Kroll and StepStone Group Launch Private Credit Benchmarks
MWN-AI** Summary
On September 8, 2025, Kroll and StepStone Group jointly announced the launch of the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks, aiming to establish a new industry standard in private credit valuation. This initiative marks a significant advancement in the private markets, as it leverages direct loan-level data from over 15,000 deals to deliver more precise insights compared to traditional fund-level aggregates or estimates.
Jacob Silverman, CEO of Kroll, noted the rising investor interest in private markets, particularly as retail capital increasingly enters this space. The Benchmarks are designed to cater to this demand by providing real-time data that enhances market intelligence and eases capital allocation decisions. They will feature updates weekly and offer filterable insights across various dimensions, including geography, sector, loan size, and security type.
Marcel Schindler, CEO of StepStone Private Debt, emphasized the growing requirement for clarity in private credit solutions amid strong demand from global investors. The collaboration between Kroll’s datasets and StepStone’s proprietary SPI platform aims to create an influential toolkit for private credit market participants.
Michael H. Dolan, Kroll's President of Financial Advisory, highlighted the opportunity presented by the shifting of retail investors from public to private markets, especially with the rise of evergreen funds. He reiterated that Kroll's efforts will facilitate this market transition, addressing the current imbalance where retail investors hold a minute share of private market assets despite possessing over 50% of global wealth.
The Benchmarks, accessible via Kroll’s Private Capital Markets Platform, promise a more comprehensive understanding of private investment characteristics, thereby enhancing decision-making for stakeholders across the ecosystem. For further insights, Kroll and StepStone will host a webinar on September 16 to discuss the Benchmarks in detail.
MWN-AI** Analysis
The recent launch of the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks marks a significant advancement in the private credit landscape, driven by the need for robust, data-driven tools amidst rising investor interest. This partnership focuses on providing a comprehensive dataset derived from over 15,000 deals, shifting from traditional fund-level metrics to a granular, loan-level analysis. As the demand for accountability and transparency in private credit grows, particularly among retail investors, these benchmarks promise to enhance decision-making capabilities for both seasoned investors and newcomers alike.
From an investment standpoint, this initiative indicates a growing recognition of private credit as a key asset class, especially as the “retailification” trend enables individual investors to access opportunities previously dominated by institutional players. Currently, retail investors hold more than 50% of global wealth but only 20% of private market assets, revealing a gap with tremendous potential for growth. Such benchmarks will empower investors to better understand market dynamics and risk exposures as they navigate this evolving landscape.
For market participants, the weekly updates and anonymized insights across regions and sectors will facilitate the agile management of portfolios, enabling timely capital allocation decisions. This is particularly crucial as the economic environment becomes increasingly complex and uncertain. Investors are encouraged to take advantage of these benchmarks to refine their strategies, optimize loan pricing, and enhance portfolio resilience.
In summary, the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks represent an important resource for investors looking to deepen their engagement in private markets. Given the tool's potential to offer clarity and insight, investors should consider integrating this intelligence into their private credit strategies to maximize returns while navigating the escalating complexities of this asset class.
**MWN-AI Summary and Analysis is based on asking OpenAI to summarize and analyze this news release.
NEW YORK, Sept. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kroll , the leading independent provider of global financial and risk advisory solutions, and StepStone Group (Nasdaq: STEP), a global private markets solutions provider, today announced the launch of the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks (Benchmarks). A new industry standard, the Benchmarks enable more robust and rigorous valuation and provide an unmatched level of intelligence into the asset class’s investment characteristics.
The private credit Benchmarks are a result of an industry-first collaboration, built using loan-level data and information from more than 15,000 deals, as opposed to fund-level aggregates or modeled estimates. Developed with the long-standing and data-driven private markets expertise of Kroll and StepStone Group, the Benchmarks deliver more timely, reliable and actionable insights, on an anonymized basis, which are essential to the accelerated growth of private investment markets.
“Investor interest and confidence in private markets is growing, in part buoyed by the ‘retailification’ of private capital, and we expect investors to allocate even more to private markets over the coming years,” said Jacob Silverman, CEO of Kroll. “We are excited to partner with StepStone Group and respond to this market demand with a rigorous solution that enables near real-time market monitoring and provides vital intelligence for industry participants.”
Updated weekly with new primary market data, the Benchmarks provide aggregated, anonymized, filterable insights across regions, sectors, size and loan security. This includes extensive coverage across U.S. and European markets, facilitating targeted and timelier capital allocation decision-making, portfolio monitoring, and loan terms and pricing.
Marcel Schindler, Partner and CEO of StepStone Private Debt, added, “We continue to see strong demand for private credit solutions across the world's investors and, with that, comes an increasing need for clarity and granular benchmarks in this rapidly evolving asset class. By combining Kroll’s robust dataset in private credit with complementary data contained within our SPI by StepStone platform, we’re building a powerful intelligence toolkit that enables improved decision-making for investors and market participants across the private credit ecosystem.”
Michael H. Dolan, President of Financial Advisory at Kroll, explained, “We believe private investment markets are an enduring opportunity for growth as retail investors gain access and begin to shift from public to private market investment strategies. This trend has been augmented by a proliferation of evergreen funds. Retail investors currently control more than 50% of global wealth, however, they only control about 20% of private market assets under management. The industry is at an inflection point and Kroll is excited to help drive this market transition.”
Tyler Johnson, Partner and Chief Technology Officer of StepStone Group emphasized, “Robust and granular benchmarking has long been a challenge in private markets, one that StepStone has addressed since its inception through our SPI by StepStone platform. Our collaboration with Kroll will continue that mission to build a better data and analytics toolkit, bringing deeper intelligence and transparency for private credit to all market participants.”
The Benchmarks are available through the Private Capital Markets Platform which, as part of Kroll’s Private Asset Valuation Solutions, enables users to easily identify, analyze and model critical valuation drivers of illiquid investments and fund-level data at scale.
Learn more about the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks at www.kroll.com/benchmarks .
Kroll and StepStone will host a joint webinar on September 16 at 11:00 a.m. ET to introduce Private Credit Benchmarks. Register here to attend.
About Kroll
As the leading independent provider of financial and risk advisory solutions, Kroll leverages our unique insights, data and technology to help clients stay ahead of complex demands. Kroll’s team of more than 6,500 professionals worldwide continues the firm’s nearly 100-year history of trusted expertise spanning risk, governance, transactions and valuation. Our advanced solutions and intelligence provide clients with the foresight they need to create an enduring competitive advantage. At Kroll, our values define who we are and how we partner with clients and communities.
Learn more at Kroll.com .
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 June 30, 2025, StepStone was responsible for approximately $723 billion of total capital, including $199 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 .
For media inquiries, please contact:
Lori Feinsilver
Lori.Feinsilver@kroll.com
+1 917 428 7231
Emma Thompson
Emma.Thompson@kroll.com
+44 7540 302090
+44 20 70295384
Brian Ruby / Chris Gillick / Matt Lettiero, ICR
StepStonePR@icrinc.com
+1 203 682 8268
FAQ**
How will the collaboration between Kroll and StepStone Group Inc. (Nasdaq: STEP) enhance investor confidence in private credit markets?
What unique insights can investors gain from the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks compared to traditional fund-level aggregates?
In what ways does the weekly update of the Benchmarks influence capital allocation decisions for StepStone Group Inc. STEP's clients?
How does the data-driven approach of Kroll and StepStone Group Inc. (STEP) address the need for transparency in the rapidly evolving private credit asset class?
**MWN-AI FAQ is based on asking OpenAI questions about StepStone Group Inc. (NASDAQ: STEP).
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