Private markets research and insights from StepStone Group.

StepStone Group's Stephen West and Anthony Giambrone discuss why selectivity has become the defining factor for venture success in the current environment, and how the secondary market has emerged as a compelling access point for category-defining companies. The podcast explores liquidity dynamics and the evolving role of venture secondaries for institutional allocators.

StepStone's Philippe Ferneini examines the GP-led secondaries market, which has scaled to over $100B annually, noting a quality shift as nearly half of PE capital sits in aging, underperforming assets with constrained exits. The piece argues that selectivity, relationships, and value-add capabilities are increasingly critical as the dispersion between high- and low-quality GP-led deals widens.

StepStone Group examines Germany's private equity market, which has modestly trailed European peers on gross TVM despite commanding ~15% of European buyout deployment between 2015 and 2023, due to cyclical industrial exposure, automotive headwinds, and a higher loss ratio. The paper argues that three structural catalysts - Germany's €500bn fiscal package, rising NATO defense spending, and LP appetite to grow European allocations - create selective opportunities rather than broad-based alpha.

StepStone Group argues that real estate pricing is near a cyclical bottom, presenting a compelling entry point amid ongoing dislocation from the 2022 rate rise, over-leveraged balance sheets, and ~$1 trillion in unrealized assets held beyond five years. The firm favors core+ and value-add strategies, recapitalizations, distressed acquisitions, and debt strategies, with income identified as the primary return driver given limited prospects for cap rate compression.