John Wuestling, Partner at StepStone Group, joined Julie Cooling, Founder and CEO of RIA Channel, at the CAIS Summit, to discuss the benefits of being a large investor in venture capital funds.
StepStone is one of the largest allocators to private markets with over $170 billion invested. The firm is one of the largest allocators in each segment of private markets, including real estate, private credit, infrastructure, private equity, venture capital and growth investing. Being a large investor in private funds allows the firm to glean information on private companies and assets held in the funds. This information informs the underwriting process for secondary and direct fund investments.
StepStone Private Venture and Growth Fund (SPRING) is an evergreen fund offering predominately invested in secondaries with some co-investments. The large allocations made by StepStone and its team of 82 venture and growth investment professionals can provide an advantage in sourcing and accessing funds, especially those that may not be available to all investors. This access is important in venture capital, as the elite managers have historically outperformed while limiting access to new investors. SPRING is only one of a handful of evergreen funds to provide venture capital exposure. Advisors allocate to SPRING in search of higher long-term returns and differentiation from core private equity holdings.
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