Future Fund deputy CIO jumps to Blue Owl

Blue Owl Capital's hire of a top executive from the Future Fund has generated more interest in US firms vying for institutional business in Australia.

Australia's sovereign wealth fund has confirmed the departure of deputy chief investment officer Alicia Gregory and announced that the head of listed equities, Genevieve Murray, will join the senior leadership team and lead the continued growth of its Sydney office.

Murray joined from AMP Capital almost four years ago.

The Future Fund has yet to announce a replacement for Gregory, who joined in 2019 to lead the private equity team before being promoted to deputy investment chief two years ago.

"We wish Alicia all the very best in her new role. She has made a tremendous contribution over the last five years, growing the private equity team, leading our asset class teams as deputy chief investment officer," said Future Fund's investment chief Ben Samild.

Gregory's investment skills were also praised by her new boss James Clarke, global head of Blue Owl's institutional business, who said she was a great fit for Blue Owl's strategy of creating true partnerships with asset owners.

Clarke also emphasised that the $250 billion alternative asset manager has a different approach to other US rivals competing for a slice of Australia's superannuation market.

He added that the appointment of Gregory to oversee Blue Owl's local institutional business is emblematic of that approach.

"We did not want someone who was a rank-and-file salesperson," said Clarke, who plans to open a Sydney office in four months.

"We wanted someone who's walked 1000 miles in these people's shoes. It is not enough to have people who are not themselves informed investors."

Clarke met Gregory while trying to win a mandate from the Future Fund and thought her the right fit for Blue Owl.

"We want someone who can partner with the super funds and family offices, and who better to do that? Somebody who's worked as a deputy chief investment officer at the Future Fund was a no-brainer."

He added that the firm plans to hire a few private wealth and junior support staff before recruiting "the right number of people" as Blue Owl grows its regional business.

Acknowledging that the US asset manager was a late arrival to Australia, the executive recognised that the market is expanding and requires a sophisticated approach.

"And we need to go about it the right way. We recognised that you either do this properly or don't do this at all," he said.

"We prioritise working with sophisticated investors, who are invested in finding solutions - we are not here to simply push products."

"Our established relationships with pensions and sovereign wealth funds demonstrate our ability to deliver results in our portfolios," Clarke added.

These include Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company and the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS).

Blue Owl specialises in financing private equity-backed acquisitions, buying stakes in private firms and investing in real estate.

Clarke said the US firm employs unique strategies that set it apart, including its GP strategic capital - where it takes passive minority states as general partners - and its real estate platforms.

"We are the preeminent manager in that space, having done about 70 per cent of the transactions, and the largest player in the sale-leaseback transactions space.

"This is not straight vanilla private equity, not core real estate investing," he concluded. "It is very niche."