What's Your Edge?: StepStone Private Wealth's Bob Long

Today marks the launch of a new show on Alt Goes Mainstream: What’s Your Edge?

Every person, every company, every fund has something that makes them special.

Makes them stand out from the crowd.

Gives them an unfair advantage.

Tips the scales in favor of success.

In this episode,  I ask our special guest, Bob Long, “What’s Your Edge?”

Bob Long is CEO of StepStone Group’s Stepstone Private Wealth. He has three decades of experience in the private markets and has led investment teams for global firms in both the general partner and the limited partner role. He has served as the CEO of two publicly-traded companies focused on expanding private market access for high net worth investors.

Prior to StepStone Private Wealth, Bob was the CEO of OHA Investment Corporation, a publicly-traded specialty finance company. Previously, he co-founded Conversus Capital, the largest publicly traded fund of third-party private equity funds with $3 billion of AUM and served as its CEO. Previously, he led Bank of America’s $7 billion strategic capital division. Early in his career, Bob served as the lead in-house counsel for a large portion of Bank of America’s Investment Banking Division and worked as a securities lawyer for a major law firm.

A recognized industry leader, Bob was named one of 50 “GameChangers” by Private Equity International, has been profiled in the WSJ, and hosted CNBC Squawk Box Europe on numerous occasions.

On today’s podcast, Bob and I discuss the nuances of evergreen funds and the unique features and offerings of StepStone Private Wealth’s evergreen strategies.

Thanks Bob for coming on the show to share your wisdom, experience, and your edge.

Show Notes
00:00 Introduction

00:38 Welcome to What's Your Edge?

01:01 Meet StepStone Private Wealth CEO Bob Long: A Leader in Private Markets

03:09 Lessons from Public Markets

04:34 Evergreen Fund Structure

05:27 Benefits of Evergreen Funds

06:25 Immediate Investment Advantage

07:20 Evergreen Funds and Financial Advisors

07:35 Evergreen Fund Liquidity

08:04 StepStone's Approach to Evergreen Funds

09:09 StepStone's Strategy and Structure

09:32 Balancing Inflows and Outflows

10:34 Importance of Deal Flow

11:04 Balancing Liquidity and Returns

11:56 StepStone's Competitive Advantage

13:52 Portfolio Construction

14:57 Diversification in Private Markets

16:06 Evergreen Fund Structures

19:44 Liquidity in Private Markets

27:57 Key Takeaways for Investors

29:53 Operational Due Diligence Essentials

30:13 Key Questions for Evergreen Fund Structures

30:36 Understanding Fee Structures

30:42 Management Fees and Leverage

31:33 Incentive Fees Explained

32:19 Administrative Costs and Transparency

32:34 Fee Compression in Evergreen Funds

34:11 Portfolio Construction Strategies

34:24 Investing in Secondaries

37:10 Psychology of Allocators

38:04 Accessibility and Minimum Investments

38:43 Investor Profiles and Strategies

40:36 Transparency and Performance

41:40 Rebalancing and Evergreen Funds

43:10 Model Portfolios and Private Markets

45:19 StepStone's Investor-Centric Approach

46:15 StepStone's Competitive Edge

48:31 Growth of Secondaries and Private Markets

51:37 Future Trends in Private Markets

55:30 Philanthropy and Purposeful Stewardship