RPM - Reflections on Private Markets

Host Michael Venne sits down with StepStone's Tyler Johnson and PitchBook's Paul Santarelli to discuss what's changing — and what deal-level benchmarking actually unlocks for GPs, LPs, and the market at large.   In this episode: Why fund-level benchmarking leaves the most important questions unanswered How to separate alpha from beta in manager evaluation What the PitchBook × StepStone partnership...

This episode of RPM explores the evolving landscape of venture capital in 2026, focusing on market shifts, liquidity challenges, and strategic opportunities in secondaries and selectivity. Experts Stephen West and Anthony Giambrone sit down with Maribel Yoo to share insights on innovation, platform shifts, and future value drivers.

In this episode of RPM, Michael Venne sits down with Akhilan Nesaratnam to explore why UK private equity has quietly outperformed, despite the noisy macro backdrop. They unpack three forces shaping the market’s edge—scarcity, specialism, and succession—and what could change as the Mansion House Accord signals a new wave of domestic capital and competition.

In this episode of RPM, Miguel Sosa and David Robbins join co-host Anna Marcus to unpack the implementation gap holding advisors back from private markets—exploring why shifting public market dynamics demand a rethink of the traditional 60/40 portfolio, and how evergreen structures and a practical allocation framework can help advisors bridge the divide.

Suzanne Tavill , Global Head of Responsible Investment, joins Michael Venne to unpack the game-changing themes explored in our two recent whitepapers: how AI-driven energy demand is sparking investment opportunities across the power ecosystem, and how falling exploration costs are reframing the deep sea and space as an extension of Earth’s industrial base. How energy sources are powering AI (1:57)...

In this episode of RPM, Ted Panarese and Aditya Fontana-Raina, New York-based Managing Directors on our private equity team, join co-host Anna Marcus to explore whether emerging managers truly represent a disproportionate source of risk, or if the opportunity has been mischaracterized. They cover: Revisiting the case for emerging managers (3:02) What the data says about early-fund outperformance (...

In this episode of RPM, Jeff Giller, Partner and Head of Real Estate, and Margaret McKnight, Partner and Head of Portfolio Solutions for StepStone Real Estate, rejoin co-host Maribel Yoo to discuss our Fall 2025 House Views on the state of the real estate market. They cover: Market backdrop and investor sentiment (00:58) Deployment concerns (2:33) Maturity wall and recap opportunities (05:40) Addr...

In this episode of RPM, Lisa Larsson, a New York-based Partner on StepStone’s Portfolio Management team, and Akash Chitrey, a La Jolla-based Senior Associate on the same team, join co-host Anna Marcus to discuss private equity liquidity and valuations, using data to show how private equity really creates and sustains value, even amid uncertain macro conditions. They cover:   Why liquidity and valu...

In this episode of RPM, Zhiyao Ma and Hansong Qu, Vice Presidents on StepStone's Asia Private Equity team, join co-host Anna Marcus to discuss the investment case for Japan and India and why these markets may be top of mind for investors looking at China +1 alternatives. The focus on Japan and India (2:21) Growing deal volume in Japan (4:15) Misconceptions about Japan PE (7:17) India's investment...

In this episode of RPM, Fabian Körzendörfer, a Zurich-based Partner on StepStone’s Private Debt team, joins co-host Michael Venne to discuss the benefits of private debt and why the asset class fits well with evergreen fund structures. Why evergreens (03:01) Historical performance (9:04) How to generate liquidity in PD (12:49) Benefits for institutions vs. individuals (19:05) Co-investments in eve...

In this episode of RPM, Tim Rees, a London-based Partner on StepStone’s Infrastructure and Real Assets team, joins co-host Michael Venne to discuss the rapid growth of infrastructure secondaries and why the market is gaining momentum. They cover: Growth of infrastructure asset class (00:51) Scale of the secondary market (03:26) Drivers of growth in infra secondaries (05:19) Synergies from primarie...

In this episode of RPM,  Jeff Giller , Partner and Head of Real Estate, and  Margaret McKnight , Partner and Head of Portfolio Solutions for StepStone Real Estate, rejoin co-host  Maribel Yoo  to discuss our  Spring 2025 House Views  on the state of the real estate market. They cover:   Market shifts and the new cycle (:50); US real estate landscape (1:55); Best practices amid volatility (5:51); E...

This episode of RPM features Suzanne Tavill, Partner and Head of Responsible Investment at StepStone, in conversation with Brooke Latham, Head of Sustainability at the NATO Innovation Fund. They explore what it means to invest responsibly in dual-use technologies, with a focus on the evolving concept of “responsible use.”   Defense spending (1:33) Changing nature of threats (5:03) Responsible use...

In this episode of RPM, Suzanne Tavill, Partner and Head of Responsible Investment at StepStone, is joined by special guest Paul Fehlinger, Director of Policy Innovation and Impact at Project Liberty Institute to discuss Responsible AI, the opportunities and challenges that come with it, and why what we see right now is just the tip of the technology iceberg. They cover: How LPs think about AI (2:...

In this episode of RPM,  Jeff Giller , Partner and Head of Real Estate, and  Margaret McKnight , Partner and Head of Portfolio Solutions for StepStone Real Estate, join co-host Anna Marcus to discuss our recent  Real Estate Liquidity Insights  report, which analyzes fund level cash flows and trends shaping liquidity in the real estate market. They cover: Deployment trends (1:35); Technical factors...

In this episode of  RPM , Geoffrey Dolan, a partner on our Private Equity team in New York, joins co-host Anna Marcus to break down the competitive dynamics of the private equity co-investment market. They cover: Our GP survey (1:43); What’s driving deal flow (5:58); Co-investments' value-add  (7:29); Potential challenges for LPs (11:46); How LPs can stand out (13:24); and Strong co-investment por...

In this episode of RPM, Bhavika Vyas, Managing Director and member of StepStone’s Private Equity team, and special guest Julio Friedmann, Chief Scientist, Carbon Direct, join co-host Maribel Yoo to revisit the conversation on energy transition investing. They evaluate the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) two years post-enactment, highlighting advancements in climate solutions and global...

In this episode of RPM, Simon Beer, Partner, Infrastructure & Real Assets, joins co-host Michael Venne to discuss trends that are redefining the infrastructure landscape. They cover: What’s happening in data (3:11); Energy transition definition (6:58); The investment landscape (9:04); Why to invest now (11:35); Infra as an inflation hedge (15:17) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa...

In this episode of RPM, Suzanne Tavill, Partner and Head of Responsible Investment joins co-host Michael Venne to discuss the potential of Responsible AI and how private markets may influence its development.  They cover: What is Responsible AI (2:16); Its relationship with ESG (5:43); Classifying risks (7:58); The value creation chain (13:03); and How commercial harm can manifest (16:19) See omny...

In this episode of RPM, Richard Schmidt, Senior Analyst, Private Debt, and Jovan Samardzic, Managing Director, Private Debt Research, join co-host Michael Venne to discuss the state of the private debt market. They cover: The relative value of private debt (2:12); The impact of higher interest rates (4:42); How middle-market companies are performing (6:57); What’s ahead for default and loss rates...

In this episode of RPM, Jeff Giller, Partner and Head of Real Estate, and Margaret McKnight, Partner and Head of Portfolio Solutions for StepStone Real Estate, rejoin co-host Maribel Yoo to discuss our Spring 2024 House Views on the state of the real estate market. They cover: Updates from our Fall House Views (1:38); Opportunities in non-core assets and distressed properties (2:41); Property trad...

In this episode of  RPM , co-host Maribel Yoo hands the mic to Margaret McKnight, Partner and Head of Portfolio Solutions for Real Estate, to interview Jeff Giller, Partner Head of StepStone Real Estate, about our recent whitepaper,  Bull market for real estate secondaries.  They discuss: Why it is a bull market for RE secondaries (01:22); Comparing GP- and LP-led secondaries (06:50); Why we like...

In this episode of  RPM , Akhilan Nesaratnam, Thomas Dupont and Carlos Sahuquillo from our private equity team in London join co-host Michael Venne to discuss Europe’s private equity landscape. The conversation surrounds common misconceptions about Europe’s investment opportunities, unpacking four key European sectors and the topics of our recent papers:  European small and middle market buyouts ,...

In this episode of  RPM , Todd Lapenna and Sean Ebsary from our infrastructure team, join co-host Michael Venne to discuss infrastructure’s middle market following the release of our recent whitepaper,  Infrastructure’s Middle Market: An emerging opportunity.  They touch on topics including:   Infrastructure’s rapid two-decade growth (1:55); Infra's performance as an inflation hedge (3:20); Why to...

In this episode of RPM, Jeff Giller, Partner and Head of Real Estate, and Margaret McKnight, Partner and Head of Portfolio Solutions for Real Estate, rejoin co-host Maribel Yoo to discuss our Fall 2023 House Views on the state of the real estate market. They cover: Updates from our Spring House Views (1:49); Impact from liquidity constraints (5:15); Property trading volume (6:52); and Property typ...