Private markets have faced no shortage of headwinds in recent years. At IPEM, StepStone Partner Mike Elio joined the panel, “We need to talk about that vintage,” to discuss liquidity, exit activity, manager selection, and more. A few key takeaways: • Exit activity is improving. The historical valuation uplift on exit has returned to ~11%, signalling a healthier environment for distributions. • Continuation vehicles are increasingly important, evolving from a liquidity solution into a core feature of the private markets ecosystem. • Specialism matters. While large-cap private equity continues to face IPO challenges, small and mid-market buyouts offer compelling return potential for those able to identify specialist managers with proven value creation and exit capabilities. • Private markets continue to deliver consistent returns, but are currently measured against exceptionally strong public markets. However, the long-term case for private markets remains compelling, offering consistent value creation and diversification benefits.

Private markets are entering a new phase as investors navigate longer holding periods, evolving liquidity dynamics and increased selectivity. In this profile, Mike Elio shares his perspective on where institutional investors are finding opportunity across today's private markets landscape. Key takeaways: - "DPI is the new IRR" as investors place greater emphasis on distributions and manager selection. - Secondaries continue to gain traction as a source of liquidity and access to high-quality assets. - The lower-to-middle market offers compelling opportunities, making manager selection increasingly critical. - Evergreen vehicles are seeing broader adoption, particularly among smaller institutional investors. Read the full piece here: privatemarketsprofile.com/po…

StepStone Group served as sole lead investor in a single-asset continuation vehicle alongside Amulet Capital Partners to support US Fertility, the largest independent fertility services network in the United States. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Amulet to support US Fertility in its next phase of growth.

John Avirett joined the Life After SpaceX panel at the UOB Private Bank Funds Summit in Singapore, discussing AI innovation, the infrastructure behind its growth, and how investors can find opportunities without chasing hype. Across the event's breakout sessions, JianHao Low shared perspectives on venture and growth markets, portfolio allocation, and key investment themes shaping today's landscape. Thank you to UOB Private Bank for hosting and facilitating these thoughtful discussions.

Colleagues from our Beijing, Singapore, and Zurich offices recently gathered in Bangkok for the StepStone Thailand Investor Forum 2026. The program covered developments across private equity, private debt, venture capital, and private wealth, with a discussion on China’s tech-driven growth examined the forces shaping investor interest and activity in one of the world's most dynamic innovation markets. As investor priorities continue to evolve, we appreciate the chance to foster conversations around the forces shaping today's market environment.

StepStone Group served as sole lead investor in a single-asset continuation vehicle alongside Gainline Capital Partners to support Core Health & Fitness, a global producer and distributor of commercial fitness equipment. We look forward to partnering with Gainline to support Core in its next phase of growth and global expansion. This transaction reflects our shared commitment to supporting long-term value creation for high-quality businesses.

StepStone has been ranked #3 in Private Equity International's 2026 Secondaries Investor 50. The ranking reflects StepStone’s continued market leadership and growth of our secondaries platform, with $35.9 billion raised over the last five years. That momentum comes as secondaries play an increasingly important role for investors and sponsors seeking liquidity and portfolio management solutions across private markets. This recognition is a testament to the strength of our global secondaries platform and the work of our teams across the firm. Thank you to our clients, partners, and colleagues whose trust and collaboration made this achievement possible.

Last week, StepStone kicked off our new personal and professional development series with a conversation about career confidence, work-life balance and the evolving definition of success. The panel explored challenges that many professionals encounter throughout their careers, reflecting on the experiences that shaped their own paths. Thank you to Rebecca Ajavananda, Nitin Malik, Jennifer Logue, and moderator Shannon Kenska for sharing their perspectives, and to everyone who dialed in and contributed thoughtful questions.

We are excited to announce the final close of our infrastructure secondaries fund, raising $1.7 billion across StepStone Secondaries Infrastructure Fund (SSIF) and related separate accounts. SSIF, our first closed-ended commingled fund dedicated to infrastructure secondaries, closed at its $1.5 billion hard cap, surpassing its target. The Fund focuses on acquiring LP interests and investing in GP-led secondary funds, targeting what StepStone believes are high-quality infrastructure funds and assets managed by experienced third-party infrastructure GPs. Special thanks to the investors who backed this fund, many of whom have partnered with us across our infrastructure platform for years. This milestone reflects our continued commitment to delivering differentiated solutions across the infrastructure secondaries market. Full press release here: bit.ly/45MJAT8

How is value being created in private equity today? Join Aiyu Nicholson, StepStone Partner and COO of Private Equity, at AAAIM Elevate 2026 on September 22 for "Perspectives on value creation in private equity," a discussion on the strategies, challenges, and opportunities shaping the market. StepStone is proud to support AAAIM Elevate 2026 and the conversations driving the future of private markets.

StepStone is now accepting applications for our 2027 Summer Analyst program. Work alongside teams across our global private markets platform and gain hands-on experience supporting real projects and initiatives. Check out our current internship opportunities here: bit.ly/3qYyhqb

StepStone is excited to welcome the 2026 First Step cohort, the newest members of our full-time early careers program, as they embark on their professional journey with us. Many of these talented individuals have already demonstrated exceptional capabilities during their time as interns, and we are excited to support their continued growth as they contribute to our ongoing success. We look forward to seeing the impact they make across the firm and wish them a strong start as they begin this next chapter at StepStone!

For years, gaining a clear view of private markets has been a challenge for investors. But as data sets become deeper and more robust, investors have greater ability to move beyond assumptions and develop a more informed view of markets, managers, and opportunities. On 24 September, Alesia Dawidowicz, Managing Director at StepStone, will join LPGP Connect's Annual Private Debt conference in London for a fireside chat, "Credit Quality, Defaults and Dispersion – What Does the Data Tell Us About What's Coming." The session will explore what emerging credit and default data may reveal about the road ahead, as performance dispersion begins to surface across the market and investors look for new ways to assess risk, resilience, and differentiation.

As our summer internship program comes to a close, we want to recognize and thank this year's intern class for the dedication and enthusiasm they brought to StepStone this summer. Over the past few months, our interns contributed to projects across the firm and embraced countless opportunities to learn, grow, and challenge themselves. We are grateful to the managers, mentors, and colleagues who invested their time in supporting and developing this talented group throughout the program. Thank you, interns, for being part of the StepStone community this summer. We hope that this opportunity to foster connections, explore new ideas, and gain exposure to the people and work that shapes our industry has provided you all with the confidence to become future leaders. We are excited to see what comes next for each of you and wish you continued success in your next chapter!

StepStone Group reported results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027. Visit our shareholder page to listen to the replay ▶️ bit.ly/3AWPanE

One of the highlights of each summer is welcoming a new group of interns to StepStone and watching them learn, contribute, and grow alongside colleagues across the firm. Our interns are bringing curiosity, initiative, and a willingness to take on new challenges to teams across StepStone. As they gain hands-on experience, they're building connections, developing new skills, and contributing to meaningful work throughout the firm. To our interns: thank you for your hard work, curiosity, and enthusiasm. We're glad to have you as part of the team and appreciate the impact you're making this summer.

This week, Taylor Benson, Managing Director at StepStone, moderated a panel discussion at DCALTA's July General Session, "Stable Value Meets Private Credit," bringing together industry experts to share thoughtful perspectives on the evolving intersection of capital preservation, income generation, and private market investing. Key takeaways from the discussion included: • Stable Value has been an important asset class in the DC ecosystem for over 40 years, evolving through continued innovation. The latest example is the thoughtful consideration of whether a small allocation to privates could improve the outcomes to participants • Over the years, stable value has delivered meaningful benefits for participants and plan sponsors, but it took a tremendous amount of collaboration across stakeholders. As we continue to think about how private markets can help improve participant outcomes, we need to take a page from the stable value playbook and recognize the importance of collaboration to delivering effective solutions for the DC ecosystem. Thank you to DCALTA and the panel participants, Nick Gage, Lacey Lockward and Kerry Bandow, for a thoughtful discussion on an important topic for the retirement ecosystem.

We're proud to share that StepStone has been named a Top 20 Overall Excellence Winner in Abode's inaugural Early-Career Engagement Awards, with recognition across all five award categories: mentorship, keep-warm programming, community building, renege prevention, and intern-to-full-time conversion. A special thank you to our Early Careers team, whose hard work and thoughtful approach help foster a supportive and engaging experience for early-career talent. Learn more about our program here: abodehr.com/awards/2026/step…

Private markets can offer insurers attractive yield, diversification, and long-term asset-liability alignment. Our latest paper explores ICOLI and IDFs as another way for insurers to access private markets, with favorable capital and tax treatment as supporting benefits. Read here: bit.ly/4b3f8qK

A strong first half of 2026 for StepStone Private Equity Secondaries. In London, we welcomed nearly 200 investors to our UK Investor Conference, including our panel discussion, Secondaries in the Spotlight: The GP-led Revolution. In New York, we brought together more than 40 LPs and sponsors for an evening of networking and discussion with members of our broader private equity team. Philippe Ferneini represented StepStone at SuperReturn Berlin, participating in a panel on GP-led transactions and meeting with more than 30 investors from around the world. While perspectives differed, there was remarkable alignment on where the market stands today and where it's heading. Four themes stood out from the conversations throughout the week: 1. GP-led activity is increasingly driven by conviction — sponsors electing to retain their highest-quality assets through the next phase of growth, with secondary capital enabling continuity rather than a premature exit. 2. Value creation remains critical, with investors increasingly expecting sponsors to deliver operational improvements over longer hold periods. 3. LP engagement continues to increase, driving greater transparency and stakeholder alignment across transactions. 4. As the buyer universe broadens, relationships and access are becoming increasingly important in sourcing the highest-quality opportunities. As interest in private equity secondaries continues to grow, success will increasingly depend on access, experience, and the ability to identify and support high-quality businesses through their next phase of growth. We're energized by the conversations we're having and the opportunities ahead. More to come.