In this episode of RPM, John Avirett, a partner on our venture capital and growth equity team discusses the venture capital ecosystem as we navigate this challenging economic environment. With the right market conditions, and venture capital’s ability to navigate volatile markets, perhaps now is the time to take a closer look at this strategy. We discuss:

• Fundraising trends for the remainder of 2022 into 2023 (0:38);
• The current environment’s impact on investments (4:49) and liquidity (9:46); and
• Why now is an opportune time to be investing in venture capital (13:47)

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In this episode of RPM, Qi Liu from our data, science and engineering team discusses one of our newest tools – the daily valuation engine (DVE). Typically, private market investors must wait anywhere from two to four months after quarter end to see how the value of their portfolios has changed; DVE, as the name implies, allows them to make this estimate well before general partners report. Among other things, we discuss: 

• How DVE’s accuracy compares with alternative approaches (3:40);
• The mathematical principles (8:06) and key data inputs (12:14) that the model relies on; and 
• Some of the ways in which investors might use DVE, from annual reporting to allocation planning (16:57).  

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In this episode of RPM, we're talking about growth equity with partner John Coelho.

• However you define "growth," its champions regard it as a proverbial Goldilocks that offers VC upside with buyout-type risk (1:01).
• After analyzing 25,000+ private equity deals in SPI, we found that growth delivered a higher multiple than VC and lower loss rates than buyouts (11:05). This was especially true of investments in the software sector, which for several years has been the fastest growing and best performing sector in private equity.
• Because growth equity companies tend to be profitable and less reliant upon leverage, we find them to be particularly attractive during periods of market uncertainty (13:21).

Because growth contains parts of both buyouts and VC, and it is in a strong position to benefit from technological tailwinds, it should be an important part of any well rounded private equity portfolio.

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The Ukraine crisis has taken a more negative turn than we would have hoped. While it becomes clearer what Russia's objectives may be, considerable uncertainty remains. In our twentieth episode, StepStone Partner and Head of Risk, Christian Frei, discusses this uncertainty and how private markets are faring. 

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In this episode of RPM, we're talking about one of the oldest industries in the world—Agriculture. From inflation concerns (4:15) and the boom in venture-capital-backed technologies (12:46) to the rise of natural capital (15:40) and the democratization of private markets (21:30), “Ag” is having a moment. Joining us to discuss these topics and more is Ryan Ramsey,  a principal on our infrastructure & real assets team based in Sydney.

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In the 18th episode of RPM—Reflections on Private Markets, StepStone's Head of Talent Development Nitin Malik joins co-host Michael Venne to discuss the importance of culture in today's white-hot labor market. They discuss a number of topics including what L&D says about a company's culture (2:09); the nexus between L&D and diversity equity & inclusion (4:20); and what HR teams have learned from TikTok (6:03). 

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In the 17th episode of RPM—Reflections on Private Markets, senior members of our private debt team, Marc-Andre Mittermayer and Marc Lickes join co-host Michael Venne to discuss insurance companies--namely, the reasons they are looking for alternatives to fixed-income investments (2:11); how private markets can help them meet their myriad investment-related goals (5:29); the affect regulatory policy has on an insurer's investment options (7:05); and some of the traits insurers should look for in an investment manager or advisor (9:30). 

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In the 16th episode of RPM—Reflections on Private Markets, senior members of our private debt team, Ariel Goldblatt and Mark Tsang,  join co-host Graziella Scassillo to discuss the outlook for private debt. They discuss the asset class's performance history (00:31); how managers have responded to fiscal and monetary intervention (2:08); how markets differ region to region (3:06); how liquidity needs of borrowers and lenders alike create investment opportunities (07:04); and tools for navigating the market going forward (10:14).

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In the 15th episode of RPM—Reflections on Private Markets, Aditya Raina , a principal on our private equity team summarizes the firm's 2022 outlook for private equity. He and co-host Michael Venne discuss the fundraising environment (1:10); the continuous growth of IT and software and the importance of partnering with sector specialists (5:48); how GPs are responding to price inflation (10:00); why we believe valuations are likely to moderate over the short run (14:00); and the importance of manager selection, regardless of private equity's relative outperformance as a whole (15:50).

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In part four of RPM's climate change special, Suzanne Tavill, StepStone head of responsible investment, hosts Margaret Kuhlow, Global Finance Practise Leader for WWF, to explain why today biodiversity and climate change have to be considered as interrelated systems and why this topic is relevant for our global economy (00:45). Margaret leads us through goals and plans defined by the post-2020 global biodiversity framework (06:53); WWF’s perspective on this framework (11:30); and how biodiversity can be incorporated into the evaluation and valuation of financial assets (15:28). To conclude, Margaret explores WWF findings about the abovementioned interrelationships (19:25). You can find reports and studies mentioned in the podcast on our show page.

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