RPM Ep. 61 | Beyond Top Quartile: What Deal-Level Benchmarking Unlocks for Private Market Investors

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Private markets have long had a benchmarking problem — not just a data problem, but a credibility problem. “Top quartile” has been more art than science: fragmented data, inconsistent definitions, and months-long reporting lags make it difficult for GPs to demonstrate how they created value, or for LPs to evaluate managers on a true apples-to-apples basis.

Host Michael Venne sits down with Tyler Johnson and Paul Santarelli to discuss what’s changing — and what deal-level benchmarking actually unlocks for GPs, LPs, and the market at large.

In this episode:

• Why fund-level benchmarking leaves the most important questions unanswered
• How to separate alpha from beta in manager evaluation
• What the PitchBook × StepStone partnership makes possible — and what stays confidential
• Where the private markets data stack is headed as retail investors enter the asset class

Key takeaway: The real unlock isn’t a new data set — it’s a new default. A world where “show me the comparables” is easy to answer raises the bar for how GPs pitch and how LPs pick.

Now live: SPI Deal Benchmarking, the deal-level benchmarking solution from StepStone and PitchBook, is available now. Fund managers and service providers can access it through the PitchBook platform. Investors can access it through SPI by StepStone.

Read the transcript .

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