StepStone Group

Worldwide, world-wise: your private markets partner

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

Our Cleveland team recently volunteered at the Cleveland Kids' Book Bank, sorting and packing more than 70 boxes of books for children and families.

Our partnership goes beyond volunteering, with books supporting events at the Zelma George Emergency Family Shelter and even traveling to Madagascar for a UWS trip.

Thank you to our volunteers and Kids' Book Bank for helping foster a love of reading!

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

StepStone Group reported results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2027. Visit our shareholder page to listen to the replay ▶️ https://t.co/Xo13UxesI7

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

Each year, the StepStone 360 Conference brings investors, partners and colleagues together for a wide-angle view of the private markets. This year, more than 700 attendees joined us in New York, making it our largest meeting to date.

The programming drew on a range of expertise, examining the forces shaping private markets today through the lens of different asset classes, regions and strategies. It’s an expression of a firm built on partnership, different vantage points and the belief that the best ideas are rarely found in isolation.

A sincere thank you to everyone - partners, colleagues and speakers - for making this our most memorable 360 yet. We look forward to welcoming everyone back in 2027 as StepStone celebrates our 20th anniversary.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

StepStone Vice President Aidan Thornton will speak at the PERE America Forum on November 4, joining the panel “Data Centers – capturing opportunity in the rise of demand.”

As demand continues to reshape the sector, the data center investment landscape is evolving alongside a broader market environment shaped by AI, cloud and connectivity growth, supply constraints and energy market challenges. The discussion will explore how these forces are influencing where opportunities are emerging and the considerations shaping data center investment today.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

As venture-backed companies stay private for longer, investors are looking at a broader set of paths to liquidity.

StepStone Principal Thomas Dupont recently joined Invest Europe’s Venture Capital Forum for the panel, “Locating the Exit: Where is liquidity for investors coming from?” When looking beyond traditional M&A and IPO routes, secondaries, continuation vehicles and structured exits offer additional paths to liquidity, particularly as venture-backed companies stay private for longer.

As exit timelines evolve, so too are the options investors have to navigate them.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

Qi Liu, Managing Director and Head of AI at StepStone, will speak at the Private Equity Wire US Summit in New York on November 12 in a fireside chat, “Compounding Conviction: AI and the Deal Pipeline.”

The session will address how private markets firms are using AI across sourcing, diligence, underwriting and portfolio management. Qi will share her perspective on AI as a tool for investment intelligence, including the potential to turn unstructured information into actionable insights and bring proprietary data and institutional knowledge into investment workflows.

At the center of the discussion is an important balance: using AI to accelerate decision-making while keeping human judgment and thoughtful governance at the core.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

StepStone recently partnered with CFA Society Netherlands in Amsterdam for a conversation exploring the opportunities shaping European venture capital and growth equity, from capital formation to the role of secondaries and co-investments.

Thank you to CFA Society Netherlands for their partnership in making the event a success, to Tom Fitzherbert-Brockholes for representing StepStone, and to everyone who came out to join us.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

Qi Liu, Managing Director & Head of AI at StepStone, will be speaking at Mergermarket Private Equity Forum US 2026 in Austin on Tuesday, October 20.

Qi will join the panel, “Operational value creation: an evolving landscape,” examining how private equity managers are approaching value creation in a higher-cost, lower-growth environment, including the role of AI in portfolios and how operating capabilities are evolving as holding periods extend.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

StepStone Real Estate has published its 2026 Real Estate Liquidity Insights report, an analysis of fund-level cash flows in the non-core real estate market.

While market transaction volumes have broadly recovered, fund sales and distributions remain well below historical norms, as carrying values continue to exceed prevailing trading prices. The report draws on SPI by StepStone, our proprietary database of more than 3,820 managers and 8,300 funds.

Read the full report: https://t.co/aDtQiv4cpl

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

StepStone Real Estate has published its 2026 Real Estate Liquidity Insights report, an analysis of fund-level cash flows in the non-core real estate market.

While market transaction volumes have broadly recovered, fund sales and distributions remain well below historical norms, as carrying values continue to exceed prevailing trading prices. The report draws on SPI by StepStone, our proprietary database of more than 3,820 managers and 8,300 funds.

Read the full report: https://t.co/aDtQiv4cpl

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

StepStone Partner Adair Newhall will be joining Andrew Fink of Kirkland & Ellis for a fireside chat at the NVCA Strategic Operations & Policy Summit on October 15 in Washington, DC.

The summit offers a forum for senior venture leaders to exchange perspectives on policy, operations, and firm management. If you'll be at the summit, we invite you to join the session.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

Gary Gipkhin, Managing Director at StepStone, will be speaking at LPGP Connect Private Debt Los Angeles on October 29 as part of the opening keynote panel, Private Debt in 2026 and Beyond: Navigating Rate Cycles, Capital Flows & Market Dislocations.

The discussion will explore how LPs and GPs are recalibrating private credit allocations, where investors are finding the most compelling risk-adjusted opportunities, and how growing capital inflows are reshaping competition, underwriting standards, and portfolio construction across the asset class.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

StepStone will take the stage at SuperReturn Europe in Amsterdam, 3-6 November, with four team members joining discussions on the conditions shaping European private markets and the opportunities ahead. If you'll be attending, here's where you can find them:

- Srdjan Vlaski will join the panel Collateral catalysts: the growth of asset-backed lending in Europe on Tuesday, 3 November at 13:55, discussing the role of asset-backed lending in today's market environment and how emerging asset classes are shaping the opportunity set.

- Fabian Körzendörfer will speak on The evergreen era: assessing the impact of flexible fund models on Tuesday, 3 November at 15:45, exploring investor sentiment, liquidity management and the evolving design of evergreen fund structures.

- Philippe Ferneini will be a panelist on Secondaries in the spotlight: Europe's continuation vehicle revolution on Wednesday, 4 November at 15:45, examining how continuation vehicles and secondaries solutions are evolving to meet investors' liquidity needs.

- Bernard de Backer will join Machine learning, human gains: the usage of AI in PE processes on Thursday, 5 November at 11:10, sharing views on how firms are applying AI across sourcing, due diligence, portfolio management and risk assessment.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

Our Dublin interns have arrived!

To kick things off, we asked our interns what they're hoping to learn, accomplish, and take away from their time at StepStone.

Throughout the year, we'll be sharing more from the cohort, including their perspectives, milestones, and reflections as they progress through the programme.

Welcome to StepStone, we're glad you're here!

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

Seyonne Kang, Partner at StepStone, will join RAISE GP Day on October 21 at the Presidio in San Francisco to discuss a question many emerging managers face: what does it take to build an enduring firm, not just a successful fund?

In "From Fund to Firm: The Decisions That Break (or Build) Your Platform," Seyonne will share the LP perspective on the infrastructure, governance, and platform decisions that can shape a firm's long-term trajectory. Drawing on her experience investing in venture funds and serving on LP advisory committees for many early-stage firms, she'll discuss the choices that help managers build resilient businesses as they grow.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

Private markets have faced no shortage of headwinds in recent years. At IPEM, StepStone Partner Mike Elio joined the panel, “We need to talk about that vintage,” to discuss liquidity, exit activity, manager selection, and more.

A few key takeaways:
• Exit activity is improving. The historical valuation uplift on exit has returned to ~11%, signalling a healthier environment for distributions.
• Continuation vehicles are increasingly important, evolving from a liquidity solution into a core feature of the private markets ecosystem.
• Specialism matters. While large-cap private equity continues to face IPO challenges, small and mid-market buyouts offer compelling return potential for those able to identify specialist managers with proven value creation and exit capabilities.
• Private markets continue to deliver consistent returns, but are currently measured against exceptionally strong public markets. However, the long-term case for private markets remains compelling, offering consistent value creation and diversification benefits.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

Private markets are entering a new phase as investors navigate longer holding periods, evolving liquidity dynamics and increased selectivity. In this profile, Mike Elio shares his perspective on where institutional investors are finding opportunity across today's private markets landscape.

Key takeaways:
- "DPI is the new IRR" as investors place greater emphasis on distributions and manager selection.
- Secondaries continue to gain traction as a source of liquidity and access to high-quality assets.
- The lower-to-middle market offers compelling opportunities, making manager selection increasingly critical.
- Evergreen vehicles are seeing broader adoption, particularly among smaller institutional investors.

Read the full piece here: https://t.co/Zxj7Hj5bcR

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

StepStone Group served as sole lead investor in a single-asset continuation vehicle alongside Amulet Capital Partners to support US Fertility, the largest independent fertility services network in the United States. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Amulet to support US Fertility in its next phase of growth.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

John Avirett joined the Life After SpaceX panel at the UOB Private Bank Funds Summit in Singapore, discussing AI innovation, the infrastructure behind its growth, and how investors can find opportunities without chasing hype. Across the event's breakout sessions, JianHao Low shared perspectives on venture and growth markets, portfolio allocation, and key investment themes shaping today's landscape.

Thank you to UOB Private Bank for hosting and facilitating these thoughtful discussions.

[StepStone Group @stepstonegroup]

Colleagues from our Beijing, Singapore, and Zurich offices recently gathered in Bangkok for the StepStone Thailand Investor Forum 2026.

The program covered developments across private equity, private debt, venture capital, and private wealth, with a discussion on China’s tech-driven growth examined the forces shaping investor interest and activity in one of the world's most dynamic innovation markets.

As investor priorities continue to evolve, we appreciate the chance to foster conversations around the forces shaping today's market environment.