Blue Owl's Persistent Gates Show Structural Strain

Blue Owl's Persistent Gates Show Structural Strain in Software-Exposed Private Credit

Blue Owl capped redemptions at 5 percent for a second consecutive quarter as investors sought to withdraw 19 percent and 38 percent of shares from two major funds, signaling unresolved concerns about software-linked debt exposure.

The Research Desk

Gokhshtein Media

October 2, 2026

3 min read

Private credit funds are experiencing sustained investor redemptions, with Blue Owl Capital imposing withdrawal limits on two major funds for the second consecutive quarter. On OCIC and OTIC, the firm capped redemptions at 5 percent despite substantial investor requests to pull capital.

Investors in Blue Owl Credit Income Corp. (OCIC), valued at approximately $34 billion, sought to withdraw 18.8 percent of shares, totaling $3.6 billion in the second quarter. This represents a modest decline from the $4.2 billion requested in Q1.

The smaller Blue Owl Technology Income Corp. (OTIC) faced sharper withdrawal pressure. Shareholders requested 38.1 percent of shares, or $1.1 billion—slightly lower than the $1.2 billion requested in Q1. This redemption rate significantly exceeded the 9 percent to 17 percent range reported by other large non-traded Business Development Company managers for their second-quarter tender offers.

Blue Owl's prominence in the $1.8 trillion private credit market stems largely from its extensive exposure to software-linked loans. The firm is not alone: Apollo, Ares, BlackRock, Blackstone and Cliffwater also gated investors for a second consecutive quarter following elevated redemption requests.

The persistence of redemptions is notable given broader market strength and claims that concerns about software disruption had eased. For a material cohort of investors, those concerns remain unresolved.

In its shareholder letter, Blue Owl stated it was "encouraged to see OCIC's modestly lower quarter-over-quarter tender requests broadly across channels and geographies." The firm also disclosed that second-quarter requests came predominantly from repeat withdrawal attempts, with "limited new participation" from other shareholders.

Blue Owl has satisfied more than 43 percent of the original withdrawal demand from repeat shareholders. This implies that a significant portion of initial redemption requests remains unmet.

OTIC's 38.1 percent redemption rate points to deeper structural pressure in software-exposed segments of private credit. The metric suggests investor confidence in this specific asset class has not recovered to pre-stress levels, regardless of the broader market's recovery.

Blue Owl has satisfied more than 43 percent of the original withdrawal demand from repeat shareholders. This implies that a significant portion of initial redemption requests remains unmet.