RPM - Reflections on Private Markets

In our latest episode of RPM, Jeff Giller, Partner & Head of StepStone Real Estate, and Margaret McKnight, Partner & Head of Portfolio Solutions for SRE, join co-host Maribel Yoo to discuss StepStone Real Estate's 2H26 house views on the state of the real estate market. They cover a range of topics, including how current real estate pricing seems to be near the bottom of the cycle, which is creating a compelling entry point for investment. There is dislocation in the market and pressure to sell certain assets. Therefore, while macro uncertainty is high, we are cautiously optimistic about property fundamentals.

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 makes possible — and what stays confidential
• Where the private markets data stack is headed as retail investors enter the asset class

Key takeaway: The real unlock isn't a new data set — it's a new default. A world where "show me the comparables" is easy to answer raises the bar for how GPs pitch and how LPs pick.

Now live: SPI Deal Benchmarking, the deal-level benchmarking solution from StepStone and PitchBook, is available now. Fund managers and service providers can access it through the PitchBook platform. Investors can access it through SPI by StepStone.

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)
• The role of private capital (6:19)
• Practical bottlenecks around AI growth (8:52)
• Remapping of geostrategic value (13:09)
• Resources and opportunities in space and the deep sea (15:11)
• What’s next (21:55)

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 (4:12)
• The ideal Fund I profile (6:41)
• Risks with Fund I investing (11:15)
• Building a disciplined emerging manager playbook (13:52)
• Risk management at the program and portfolio level (16:36)
• Key takeaways (21:32)

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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)
• Addressing the fundamentals (8:31) 
• Sector and regional outlooks (9:44)
• Investor frustrations and takeaways (12:21)

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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 valuations matter in 2025 (1:07)
• What the data reveals about performance (1:41)
• Evolving exit pathways (4:04)
• Private equity valuations (8:05)
• How private equity creates value (11:45)
• Discipline in a volatile market (13:48)

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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 pitch (8:44)
• The India opportunity set (11:47)
• Advice for investors (20:12)

For more on this topic, read our "Diversifying your Asia exposure" whitepaper series which includes papers on Japan private equity and India private equity. 

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