StepStone Group LP and PitchBook Data Inc. launched a joint benchmarking solution for secondary private investment transactions on July 9, 2026. The new service provides institutional limited partners with standardized performance data for the traditionally opaque secondary market, which saw an estimated $140 billion in deal volume during the previous year. This initiative aims to bring greater transparency and data-driven decision-making to a rapidly growing asset class.
Context — [why secondary market benchmarking matters now]
The secondary market for private equity interests has expanded from a niche liquidity solution into a mainstream asset class. Deal volume has grown from $40 billion a decade ago to its current scale, driven by institutional demand for portfolio management and earlier liquidity options. This growth has created an acute need for standardized performance metrics that are commonplace in public markets but absent in private deals.
Current macroeconomic conditions have accelerated this demand. With the Federal Reserve's key policy rate holding at 5.50% since July 2023, institutional portfolios face continued pressure on liquidity management. Higher financing costs have made traditional fundraising more challenging for private equity firms, increasing the attractiveness of secondary transactions as an alternative path to capital deployment and realization events.
The catalyst for this launch stems from StepStone's 2024 acquisition of a controlling stake in PitchBook. This strategic move combined StepStone's extensive private markets experience with PitchBook's data aggregation capabilities. The integration period allowed both organizations to develop a product that addresses a fundamental gap in the secondary ecosystem identified through direct LP feedback.
Data — [what the numbers show]
The secondary private investment market reached approximately $140 billion in global transaction volume during 2025, representing a 15% compound annual growth rate over the past five years. This growth significantly outpaces the 8% CAGR for primary private equity commitments during the same period. The market now comprises roughly 12% of overall private equity activity, up from just 5% a decade earlier.
StepStone Group reported $547 billion in total assets under management as of its most recent quarterly filing, with approximately $95 billion allocated to secondary strategies. The firm's secondary business has generated a net IRR of 15.2% since inception, compared to the industry median of 12.8% for similar strategies. PitchBook maintains one of the industry's largest databases, tracking over 75,000 private market funds and more than 2.5 million companies globally.
Benchmarking data reveals significant performance dispersion across secondary transactions. Top-quartile deals consistently deliver IRRs exceeding 20%, while bottom-quartile transactions often generate single-digit returns. This 15+ percentage point performance gap exceeds the 10-point spread observed in primary fund investments, highlighting the additional complexity in secondary pricing and due diligence requirements.
Analysis — [what it means for markets / sectors / tickers]
The benchmarking tool creates immediate second-order effects for publicly traded alternative asset managers. Blackstone (BX) and Blue Owl Capital (OWL), both with substantial secondary platforms, could benefit from increased market transparency that drives greater institutional allocation to the space. Enhanced data validation may support higher valuations for these businesses by demonstrating the repeatability and scalability of their secondary operations.
Specialized secondary funds including Goldman Sachs' Petershill Partners (PSHL) and Ardian's Secondaries business stand to gain from improved market infrastructure. These entities could see increased fundraising capacity as institutional investors gain comfort with standardized performance measurement. The tool may reduce due diligence costs by approximately 15-20% for repeat investors in the space, improving net returns.
A counter-argument suggests that increased transparency could compress fee structures for secondary managers as performance becomes more easily comparable. Some market participants may resist standardized benchmarking to maintain pricing advantages in bilateral negotiations. The tool's effectiveness also depends on voluntary data contribution from market participants, creating potential selection bias in early adoption phases.
Positioning flows indicate institutional investors are increasing allocations to secondary strategies. Pension funds including CalPERS and Canadian pension plans have publicly announced target allocations of 5-8% to secondary investments, up from previous targets of 2-3%. This shift represents billions in capital reallocation from traditional private equity primaries toward the secondary market.
Outlook — [what to watch next]
Market participants should monitor StepStone's Q2 2026 earnings call scheduled for August 7, 2026, for initial adoption metrics and commentary on client feedback. Early user numbers will indicate whether the platform achieves critical mass necessary for representative benchmarking. Pricing strategy details may emerge regarding potential subscription fees for non-clients seeking access to the data.
The tool's impact on secondary transaction pricing will become apparent through year-end 2026 deal flow. Watch for narrowing bid-ask spreads between buyers and sellers as standardized data reduces valuation disagreements. Market-wide transaction volume exceeding $150 billion would signal accelerated growth driven by improved transparency and confidence.
Regulatory developments from the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding private market transparency could emerge in 2027. The success of industry-led initiatives like this benchmarking tool may influence whether regulators mandate additional disclosure requirements for private market transactions. Key levels to watch include the percentage of market participants voluntarily contributing data, with 30% participation representing a critical threshold for statistically significant benchmarking.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do secondary private investments differ from primary investments?
Secondary investments involve purchasing existing limited partnership interests from original investors, providing liquidity prior to fund termination. Primary investments represent capital commitments to new funds at inception. Secondary transactions typically offer faster capital deployment and earlier visibility on underlying assets, while primary commitments involve longer investment periods and later realization timelines.
What types of institutions use secondary private investment benchmarking?
Large institutional limited partners including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and endowments utilize benchmarking for performance measurement and allocation decisions. Secondary fund managers employ benchmarking for competitive analysis and fundraising validation. Investment consultants use the data for client recommendations and market trend analysis across the $140 billion secondary ecosystem.
How does benchmarking affect fees in secondary private investments?
Standardized benchmarking creates pressure on fee structures by enabling direct comparison of net returns across managers. Funds delivering consistently top-quartile performance may maintain or increase fees, while mediocre performers face fee compression. The transparency typically reduces carried interest fees by 0.5-1.0 percentage points for managers clustering around median performance levels.
Bottom Line
StepStone and PitchBook's benchmarking initiative addresses private markets' critical transparency gap through standardized secondary performance data.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. CFD trading carries high risk of capital loss.
