Blue Owl Capital Inc. and Voya Financial, Inc. Enter Strategic Partnership to Bring Private Markets Investments to Defined Contribution Retirement Plans
OWL
Published on 07/14/2025 at 07:50
Blue Owl Capital Inc. and Voya Financial, Inc. announced a strategic partnership to develop private markets investment products for defined contribution retirement plans. The strategic partnership will offer private markets strategies in vehicles tailored for defined contribution retirement plans, addressing the growing demand for alternative investment solutions within retirement portfolios. The partners will initially focus on the joint development of collective investment trusts ("CITs") that provide access to private markets strategies offered by Blue Owl and Voya.
The CITs will be available through advisor-managed accounts on Voya's retirement platform and through target date solutions managed by Voya Investment Management ("Voya IM"). As the markets for these products continue to evolve, Blue Owl and Voya IM will also collaborate to develop retirement-focused private investment solutions available through other channels, including third-party retirement platforms and target date account providers. This initiative opens the door for retirement plan participants to access a broader range of investment opportunities, supporting individuals in building more resilient portfolios and optimizing their retirement outcomes.
Blue Owl's Co-CEOs Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz said: "Voya's leadership and deep expertise in the retirement market make them an ideal partner as we work together to expand access to private markets. This collaboration with Voya is a natural extension of mission, laying the foundation for future initiatives within the retirement channel. Since founding, Blue Owl's investment strategies have focused on income generation and downside protection--objectives that align closely with the needs of retirement plan participants.
The retirement landscape is expanding, and we see providing plan participants access to private markets assets as a way to build more resilient investment portfolios and pursue stronger long-term returns". Voya and Blue Owl are also exploring opportunities to collaborate in additional areas, including enhancing their tailored solutions in the insurance asset management industry by leveraging their complementary expertise. Voya intends to engage Blue Owl in its direct lending and investment grade asset-backed finance private credit strategies, while Blue Owl expects to extend to its insurance clients the benefit of Voya's fixed income solutions across public and private investment grade corporate credit.