Blue Owl and Ares are alternative asset managers with overlapping credit businesses but differently organized platforms. As of June 30, 2026, Blue Owl reported $319 billion in assets under management (AUM), while Ares Management reported approximately $671 billion. Those company-reported figures indicate a larger Ares platform by AUM on that date, but do not establish which company is more profitable, performs better, carries less risk, or is the better investment. Blue Owl Capital Corporation (OBDC) and Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) are separate business development companies (BDCs), not the managers themselves.
How are Blue Owl and Ares different?
Both firms manage alternative investments, including private credit. Their platforms differ in breadth and organization: Blue Owl describes three platforms—Credit, Real Assets and GP Strategic Capital—while Ares lists five: Credit, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Private Equity and Secondaries.
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The firms’ descriptions explain what their businesses cover; they are not independent assessments of investment performance.
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Blue Owl describes itself as a global alternative asset manager deploying private capital through three platforms. Its December 31, 2025 Form 10-K reported:
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| Blue Owl platform | AUM at December 31, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Credit | $157.8 billion |
| Real Assets | $80.6 billion |
| GP Strategic Capital | $69.1 billion |
Blue Owl says it generally earns management fees on fee-paying AUM (FPAUM). Its total AUM can include assets that are fee-exempt or not yet paying fees, so total AUM and FPAUM are not interchangeable measures. At December 31, 2025, it reported $307.4 billion in AUM and $187.7 billion in FPAUM.
Ares’s five platforms
Ares Management’s platform includes Credit, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Private Equity and Secondaries. Its official overview describes Credit as financing middle-market and large-cap businesses; Infrastructure as investing in areas including digital infrastructure, power, midstream, transport and utilities; and Private Equity as focused on middle-market companies.
Rank #2
Ares reported $113.2 billion of gross new capital raised across its vehicles during the year ended December 31, 2025. That is a fundraising measure for that year, not AUM or a measure of investment returns.
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On company-reported AUM at the same reporting date, Ares reported the larger platform:
| Manager | Reported AUM | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Owl Capital Inc. | $319 billion | June 30, 2026 |
| Ares Management Corporation | Approximately $671 billion | June 30, 2026 |
AUM is reported by each company, and the figures should not be treated as if their definitions were fully harmonized. The comparison supports a scale statement by reported AUM only; it does not show which manager has stronger results, lower risk, greater profitability or more attractive shares.
Are Blue Owl Capital and Blue Owl Capital Corporation the same?
No. Blue Owl Capital Inc. is the alternative asset manager. Blue Owl Capital Corporation (NYSE: OBDC) is a BDC managed by Blue Owl that focuses on direct lending to U.S. middle-market companies. OBDC is a separate company with its own portfolio and reporting.
Rank #4
As of June 30, 2026, OBDC reported a portfolio fair value of $15.0 billion across 229 companies. It reported that 79% of investments were senior secured and 96% were floating-rate debt investments. These are OBDC portfolio characteristics, not figures for all of Blue Owl’s managed assets.
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What is the difference between Ares Management and Ares Capital?
Ares Management Corporation is the alternative asset manager. Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) is a publicly traded BDC externally managed by Ares Capital Management, a subsidiary of Ares Management. ARCC is a separate company from its manager.
ARCC’s 2025 Form 10-K reported approximately $31.2 billion in total assets at December 31, 2025. That figure is not directly comparable with OBDC’s $15.0 billion portfolio fair value: the reported dates differ, and one figure is total assets while the other is portfolio fair value. They do not provide a like-for-like BDC size ranking.
Do these figures show which stock is the better investment?
No. Platform AUM and fundraising describe the scale and activity of the managers, while BDC portfolio figures describe particular lending companies. None of these measures alone establishes investment returns, valuation, risk, fees or suitability. Ares CEO Michael Arougheti has said the firm believes it is positioned to pursue growth initiatives as institutional and individual investors increase allocations to private-market alternatives; that is management’s outlook, not an independently verified forecast.
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