Kroll and StepStone Group launch private credit Benchmarks, enhancing investment insights and market clarity for private markets.
Quiver AI Summary
Kroll and StepStone Group have announced the launch of the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks, a new industry standard designed to enhance the valuation and intelligence of private credit investments. This initiative utilizes loan-level data from over 15,000 deals to provide more reliable insights compared to traditional fund-level estimates. The Benchmarks, updated weekly, offer a comprehensive view of the private credit market, facilitating better capital allocation and portfolio management for investors. Kroll's CEO, Jacob Silverman, noted the growing interest in private markets, particularly among retail investors, while StepStone's leadership emphasized the need for clarity and granularity in benchmarks. The Benchmarks are available through Kroll’s Private Capital Markets Platform and a webinar detailing the new product will be held on September 16, 2025.
Potential Positives
- The launch of the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks establishes a new industry standard that enhances valuation rigor and provides deeper insights into private credit investments.
- This initiative is the result of an industry-first collaboration, setting Kroll apart as a leader in innovative solutions in financial advisory services.
- The Benchmarks offer updated, weekly insights based on loan-level data from over 15,000 deals, ensuring that users have access to timely and reliable information for better investment decision-making.
- The partnership is aligned with trends in private markets, including growing investor interest and the increasing transition of retail investors from public to private market strategies, positioning Kroll favorably for future growth opportunities.
Potential Negatives
- There is potential skepticism about the accuracy and reliability of the newly introduced Benchmarks, as they rely on loan-level data from past deals, which may not be fully representative of future market conditions.
- The announcement hints at increased competition in the private credit benchmarking space, which could pressure Kroll's market share and profitability in financial advisory services.
- Any missteps in the implementation or credibility of the Benchmarks could result in reputational damage for Kroll, affecting client trust and investment decisions.
FAQ
What are the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks?
The Benchmarks are a new industry standard for robust valuation in private credit, built from loan-level data on over 15,000 deals.
How often are the Private Credit Benchmarks updated?
The Benchmarks are updated weekly with new primary market data for timely insights into private credit markets.
Who developed the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks?
The Benchmarks were developed through a collaboration between Kroll, a financial advisory firm, and StepStone Group, specializing in private markets solutions.
Why are Private Credit Benchmarks important for investors?
They provide essential, granular insights for better decision-making in private credit investments during a time of accelerated market growth.
How can I learn more about the Benchmarks?
You can learn more about the Kroll StepStone Private Credit Benchmarks at www.kroll.com/benchmarks or by attending the upcoming webinar.
Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.
$STEP Insider Trading Activity
$STEP insiders have traded $STEP stock on the open market 15 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 15 have been sales.
Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $STEP stock by insiders over the last 6 months:
- MICHAEL I MCCABE (Head of Strategy) has made 0 purchases and 4 sales selling 318,836 shares for an estimated $18,874,792.
- SCOTT W HART (Chief Executive Officer) has made 0 purchases and 6 sales selling 60,000 shares for an estimated $3,631,784.
- JASON P MENT (See remarks) has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 57,308 shares for an estimated $3,478,089.
To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.
$STEP Hedge Fund Activity
We have seen 141 institutional investors add shares of $STEP stock to their portfolio, and 144 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.
Here are some of the largest recent moves:
- MILLENNIUM MANAGEMENT LLC added 1,435,100 shares (+48.4%) to their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $79,648,050
- FMR LLC removed 1,369,176 shares (-36.0%) from their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $75,989,268
- FRED ALGER MANAGEMENT, LLC removed 697,113 shares (-44.8%) from their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $38,689,771
- CITADEL ADVISORS LLC added 538,060 shares (+39.7%) to their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $29,862,330
- BLACKROCK, INC. removed 457,822 shares (-4.6%) from their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $25,409,121
- CIBC PRIVATE WEALTH GROUP LLC added 425,692 shares (+83.2%) to their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $23,625,906
- DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP removed 400,723 shares (-92.0%) from their portfolio in Q2 2025, for an estimated $22,240,126
To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.
$STEP Analyst Ratings
Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $STEP in the last several months. We have seen 1 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.
Here are some recent analyst ratings:
- Oppenheimer issued a "Outperform" rating on 08/11/2025
To track analyst ratings and price targets for $STEP, check out Quiver Quantitative's $STEP forecast page.
$STEP Price Targets
Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $STEP recently. We have seen 5 analysts offer price targets for $STEP in the last 6 months, with a median target of $63.0.
Here are some recent targets:
- Chris Kotowski from Oppenheimer set a target price of $84.0 on 08/11/2025
- Benjamin Budish from Barclays set a target price of $63.0 on 08/08/2025
- John Dunn from Evercore ISI Group set a target price of $61.0 on 07/10/2025
- Alexander Blostein from Goldman Sachs set a target price of $63.0 on 05/28/2025
- Michael Cyprys from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $51.0 on 04/14/2025
Full 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 .
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