StepStone Group

What StepStone Group does

StepStone Group is a global private markets investment firm founded in 2007 and headquartered in New York, publicly traded on NASDAQ under ticker STEP. As of March 31, 2026, the firm managed $233 billion in assets under management and was responsible for approximately $885 billion in total capital, deployed across private equity (including venture and growth equity), private debt, real estate, and infrastructure through primaries, secondaries, co-investments, and direct investments. The firm served institutional investors (pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations) and private wealth clients (family offices, HNW individuals, mass affluent) via two distribution channels: dedicated investor relations teams for institutional mandates and a Private Wealth Solutions platform distributing five evergreen closed-end funds (SPRIM, SPRING, STRUCTURE, CRDEX, STPEX) through wealth advisors, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, LSEG's Digital Markets Infrastructure, Crowd Street, and Callan consulting relationships. It operated from 31 offices across 19 countries with 1,310+ employees, including 461 private equity investment professionals, 230 secondaries professionals, and 225 co-investment specialists.

StepStone's underlying technology stack centers on SPI by StepStone, a proprietary data and analytics platform capturing deal-level performance and operational metrics across thousands of private market funds and portfolio companies. SPI has been extended externally through three 2026 partnerships: SPI Deal Benchmarking (with PitchBook) provides granular cross-strategy performance analytics; the FTSE StepStone Global Private Market Indices (with FTSE Russell) deliver daily private market valuation estimates; and the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks (with Kroll) supply institutional credit benchmarking. The firm also became the first UMB Fund Services client to integrate with the Corastone permissioned DLT platform (Hyperledger Fabric) for straight-through processing of alternative investment subscriptions. A Data and Analytics team of 140 portfolio analytics experts plus 40 data/software engineering professionals builds these proprietary systems.

The revenue model combines recurring AUM-based management and advisory fees with transaction-driven performance fees (carried interest). FY2026 revenue of $1.99 billion was up 70% year-over-year, driven by 23% AUM growth, $105 million in Q4 FY2026 fee-related earnings (first quarterly FRE above $100 million, up 12% YoY), and strong carried interest from the SPRING evergreen fund (46% one-year returns). Recurring management fees are earned across institutional mandates and the doubling private wealth AUM base, while performance fees are concentrated in flagship vehicles such as the SPRING fund and the $3.3 billion structured solutions vehicle closed in March 2026 (the largest of its kind). Go-to-market is enterprise field sales to institutional LPs globally, paired with multi-channel wealth distribution through dedicated Private Wealth Solutions, channel partners, and infrastructure such as LSEG DMI. Notable third-party logos include Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Commerzbank, Apollo, KKR, Franklin Templeton, and Verdane.

Name

StepStone Group

Legal name

StepStone Group Inc.

Website

https://stepstonegroup.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

StepStone Group is a global private markets investment firm managing $233B AUM, serving institutional investors and private wealth clients through customized portfolios spanning primaries, secondaries, and co-investments across private equity, private debt, infrastructure, and real estate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private Markets Investment Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525), Investment Banking and Securities Intermediation (523150)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Thematic / Sector-Focused Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAGAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Secondaries Fundraising & Liquidity Intermediation (LP Stakes/GP-led) (FSAEALAG), Real Estate Portfolio & Fund Management (Institutional/REIT/PE) (BPAJAMAJ), Secondary Directs / Synthetic Secondaries (Preferred Equity, Structured, Strip Sales) (FSANAFAC)

Keywords

• Private markets investing
• Institutional asset management
• Alternative investment solutions
• Private equity allocation
• Evergreen wealth funds

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Management and Advisory Fees: StepStone earns management fees based on assets under management (AUM) and committed capital across its advisory and asset management mandates. As of March 2026, StepStone manages $233 billion in AUM and is responsible for approximately $885 billion in total capital. Fee-related earnings of $105 million in Q4 FY2026, up 12% year-over-year.
2. Performance Fees (Carried Interest): StepStone earns performance-based fees (carried interest) from its investment funds and strategies, particularly from its SPRING evergreen fund which achieved 46% returns over the past year and 30%+ one-year returns. Revenue of $588.6 million for Q4 FY2026 (up 56% YoY) and $1.99 billion for full fiscal year 2026 (up 70%), driven significantly by performance-related earnings.
3. Private Wealth Fund Distribution: StepStone distributes evergreen private wealth fund products (SPRIM, SPRING, STRUCTURE, CRDEX, STPEX) to individual investors and wealth advisors, generating management fees on AUM within its Private Wealth Solutions platform, which has doubled assets since December 31, 2024.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

StepStone Group is a global private markets investment firm that manages customized investment portfolios integrating primaries, secondaries, and co-investments across private equity, private debt, real estate, and infrastructure. The firm operates through two primary channels: institutional asset management and advisory services for pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, and endowments; and a Private Wealth Solutions platform that distributes evergreen closed-end funds (SPRIM, SPRING, STRUCTURE, CRDEX, STPEX) to individual investors and financial advisors. The firm leverages its proprietary SPI data and analytics platform to source, benchmark, and manage investments across $233B in AUM and $885B in total capital responsibility.

Product overview

StepStone Group operates as a global private markets investment firm offering a unified platform of investment solutions across four asset classes: private equity, private debt, real estate, and infrastructure. The core product portfolio centers on five evergreen closed-end funds designed for individual investors through the Private Wealth Solutions channel: SPRIM (multi-asset class), SPRING (venture/growth), STRUCTURE (infrastructure), CRDEX (private credit), and STPEX (private equity). Supporting the investment业务 is SPI by StepStone, an industry-leading proprietary data and analytics platform that provides deal-level performance benchmarking and operational insights. The SPI Deal Benchmarking solution, launched via PitchBook partnership, extends these analytics to broader market participants. The firm also manages institutional commingled funds across its asset classes and strategies including fund investments, secondaries, co-investments, and direct investments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SPI by StepStone: Industry-leading proprietary data and technology platform providing deal-level performance and operational insights for private markets.
• FTSE StepStone Global Private Market Indices
• SPI Deal Benchmarking

Products and services

• SPRIM (StepStone Private Markets Fund) Evergreen closed-end management investment company structured as a tender offer fund spanning private equity, real assets, and private debt. Offers individual investors access to best-in-class investment managers worldwide with goals of long-term capital appreciation, regular current income, and diversification.
• SPRING (StepStone Private Venture and Growth Fund) Non-diversified closed-end management investment company structured as a tender offer fund providing broadly diversified venture and growth strategy using an open architecture approach with emphasis on best-in-class managers across all sectors of the innovation economy.
• STRUCTURE (StepStone Private Infrastructure Fund) Non-diversified closed-end management investment company operated as an interval fund seeking to provide current income and long-term capital appreciation through access to a global portfolio of private infrastructure investments across industry sectors and geographies.
• CRDEX (StepStone Private Credit Income Fund) Non-diversified closed-end management investment company operated as an interval fund offering access to broadly diversified private credit strategy focused on senior secured direct lending using a multi-lender approach.
• STPEX (StepStone Private Equity Strategies Fund) Non-diversified closed-end management investment company operated as an interval fund designed to provide exposure to a diversified portfolio of private equity investments managed by historically top-tier sponsors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Record $2.3 billion in organic private wealth subscriptions in Q1 CY2026
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• CorastonecoreTechnology or Integration · 25 June 2026StepStone became the first UMB Fund Services client to integrate with Corastone's permissioned distributed ledger technology network for private markets. The platform enables real-time exchange of standardized investor and transaction data, replacing manual document-based workflows with straight-through processing across the alternative investment servicing lifecycle. Built on Hyperledger Fabric and launched in November 2025, the platform has attracted major clients including Apollo, Morgan Stanley, KKR, and Franklin Templeton.
• UMB Fund ServicescoreTechnology or Integration · 25 June 2026StepStone is the first UMBFS client to connect to Corastone's DLT platform, streamlining subscriptions and reducing manual reconciliation through real-time standardized data exchange. UMBFS provides fund administration services to StepStone's private wealth platform (investor portals for SPRIM, SCRED, Australian Feeder funds).
• Alter DomusminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2026StepStone Group and Alter Domus announced a partnership for a new Spanish private equity fund, representing a strategic alliance to launch investment products in the Spanish market.
• LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group)coreTechnology or Integration · 7 May 2026StepStone joined LSEG's Digital Markets Infrastructure (DMI) platform, launching its evergreen strategies across private equity, private debt, and infrastructure. The DMI platform uses distributed ledger technology to streamline professional investor access to private funds. This collaboration builds on their October 2025 launch of the FTSE StepStone Global Private Market Indices. StepStone is among the first private markets managers on the DMI platform, supporting more efficient access to private markets through established market infrastructure for the UK wealth market.
• PitchBookcoreTechnology or Integration · 6 May 2026StepStone and PitchBook launched SPI Deal Benchmarking, a deal-level benchmarking solution integrating StepStone's institutional-grade fund and deal performance data with PitchBook's private markets intelligence platform. The solution provides granular performance analytics across private equity, venture capital, growth equity, and infrastructure strategies, available through both PitchBook's platform and SPI by StepStone. Launched in Q2 2026 as a standalone tool within existing PitchBook workflows.
• Kroll (Duff & Phelps)coreTechnology or Integration · 6 May 2026StepStone partnered with Kroll to launch Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks, providing institutional-grade credit benchmarking through Kroll's platform. This builds on StepStone's broader data partnerships strategy (PitchBook, FTSE Russell) to expand its data and analytics offerings.
• Crowd StreetminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 8 April 2026StepStone is featured on Crowd Street's private market investment platform as one of the fund and asset managers available for review. Crowd Street's Chief Private Markets Officer Dave Kasouf oversees strategic collaborations including those with StepStone, helping expand Crowd Street's fund options across private credit, private equity, real assets, and venture.
• CallanminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 8 April 2026Callan, an investment consulting firm, is referenced as a strategic collaboration partner within Crowd Street's platform ecosystem. Dave Kasouf, Crowd Street's new Chief Private Markets Officer, oversees strategic collaborations including those with StepStone and Callan.
• Morgan StanleycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 24 March 2026Morgan Stanley supported StepStone through its IPO journey and has a flywheel relationship where both firms help each other grow. Morgan Stanley helped prepare StepStone for Analyst Day, raised debt post-public offering, and distributes StepStone's products through Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management distributes StepStone's private wealth fund products, representing a significant wealth distribution channel.
• Bain & CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2026Bain & Company and StepStone released their inaugural joint GP Outlook survey capturing insights from over 100 private equity investment professionals. Key findings include: 79% expect purchase price multiples to remain flat in 2026, co-investment represents 33 cents per $1 of committed capital translating to 25% fee revenue reduction, and AI delivers highest return in due diligence (40%) and deal sourcing (33%).
• Defined Contribution Alternatives Association (DCALTA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2026StepStone supports DCALTA, a trade association seeking to enhance retirement security through prudent inclusion of alternative investments in defined contribution plans. Christable Yau (Partner) serves on the DCALTA board and Bob Long (CEO of StepStone Private Wealth Solutions) leads DCALTA's public policy committee.
• FTSE RussellcoreTechnology or Integration · 28 February 2026StepStone and FTSE Russell launched the FTSE StepStone Global Private Market Indices covering private equity, private debt, infrastructure, and real estate. These indices adjust quarterly valuations to produce daily estimates, facilitating greater accessibility, liquidity, and regulatory compliance for private market investments. The indices are available through LSEG's platform.

Scale indicators37 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Hamilton Lane: Hamilton Lane (NASDAQ: HLNE) is the closest pure-play public peer — a global private markets investment manager offering fund investments, secondaries, co-investments, and direct credit to institutional and wealth clients. Business model, fee structure, and GP network approach closely mirror StepStone's.
• Partners Group: Partners Group (NYSE: PGEN) is a Swiss-listed private markets investment manager with overlapping strategies across PE, infrastructure, private debt, and secondaries, and recently co-invested with StepStone in a UK rolling stock platform — both a direct competitor and a co-investment partner.
• Pantheon Ventures: Pantheon (an Affiliated Managers Group subsidiary) is a private markets multi-manager platform offering primaries, secondaries, and co-investments globally — a closely comparable operating model and direct competitor in fund-of-funds/secondaries allocation.

Broad incumbents

• Blackstone Inc. Blackstone (NYSE: BX) is the world's largest alternative asset manager, directly overlapping with StepStone across private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and private debt — but at vastly greater scale and with proprietary fund products rather than third-party GP allocation.
• KKR & Co. KKR (NYSE: KKR) is a global alternatives platform spanning PE, infrastructure, real estate, and credit with growing wealth distribution; competes with StepStone both as a GP seeking LP capital and as a manager aggregating private market exposure for institutional and wealth clients.
• Ares Management: Ares (NYSE: ARES) is a leading private credit and alternatives manager; it served as primary capital provider for StepStone's $3.3B structured solutions vehicle, illustrating both the overlap in secondaries/private credit and the partnership/competitor dynamic.
• Apollo Global Management: Apollo (NYSE: APO) is a major alternatives manager with strength in credit and hybrid value strategies; competes with StepStone in private credit and secondaries and is a Corastone DLT network peer alongside StepStone.
• Brookfield Asset Management: Brookfield (NYSE: BAM) is the largest pure-play real assets and infrastructure manager, directly comparable to StepStone's infrastructure/real assets platform and competing for sovereign wealth and pension mandates.
• Carlyle Group: Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternatives manager across PE, credit, and real assets; offers evergreen wealth products and overlaps with StepStone's multi-asset platform and channel distribution strategy.

Emerging players

• Franklin Templeton: Franklin Templeton (NYSE: BEN) has expanded aggressively into alternative assets including private credit, secondaries, and wealth-channel evergreen funds; competes with StepStone in wealth distribution and is also a participant in the Corastone DLT network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCrXLiUKBQUH3STcRCEYRmXQ
• Xx.com/stepstonegroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stepstone-group

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A4 records

Investments172 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about StepStone Group