Michael Bermel, Managing Director at StepStone Private Wealth Solutions, joined Julie Cooling, Founder and CEO of RIA Channel, to discuss the growing demand for private wealth investors for evergreen fund vehicles.
StepStone has built private market portfolios for some of the world’s most sophisticated pension, endowment, and sovereign wealth funds. Today, StepStone has close to 1,200 employees across 17 countries, responsible for over $726 billion in capital. Over the last 15 years, there has been growing retail demand for institutional-quality private markets portfolios. StepStone started a private wealth department five years ago.
StepStone allocates to strategies across private equity, venture capital, private credit, infrastructure, and real estate. Evergreen strategies are available to invest in each standalone strategy or across all private markets in a single fund vehicle.
Infrastructure investors need to understand whether they are investing in private infrastructure, public infrastructure, or a hybrid of the two. StepStone has identified three main themes in the $26 trillion necessary to be invested by 2050 to expand and update global infrastructure assets: power, transportation, and data. StepStone’s infrastructure fund offering invests exclusively in these three themes through privately held assets. Historically, returns to private infrastructure funds have had near-zero correlation to investments in bonds, public equity, and private equity. While infrastructure provides income and growth, it does so at a lower return correlation to public markets than real estate.
In response to advisor demand, StepStone recently launched an interval fund with investments focused on private equity buyout funds. The fund requires a minimum investment of $5,000 and is available to investors regardless of their accredited investor status. The fund has two redemption intervals annually, returning up to 5% of NAV to investors at each interval. Taxes are reported on form 1099 each January.
WEBCAST – Private Markets Playbook: Private Credit
The Private Credit session will provide an in-depth discussion on how advisors can potentially enhance yields and portfolio diversification utilizing private credit strategies. Join us for this one-and-a-half-hour interactive program.
Accepted for 1.5 CFP® / IWI / CFA CE Credits
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