Bain & Company and StepStone Group Release 2026 Private Equity GP Outlook
MWN-AI** Summary
On March 2, 2026, Bain & Company and StepStone Group released their inaugural General Partner (GP) Outlook, providing insights into how buyout general partners are navigating the complex investment landscape of 2026. This survey, conducted from December 2025 to January 2026, gathered feedback from over 100 professionals in investment and investor relations, primarily from North America and Europe. It aims to offer a forward-looking perspective that complements historical performance data, focusing on the strategies and expectations of GPs for the upcoming year.
Lindsay Creedon, Partner and StepStone’s Head of Private Equity, noted that while expectations for exits improved moving into 2026, valuation challenges remain a significant hurdle in closing deals. GPs are urged to enhance their value-creation strategies, as multiple expansions are no longer a reliable source of returns. Price negotiations emerged as the most substantial barrier to deal closure in 2025, surpassing typical diligence issues and macroeconomic factors.
The report observes a trend toward normalizing continuation vehicles, with about 25% of GPs recently launching such vehicles and another 40% considering them in the next few years to facilitate capital returns for investors. Additionally, the financial dynamics of fund economics are shifting due to fee pressures and discounts, with many GPs introducing early-bird discounts for investors in their recent flagship fund raises.
On technological advancements, the impact of generative AI has been notably favorable in deal-making processes, enhancing sourcing and due diligence. However, GPs are cautious regarding AI's financial benefits within portfolio companies, with nearly 40% not anticipating significant financial improvements from AI in 2026.
Bain & Company's Chairman of Global Private Equity, Hugh MacArthur, highlighted that the industry has reached a pivotal moment, necessitating sharper strategy and execution discipline to generate alpha in this new environment.
MWN-AI** Analysis
The recent 2026 Private Equity GP Outlook from Bain & Company and StepStone Group provides critical insights for investors navigating a changing private equity landscape. With the report implying that general partners (GPs) face heightened pressure to demonstrate operational value amidst valuation volatility, investors should adopt a more selective approach to their private equity commitments.
Key findings indicate that GPs are adjusting strategies in light of diminishing multiple expansions, emphasizing operational improvements and efficient deal sourcing. For investors, this highlights the importance of backing firms with a proven track record in operational excellence and strategic execution. As GPs navigate increased price pressure, it will be essential to scrutinize their ability to adapt and create value under challenging conditions.
The deployment of alternative fund structures, such as continuation vehicles, points towards a trend that investors should monitor closely. Investors may find opportunities to engage with managers deploying these vehicles, potentially benefiting from better capital recovery or investment continuity. However, caution is warranted—GPs expressing a strong reliance on continuation vehicles could signal challenges in exiting investments, making it crucial for investors to evaluate liquidity provisions in fund structures.
Furthermore, the innovations driven by artificial intelligence (AI) in deal sourcing and due diligence are notable. While GPs report gains here, the uncertain impact of AI on portfolio performance underscores the need for investors to evaluate the technological capabilities of managers closely.
In conclusion, as firms face an inflection point emphasized by Bain and StepStone, investors should seek relationships with GPs who not only prioritize operational enhancements but also exhibit agility in their investment strategies. Careful selection and ongoing due diligence will be key to thriving in this intricate market environment.
**MWN-AI Summary and Analysis is based on asking OpenAI to summarize and analyze this news release.
BOSTON and NEW YORK, March 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bain & Company and StepStone Group today released findings from their inaugural GP Outlook, offering a forward-looking view of how buyout general partners are approaching 2026 amid shifting deal dynamics and evolving liquidity conditions.
Conducted between December 2025 and January 2026, the survey captured insights from 100+ investment and investor relations professionals, primarily across North America and Europe. The goal: to complement backward-looking performance data with a view of what GPs are seeing, underwriting, and planning for the year ahead.
“This survey highlights how GPs are adapting to an ever-evolving investment environment,” said Lindsay Creedon, Partner and StepStone’s Head of Private Equity. “While expectations around exits improved coming into 2026, valuations remain a key obstacle in diligence processes. A focus on driving returns through operational value creation, including the impact of AI, is paramount. In addition, liquidity remains top of mind, so the secondary market will remain an important portfolio-management tool for GPs and LPs alike.”
Key findings
- Many GPs will have to up their value-creation game. Without the benefit of multiple expansion and perhaps even increased multiple volatility, GPs that can find a repeatable model for sourcing deals, determine early how to create value, and execute at speed, may generate better returns.
- Price remains the biggest deal obstacle. Even more than typical diligence issues or macroeconomic volatility, the most common reason deals failed to close in 2025 was an inability to agree on valuation.
- The use of continuation vehicles is normalizing. One quarter of GPs report having recently launched or completed a continuation vehicle, and roughly 40% expect to explore one in the next year or two, primarily to return capital to investors.
- Fee pressure and discounts are reshaping fund economics. About a third of GPs offered either scale or early-bird discounts to investors while raising their last flagship fund. GPs remain keen to offer co-investment opportunities to LPs that can execute swiftly at scale.
- AI impact is strongest in deals, less certain in portfolios. GPs report the highest returns from generative AI in deal sourcing and due diligence. Within portfolio companies, benefits skew toward cost savings, with nearly 40% of GPs not expecting material financial impact from AI in 2026.
“What we’re seeing in this survey reinforces what we outlined in our Global Private Equity Report: the industry has reached an inflection point,” said Hugh MacArthur, Chairman of Bain’s Global Private Equity Practice. “Multiples aren’t doing the heavy lifting anymore and new deals are harder to pencil out. In this environment, alpha has to be earned operationally and that requires sharper strategy, better data, and real execution discipline.”
To access the full report, click here.
About StepStone Group
StepStone Group Inc. (Nasdaq: STEP) is a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions and advisory and data services to its clients. As of December 31, 2025, StepStone was responsible for approximately $811 billion of total capital, including $220 billion of assets under management. StepStone’s clients include some of the world’s largest public and private defined benefit and defined contribution pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and insurance companies, as well as prominent endowments, foundations, family offices and private wealth clients, which include high-net-worth and mass affluent individuals. StepStone partners with its clients to develop and build private markets portfolios designed to meet their specific objectives across the private equity, infrastructure, private debt and real estate asset classes.
For more information, visit StepStone Group.
About Bain & Company
Bain & Company is a global consultancy that helps the world’s most ambitious change makers define the future.
Across 65 cities in 40 countries, we work alongside our clients as one team with a shared ambition to achieve extraordinary results, outperform the competition, and redefine industries. We complement our tailored, integrated expertise with a vibrant ecosystem of digital innovators to deliver better, faster, and more enduring outcomes. Our 10-year commitment to invest more than $1 billion in pro bono services brings our talent, expertise, and insight to organizations tackling today’s urgent challenges in education, racial equity, social justice, economic development, and the environment. We earned a platinum rating from EcoVadis, the leading platform for environmental, social, and ethical performance ratings for global supply chains, putting us in the top 1% of all companies. Since our founding in 1973, we have measured our success by the success of our clients, and we proudly maintain the highest level of client advocacy in the industry.
Contacts
Shareholder Relations:
Seth Weiss
shareholders@stepstonegroup.com
1-212-351-6106
Media:
Brian Ruby / Chris Gillick / Matt Lettiero, ICR
StepStonePR@icrinc.com
1-203-682-8268
FAQ**
How is StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) planning to adapt its investment strategies in light of the survey findings from Bain & Company regarding the evolving private equity landscape in 2026?
What specific measures is StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) taking to address the valuation obstacles identified by GPs in the recent survey published by Bain & Company?
Given the normalization of continuation vehicles highlighted in the Bain & Company report, how does StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) foresee its role in facilitating these vehicles for its investors?
How does StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) plan to leverage AI in its deal sourcing and due diligence processes to drive better returns, as emphasized in the findings from Bain & Company?
**MWN-AI FAQ is based on asking OpenAI questions about StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ: STEP).
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