insured against terrorism or certain other catastrophic losses.

Our products, and in particular our BDCs, historically used LIBOR, the London Interbank Offered Rate, as a reference rate in term loans they extended to portfolio companies. The terms of our BDCs’ debt investments generally included minimum interest rate floors which were calculated based on LIBOR.

companies.

Certain states and other regulatory authorities require investment managers to register as lobbyists. We are registered as a lobbyist in California and in New York. These registration requirements impose significant compliance obligations on registered lobbyists and their employers, which may include annual registration fees, periodic disclosure reports and internal record keeping, and may also prohibit the payment of contingent fees.

As part of our responsibility for the prevention of money laundering under applicable laws, we may require detailed verification of a prospective investor’s identity and the source of such prospective investor’s funds. In the event of delay or failure by a prospective investor to produce any such information required for verification purposes, we may refuse to admit the investor to our products. We may from time-to-time request (outside of the subscription process), and our products’ investors will be obligated to provide to us as appropriate upon such request, additional information as from time to time may be required for us to satisfy our obligations under these and other laws that may be adopted in the future. Additionally, we may from time to time be obligated to file reports with regulatory authorities in various jurisdictions with regard to, among other things, the identity of our products’ investors and suspicious activities involving the interests of our products. In the event it is determined that any investor, or any direct or indirect owner of any investor, is a person identified in any of these laws as a prohibited person, or is otherwise engaged in activities of the type prohibited under these laws, we may be obligated, among other actions to be taken, to withhold distributions of any funds otherwise owing to such investor or to cause such investor’s interests to be cancelled or otherwise redeemed (without the payment of any consideration in respect of those interests).

Economic sanction laws in the U.S. and other jurisdictions may restrict or prohibit us or our affiliates from transacting with certain countries, territories, individuals and entities. In the U.S., the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) administers and enforces laws, executive orders and regulations establishing U.S. economic and trade sanctions, which restrict or prohibit, among other things, direct and indirect transactions with, and the provision of services to, certain non-U.S. countries, territories, individuals and entities. These types of sanctions may significantly restrict or completely prohibit lending activities in certain jurisdictions, and violation of any such laws or regulations, may result in significant legal and monetary penalties, as well as reputational damage. OFAC sanctions programs change frequently, which may make it more difficult for us or our affiliates to ensure compliance. Moreover, OFAC enforcement is increasing, which may increase the risk that we become subject of such actual or threatened enforcement. In addition, further sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries in connection with the war between Russia and Ukraine may impact portfolio companies of our products, which may in turn impact us.

So long as more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors of Blue Owl is held by an individual, a group or another company, Blue Owl will qualify as a “controlled company” under the NYSE listing requirements. The Principals control a majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock. As a result, Blue Owl qualifies as and has elected to be treated as a “controlled company” under the NYSE listing standards and will not be subject to the requirements that would otherwise require us to have: (i) a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under the listing standards of the NYSE; (ii) a nominating committee comprised solely of independent directors; (iii) compensation of our executive officers determined by a majority of the independent directors or a compensation committee comprised solely of independent directors; and (iv) director nominees selected, or recommended for the Board’s selection, either by a majority of the independent directors or a nominating committee comprised solely of independent directors.

Entities controlled by the Principals hold all of the issued and outstanding Class D Shares (and will hold all of the Class B Shares to the extent any are issued and outstanding in the future). Accordingly, until such time as the Principals own less than 25% of their aggregate ownership, the Principals will hold 80% of the voting power of Blue Owl’s capital stock on a fully-diluted basis and will be able to control matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors, amendments of our organizational documents and any merger, consolidation, sale of all or substantially all of our assets or other major corporate transactions. The Principals may have interests that differ from our stockholders and may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests. This concentrated control may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control of Blue Owl, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their capital stock as part of a sale of Blue Owl, and might ultimately affect the market price of Class A Shares.

The Principals hold all of the Class D Shares (and will hold all of the Class B Shares to the extent any are issued and outstanding in the future). As a result, conflicts of interest may arise among the Principals, on the one hand, and us and holders of our Class A and Class C Shares, on the other hand. The Principals have the ability to influence our business and affairs through their ownership of the high vote shares of our common stock, their general ability to appoint our board of directors, and provisions under the Amended and Restated Investor Rights Agreement dated as of August 7, 2023, between Blue Owl, certain former equity holders of Owl Rock and certain former equity holders of Dyal Capital (the “Investor Rights Agreement”) and our certificate of incorporation requiring their approval for certain corporate actions (in addition to approval by our board of directors). If the holders of our Class A and Class C Shares are dissatisfied with the performance of our board of directors, they have no ability to remove any of our directors, with or without cause.

Our certificate of incorporation and the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as amended (“DGCL”), contain provisions that could have the effect of rendering more difficult, delaying, or preventing an acquisition deemed undesirable by the Board and therefore depress the trading price of Blue Owl’s Class A Shares. These provisions could also make it difficult for stockholders to take certain actions, including electing directors who are not nominated by the current members of the Board or taking other corporate actions, including effecting changes in management. Among other things, our certificate of incorporation and bylaws include provisions regarding:

Our certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, (a) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of us, (b) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer, other employee, agent or stockholder of Blue Owl to Blue Owl or our stockholders, or any claim for aiding and abetting such alleged breach, (c) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our current or former directors, officers, other employees, agents or stockholders (i) arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation (as it may be amended or restated) or our bylaws or (ii) as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Delaware Court of Chancery or (d) any action asserting a claim against us or any of our current or former directors, officers, other employees, agents or stockholders governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the law of the State of Delaware shall, as to any action in the foregoing clauses (a) through (b), to the fullest extent permitted by law, be solely and exclusively brought in the Delaware Court of Chancery; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not apply to any claim (1) as to which the Delaware Court of Chancery determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Delaware Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (2) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Delaware Court of Chancery, or (3) arising under federal securities laws, including the Securities Act as to which the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of Article XIII of our certificate of incorporation does not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole and exclusive forum.

The Registrant is a holding company with no material assets other than its indirect ownership of the GP Units (as defined in Note 1 to the Financial Statements) through Blue Owl GP and certain deferred tax assets. As a result, the Registrant has no independent means of generating revenue or cash flow. The Registrant’s ability to pay taxes, make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement, and pay dividends will depend on the financial results and cash flows of the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships and the distributions it receives (directly or indirectly) from the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships. Deterioration in the financial condition, earnings or cash flow of the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships for any reason could limit or impair the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships’ ability to pay such distributions. Additionally, to the extent that the Registrant or Blue Owl GP needs funds and the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships are restricted from making such distributions under applicable law or regulation or under the terms of any financing arrangements, or the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships are otherwise unable to provide such funds, it could materially adversely affect the Registrant’s liquidity and financial condition.

An entity that would otherwise be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes (such as either of the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships) may nonetheless be treated as, and taxable as, a corporation if it is a “publicly traded partnership” unless an exception to such treatment applies. An entity that would otherwise be classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes will be treated as a “publicly traded partnership” if interests in such entity are traded on an established securities market or interests in such entity are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof. If either of the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships were determined to be treated as a “publicly traded partnership” (and taxable as a corporation) for U.S. federal income tax purposes, such Blue Owl Operating Partnership would be taxable on its income at the U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to corporations and distributions by such Blue Owl Operating Partnership to its partners (including Blue Owl GP) could be taxable as dividends to such partners to the extent of the earnings and profits of such Blue Owl Operating Partnership. In addition, we would no longer have the benefit of increases in the tax basis of the Blue Owl Operating Partnership’s assets as a result of exchanges of Common Units. Pursuant to the Exchange Agreement, certain Blue Owl equity holders may, from time to time, subject to the terms of the Exchange Agreement, exchange their interests in the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships and have such interests redeemed by Blue Owl Operating Partnerships for cash or the Registrant’s stock. While such exchanges could be treated as trading in the interests of the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships for purposes of testing “publicly traded partnership” status, the Exchange Agreement contains restrictions on redemptions and exchanges of interests in the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships that are intended to prevent either of the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships from being treated as a “publicly traded partnership” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Such restrictions are designed to comply with certain safe harbors provided for under applicable U.S. federal income tax law. Blue Owl GP may also impose additional restrictions on exchanges that the Registrant or Blue Owl GP determines to be necessary or advisable so that neither of the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships is treated as a “publicly traded partnership” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Accordingly, while such position is not free from doubt, each of the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships is expected to be operated such that it is not treated as a “publicly traded partnership” taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes and we intend to take the position that neither of the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships is so treated as a result of exchanges of its interests pursuant to the Exchange Agreement.

Certain equity holders have exchanged, and may in the future exchange, their Common Units, together with the cancellation of an equal number of Class C Shares or Class D Shares, for Class A Shares or Class B Shares, respectively, or cash pursuant to the Blue Owl Operating Partnership Agreements and the Exchange Agreement, subject to certain conditions and transfer restrictions as set forth therein and in the Investor Rights Agreement. Such transactions have resulted in, or are in the future expected to result in, increases in the Registrant’s (and Blue Owl GP’s) allocable share of the tax basis of the tangible and intangible assets of the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships. These increases in tax basis may increase for income tax purposes depreciation and amortization deductions, and therefore reduce the amount of tax that the Registrant or Blue Owl GP would otherwise be required to pay had such sales and exchanges never occurred.

Payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will be based on the tax reporting positions that the Registrant or Blue Owl GP determines, and the IRS or another taxing authority may challenge all or any part of the tax basis increases, as well as other tax positions that the Registrant or Blue Owl GP takes, and a court may sustain such a challenge. In the event that any tax benefits initially claimed by the Registrant or Blue Owl GP are disallowed, recipients of payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement will not be required to reimburse the Registrant or Blue Owl GP for any excess payments that may previously have been made under the Tax Receivable Agreement, for example, due to adjustments resulting from examinations by taxing authorities. Rather, excess payments made to such holders will be netted against any future cash payments otherwise required to be made by Blue Owl GP under the Tax Receivable Agreement, if any, after the determination of such excess. However, a challenge to any tax benefits initially claimed by the Registrant or Blue Owl GP may not arise for a number of years following the initial time of such payment or, even if challenged early, such excess cash payment may be greater than the amount of future cash payments that Blue Owl GP might otherwise be required to make under the terms of the Tax Receivable Agreement and, as a result, there might not be future cash payments against which to net. As a result, in certain circumstances Blue Owl GP could make payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement in excess of Blue Owl’s or Blue Owl GP’s actual tax savings, which could materially impair Blue Owl’s financial condition.

The Registrant and Blue Owl GP are subject to U.S. federal income taxation, and the Registrant, Blue Owl GP, and the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships and their subsidiaries are subject to income taxation by certain states and municipalities and certain foreign jurisdictions in which such subsidiaries operate. In addition, the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships are required to make tax distributions to their partners pursuant to the Blue Owl Limited Partnership Agreements. In determining our tax liability and obligation to make tax distributions, we must monitor changes to the applicable tax laws and related regulations. While our existing operations have been implemented in a manner we believe is in compliance with current prevailing laws, one or more taxing U.S. or non-U.S. jurisdictions could seek to impose incremental, retroactive, or new taxes on us. Such changes may increase tax uncertainty and/or our effective tax rate, result in higher compliance cost and result in a corresponding increase in the amount of payments under the Tax Receivable Agreement and/or a corresponding increase in the tax distributions that the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships will be required to make. In addition, there may be changes in law related to the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (“OECD”), the European Commission’s state aid investigations and other initiatives. Such changes may include (but are not limited to) the taxation of operating income, investment income, dividends received or (in the specific context of withholding tax) dividends paid, or the taxation of partnerships and other pass-through entities. Any adverse developments in these and other U.S. or foreign laws or regulations, including legislative changes, judicial holdings or administrative interpretations, could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Finally, changes in the scope of our operations, including expansion to new geographies, could increase the amount of taxes to which we are subject, and could increase our effective tax rate, which could similarly adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Blue Owl GP receives a pro rata portion of any distributions made by the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships. Any cash received from such distributions is first be used to satisfy any tax liability and then used to make any payments required to be made by Blue Owl GP under the Tax Receivable Agreement. Subject to having available cash and subject to limitations imposed by applicable law and contractual restrictions, the Blue Owl Operating Group Agreements require the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships to make certain distributions to holders of Common Units and to Blue Owl GP pro rata to facilitate the payment of taxes with respect to the income of the Blue Owl Operating Partnerships that is allocated to them. To the extent that the tax distributions we directly or indirectly receive exceed the amounts we actually require to pay taxes, Tax Receivable Agreement payments and other expenses (which is likely to be the case given that the assumed tax rate for such distributions will generally exceed our effective tax rate), we will not be required to distribute such excess cash. Our board of directors may, in its sole discretion, choose to use such excess cash for certain purposes, including to make distributions to the holders of our stock. Unless and until our board of directors chooses, in its sole discretion, to declare a distribution, we will have no obligation to distribute such cash (or other available cash other than any declared dividend) to our stockholders.

The market price of our Class A Shares is likely to be highly volatile and may be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors. In addition, the volume of trading in our Class A Shares may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. If the market price of our Class A Shares declines significantly, holders of our Class A Shares may be unable to resell

their shares at or above their purchase price, if at all. Some of the factors that could negatively affect the price of our Class A Shares or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of shares of our Class A Shares include:

In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm its business.

Securities research analysts may establish and publish their own periodic projections for Blue Owl from time to time. Those projections may vary widely and may not accurately predict the results we actually achieve. Our share price may decline if our actual results do not match the projections of these securities research analysts. Similarly, if one or more of the analysts who write reports on us downgrades our stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price could decline. In addition, securities research analysts may compare Blue Owl to companies that are not appropriately comparable, which could lead to lower than expected valuations. If one or more analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, our share price or trading volume could decline.

In the future, we may attempt to obtain financing or to further increase our capital resources by issuing additional Class A Shares or offering debt or other equity securities, including commercial paper, medium-term notes, senior or subordinated notes, debt securities convertible into equity or shares of preferred stock. We also expect to grant equity awards to employees, directors, and consultants under stock incentive plans. Future acquisitions could require substantial additional capital in excess of cash from operations. We would expect to obtain the capital required for acquisitions through a combination of additional issuances of equity, corporate indebtedness and/or cash from operations.

None.

Our cybersecurity program is focused on (i) protecting the confidentiality of business, client, investors in our products and employee information; (ii) maintaining the security and availability of our systems and data; (iii) supporting compliance with applicable laws and regulations; (iv) documenting cybersecurity incidents and our responses; and (v) notification of cybersecurity incidents to, and communications with, appropriate internal and external parties.

We have developed an incident response framework to identify, assess and manage cybersecurity events. The framework is managed and implemented by our Cyber Risk Operating Committee (the “C-ROC”), a cross-functional management committee that includes our General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and IT Management. The C-ROC is responsible for gathering information with respect to a cybersecurity incident, assessing its severity and potential responses, as well as communicating with business heads and senior management, as appropriate. This framework contemplates conducting simulated cybersecurity incident response exercises with members of senior management on an interim basis in coordination with external cyber counsel.

Our principal executive offices are located in leased office space at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York. We also lease office space in other cities around the world. We consider these facilities to be suitable and adequate for the management and operation of our business.

None.

Blue Owl Capital Inc.’s Class A Shares trade on the NYSE under the symbol “OWL.”

As of February 16, 2024, there were 16 holders of record of our Class A Shares. This does not include the number of stockholders that hold shares in “street name” through banks or broker-dealers.

The following graph depicts the total return of holders of our Class A Shares relative to the performance of the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Asset Managers Index. The graph assumes an initial investment of $100 in our Class A Shares at market close on December 14, 2020, which was the initial trading day for Altimar (with which we merged in connection with the Business Combination), and that dividends were reinvested.

None.

On May 4, 2022, Blue Owl’s Board authorized the repurchase of up to $150.0 million of Class A Shares (the “Program”). Under the Program, repurchases may be made from time to time in open market transactions, in privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. The timing and the actual numbers repurchased will depend on a variety of factors, including legal requirements, price and economic and market conditions. The Program may be changed, suspended or discontinued at any time and will terminate upon the earlier of December 31, 2024 and the purchase of all shares available under the Program. No shares were repurchased during the quarter ended December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2023, the approximate dollar value of shares that may yet be purchased under the Program was $95.6 million.

Our business is impacted by conditions in the financial markets and economic conditions in the U.S., and to a lesser extent, globally.

We present information regarding our AUM, FPAUM and various other related metrics throughout this MD&A to provide context around our fee generating revenues results, as well as indicators of the potential for future earnings from existing and new products. Our calculations of AUM and FPAUM may differ from the calculation methodologies of other asset managers, and as a result these measures may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other asset managers. In addition, our calculation of AUM includes amounts that are fee exempt (i.e., not subject to fees).

Our AUM consists of FPAUM, AUM not yet paying fees, fee-exempt AUM and net appreciation and leverage in products on which fees are based on commitments or investment cost. AUM not yet paying fees generally relates to unfunded capital commitments (to the extent such commitments are not already subject to fees), undeployed debt (to the extent we earn fees based on total asset values or investment cost, inclusive of assets purchased using debt) and AUM that is subject to a temporary fee holiday. Fee-exempt AUM represents certain investments by us, our employees, other related parties and third parties, as well as certain co-investment vehicles on which we never earn fees.

Product performance for certain of our products is included throughout this discussion with analysis to facilitate an understanding of our results of operations for the periods presented. The performance information of our products reflected is not indicative of Blue Owl’s performance. An investment in Blue Owl is not an investment in any of our products. Past performance is not indicative of future results. As with any investment, there is always the potential for gains as well as the possibility of losses. There can be no assurance that any of these products or our other existing and future products will achieve similar returns. Multiple of invested capital (“MoIC”) and internal rate of return (“IRR”) data has not been presented for products that have launched within the last two years as such information is generally not meaningful (“NM”).

As a result of the Wellfleet Acquisition, prior period amounts may not be comparable to current period amounts or expected future trends. Wellfleet’s results of operations are included from April 1, 2022.

The change in income tax expense (benefit) was due to pre-tax income in the current period as a result of the drivers discussed above. Please see Note 10 to our Financial Statements for a discussion of the significant tax differences that impacted our effective tax rate.

Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests primarily represents the allocation to Common Units (as defined in Note 1 to our Financial Statements) of their pro rata share of the Blue Owl Operating Group’s net income or loss due to the drivers discussed above. The Common Units represented an approximately 67% weighted average economic interest in the Blue Owl Operating Group for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Fee-Related Earnings is a supplemental non-GAAP measure of our core operating performance used to make operating decisions and assess our core operating results, focusing on whether our core revenue streams, primarily consisting of management fees, are sufficient to cover our core operating expenses. FRE performance revenues refers to the GAAP performance revenues that are measured and eligible to be received on a recurring basis and not dependent on realization events from the underlying investments. Management also reviews the components that comprise Fee-Related Earnings (i.e., FRE revenues and FRE expenses) on the same basis used to calculate Fee-Related Earnings, and such components are also non-GAAP measures and have been identified with the prefix “FRE” in the tables and discussion below.

Distributable Earnings is a supplemental non-GAAP measure of operating performance that equals Fee-Related Earnings plus or minus, as relevant, DE performance revenues and related compensation, interest and dividend income, interest expense, as well as amounts payable for taxes and payments made pursuant to the TRA. Amounts payable for taxes presents the current income taxes payable, excluding the impact of tax contingency-related accrued expenses or benefits, as such amounts are included when paid or received, related to the respective period’s earnings, assuming that all Distributable Earnings were allocated to the Registrant, which would occur following the exchange of all Blue Owl Operating Group Units for Class A Shares. Current income taxes payable and payments made pursuant to the TRA reflect the benefit of tax deductions that are excluded when calculating Distributable Earnings (e.g., equity-based compensation expenses, Transaction Expenses, tax goodwill, etc.). If these tax deductions were to be excluded from amounts payable for taxes, Distributable Earnings would be lower and our effective tax rate would appear to be higher, even though a lower amount of income taxes would have been paid or payable for a period’s earnings. We make these adjustments when calculating Distributable Earnings to more accurately reflect the net realized earnings that are expected to be or become available for distribution or reinvestment into our business. Management believes that Distributable Earnings can be useful as a supplemental performance measure to our GAAP results assessing the amount of earnings available for distribution.