Conversus Stepstone Private Markets

12/16/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/16/2024 16:27

Supplemental Prospectus (Form 424B3)

StepStone Private Markets
Filed Pursuant to Rule
424(b)(3)
Registration
No. 333-274728
STEPSTONE PRIVATE MARKETS PROSPECTUS
October 30, 2024, as supplemented December 16, 2024
Class T Shares (until January 16, 2025)
Class S Shares
Class D Shares
Class I Shares
StepStone Private Markets (the "Fund") (formerly known as Conversus StepStone Private Markets) is a Delaware statutory trust and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as a diversified,
closed-end
management investment company. In making an investment decision, an investor must rely upon his, her or its own examination of the Fund and the terms of the offering, including the merits and risks involved, of acquiring shares of the Fund ("Shares") as described in this prospectus ("Prospectus"). The Shares have not been approved or disapproved by the Securities and Exchange Commission or any other U.S. federal or state governmental agency or regulatory authority or any national securities exchange. No agency, authority or exchange has passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus or the merits of an investment in the Shares. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Per Class T Share
(3)
Per Class S Share
Per Class D Share
Per Class I Share
Total
Public Offering Price
At current net asset value At current net asset value At current net asset value At current net asset value $2,000,000,000
Sales Load
(1)
as a percentage of purchase amount
3.50% 3.50% None None $70,000,000
Proceeds to the Fund
(2)
Current net asset value minus sales load Current net asset value minus sales load Current net asset value Current net asset value $1,930,000,000
(1)
Generally, the minimum initial investment for Class T Shares, Class S Shares, and Class D Shares in the Fund from each investor is at least $50,000, and the minimum initial investment for Class I Shares in the Fund from each investor is at least $1,000,000. The minimum initial investments may be reduced at the Adviser's discretion. Investors purchasing Class T or Class S Shares (as defined herein) may be charged a sales load as described above. The table assumes the maximum sales load is charged.
(2)
Assumes all shares currently registered are sold in the continuous offering and the maximum sales load is charged. Shares will be offered in a continuous offering at the respective Share's then current net asset value, as described herein. The Fund will also bear certain ongoing offering costs associated with the Fund's continuous offering of Shares. See "Fund Expenses."
(3)
Effective January 17, 2025, Class T Shares will be converted into Class S Shares and Class T Shares will no longer be offered.
The Fund currently offers four separate classes of shares of beneficial interest ("Shares") designated as Class T ("Class T Shares"), Class S ("Class S Shares"), Class D ("Class D Shares") and Class I ("Class I Shares") on a continuous basis at the net asset value per Share plus any applicable sales loads. Effective January 17, 2025, Class T Shares will be converted into Class S Shares and Class T Shares will no longer be offered. Shares are subject to
restrictions on transferability, and liquidity will be provided by the Fund only through repurchase offers, which may be made from time to time by the Fund as determined by the Fund's Board of Trustees in its sole discretion. See "Repurchases and Transfers of Shares."
TO ALL INVESTORS
No person has been authorized to make any representations concerning the Fund that are inconsistent with those contained in this Prospectus. Prospective investors should not rely on any information not contained in this Prospectus. This Prospectus is intended solely for the use of the person to whom it has been delivered for the purpose of evaluating a possible investment by the recipient in the Shares and is not to be reproduced or distributed to any other persons (other than professional advisors of the prospective investor receiving this document). The Shares are subject to substantial restrictions on transferability and resale and may not be transferred or resold except as permitted under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") and applicable state securities laws, pursuant to registration or exemption from these provisions.
The Fund's Shares will not be immediately listed on an exchange, and it may take time for a secondary market to develop, if at all. Thus, an investment in the Fund may not be suitable for investors who may need the money they invest in a specified timeframe.
The amount of distributions that the Fund may pay, if any, is uncertain.
The Fund may pay distributions in significant part from sources that may not be available in the future and that are unrelated to the Fund's performance, such as borrowings.
An investor in Class T or Class S Shares will pay a sales load of up to 3.50%. If you pay the maximum sales load of 3.50%, you must experience a total return on your net investment of 3.63% in order to recover these expenses.
This Prospectus concisely provides the information that a prospective investor should know about the Fund before investing. You are advised to read this Prospectus carefully and to retain it for future reference. Additional information about the Fund, including a statement of additional information ("SAI") dated October 30, 2024, has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The SAI and the Fund's annual and semi-annual reports and other information filed with the SEC are available upon request and without charge by writing to the Fund at c/o StepStone Group Private Wealth LLC (formerly known as StepStone Conversus LLC), 128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600, Charlotte, NC 28202, by calling (704)
215-4300
or by visiting the Fund's website, www.stepstonepw.com. The SAI, and other information about the Fund, is also available on the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov). The address of the SEC's Internet site is provided solely for the information of prospective investors and is not intended to be an active link.
Shares are not deposits or obligations of, and are not guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank or other insured depository institution, and Shares are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board or any other government agency.
You should rely only on the information contained in this Prospectus. The Fund has not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. The Fund is not making an offer of Shares in any state or other jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted.
Distribution Services, LLC
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SUMMARY OF PROSPECTUS
1
SUMMARY OF FEES AND EXPENSES
11
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
13
THE FUND
14
USE OF PROCEEDS
14
STRUCTURE
14
INVESTMENT PROGRAM
15
TYPES OF INVESTMENTS AND RELATED RISKS
26
LIMITS OF RISK DISCLOSURES
39
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
39
FUND EXPENSES
43
MANAGEMENT FEE
45
CALCULATION OF NET ASSET VALUE
45
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
47
PURCHASES OF SHARES
50
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
51
REPURCHASES AND TRANSFERS OF SHARES
51
DISTRIBUTION POLICY
54
VOTING
55
TAX ASPECTS
55
ERISA CONSIDERATIONS
65
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND
66
INQUIRIES
66
STEPSTONE GROUP PRIVATE WEALTH LLC PRIVACY POLICY
67
SUMMARY OF PROSPECTUS
This summary highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this Prospectus and does not contain all of the information that you may want to consider when making your investment decision. To understand this offering fully, you should read the entire Prospectus carefully, including the section entitled "Types of Investments and Related Risks," before making a decision to invest in our Shares.
StepStone Private Markets is a Delaware statutory trust and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, as a diversified,
closed-end
management investment company. Unless the context requires otherwise or as otherwise noted, the terms "we," "us," "our," and the "Fund" refer to StepStone Private Markets (formerly known as Conversus StepStone Private Markets); the terms "Adviser", "StepStone Private Wealth" or "SPW" refer to StepStone Group Private Wealth LLC (formerly known as StepStone Conversus LLC); the terms
"Sub-Adviser"
or "StepStone" refer to StepStone Group LP; the term "Advisers" refers to both StepStone Private Wealth and StepStone together; the term "Shares" refers to Class T Shares, Class S Shares, Class D Shares, and Class I Shares, when referenced together; the term "Shareholders" refers to all shareholders referenced together; and the term "Distributor" refers to Distribution Services, LLC.
Q:
What is StepStone Private Markets?
A:
Through a single investment, the Fund offers investors access to the major private market asset classes in a proportion dynamically allocated by one of the largest investment firms that focuses exclusively on private markets. The Advisers will seek to optimize the Fund's portfolio construction with the goals of producing superior risk-adjusted returns and reducing volatility. The Fund targets long-term capital appreciation with regular current income.
The Fund invests across these private market asset classes:
Private Equity
: Investments typically made in private companies through bespoke, privately negotiated transactions, including buyout, venture capital and growth equity investments.
Real Assets:
A broad category of investments in infrastructure, real estate, energy, agriculture and other natural resources united by a component of current yield and an expected insulation of the underlying assets against the effects of inflation.
Private Debt:
Loans and similar investments typically made in private companies that are negotiated directly with the borrower, including first and second lien senior secured loans, unitranche debt, unsecured debt, and structurally subordinated debt. Private debt will also include alternative lending (such as trade finance, receivable transfer, life settlement, consumer lending, etc.) and leveraged loans. Additionally, special situations are included within private debt and include mezzanine, distressed debt
(non-control
and distressed for control), turnarounds and
non-performing
loans.
Our investments will take the form of: (i) primary and secondary investments in private funds (separately "Primary Investment Funds" or "primaries" and "Secondary Investment Funds" or "secondaries," together with Primary Investment Funds, "Investment Funds") managed by third-party managers ("Investment Managers") and (ii) direct investments in the equity and/or debt of operating companies, projects or properties, typically through
co-investing
alongside Investment Managers
("Co-Investments"
or "direct investments"). Together, these investment structures or vehicles are broadly referred to as "Private Market Assets." The Fund intends to invest and/or make capital commitments of at least 80% of its assets in Private Market Assets.
Secondary Investment Funds and
Co-Investments
complement the funding structure associated with the Primary Investment Funds which typically take three to six years to fully invest the committed capital. The Fund will balance the ultimate allocation across these investment types and sectors while seeking to mitigate the
"J-Curve,"
the period required for the Private Market Assets to invest capital before meaningful appreciation is expected.
1
The Advisers believe that accredited investors have historically had limited access to investment products offering this combination of attributes. The merits of each of the underlying investment strategies are outlined below under "Investment Program."
Q:
Who is StepStone Private Wealth?
A:
StepStone Private Wealth is an investment platform designed to expand access to the private markets for high net worth and accredited investors. SPW intends to create innovative solutions for investors by focusing on convenience, efficiency and transparency. StepStone Private Wealth's mission is to convert the private market advantages enjoyed by institutional investors into opportunities for individual investors. SPW is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the "Advisers Act"). Please see StepStone Private Wealth's website at www.stepstonepw.com for the most
up-to-date
information on StepStone Private Wealth and the Fund.
Pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the Fund and SPW (the "Advisory Agreement"), StepStone Private Wealth is responsible for the overall management of the Fund's activities including structuring, governance, distribution, reporting and oversight. SPW is a wholly owned business of StepStone Group LP. The biographies of the Adviser's management team can be found under "Management of the Fund - Management Team."
Q:
Who is StepStone?
A:
StepStone is a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions and advisory and data services to its clients. 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 portfolios designed to meet their specific objectives across all forms of Private Market Assets. As of March 31, 2024, StepStone oversaw $659 billion of "private markets allocations,"
1
including $149 billion of assets under management.
StepStone Group Inc. is listed and trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol STEP. StepStone Group Inc. is the sole managing member of StepStone Group Holdings LLC, which in turn is the general partner of StepStone. Please see StepStone Group Inc.'s website at www.stepstonegroup.com for the most
up-to-date
information.
StepStone has entered into a
sub-advisory
agreement
("Sub-Advisory
Agreement") with SPW and is responsible for the
day-to-day
management of the Fund's assets. StepStone provides ongoing research, recommendations, and portfolio management regarding the Fund's investment portfolio. See "Management of the Fund - General."
Q:
What are the Fund's areas of differentiation?
A:
We believe the following attributes create an attractive opportunity for investors when considering an investment in the Fund.
Broad Exposure to Private Markets
: Through a single investment in the Fund, investors gain exposure to the major asset classes within the private markets: private equity, real assets and private debt in a comprehensive solution.
Favorable Structure:
The Fund offers a favorable structure as compared to private markets funds, including 1099 tax reporting instead of
K-1s,
a single investment instead of recurring capital calls, and potential liquidity in the form of regular, current income and potential tender offers.
1
"Private markets allocations" means the total amount of assets under management and assets under advisement.
2
Deep Knowledge and Expertise in Private Markets:
As one of the world's largest allocators of capital to the private markets, StepStone's global investment team of over 340 professionals oversees approximately $621 billion of Private Market Assets as of March 31, 2024. StepStone approved over $70 billion over the last three years across fund investments, secondary investments, and
co-investments.
Proprietary Database and Insights:
StepStone's proprietary SPI system represents one of the industry's most comprehensive and powerful databases, tracking over 42,000 funds and 193,000 investments in underlying companies/assets and incorporating information garnered from the over 3,500 Investment Manager meetings StepStone holds per year.
Differentiated Access:
Given its scale, expertise, and relationships, StepStone has preferred access to
top-tier
Investment Managers and proprietary opportunities, including
Co-Investments
and secondaries. Due to the scale and depth of StepStone's global investment program, the firm is often able to negotiate preferred terms, including fee discounts for Private Market Assets, that will benefit the Shareholders.
Institutional Caliber Investment Management:
StepStone has developed differentiated and customized analytics to drive the Strategic Asset Allocation ("SAA") of private markets portfolios for large institutional investors. The same tools are used to actively manage the Fund's allocation across private markets asset types to optimize portfolio construction with the goals of enhancing returns, reducing volatility, and managing cash flow for distribution and other purposes.
Q:
How does the Fund manage the
J-Curve
and cash flow dynamics?
A:
Primary Investment Funds typically experience a
"J-Curve"
- the tendency to deliver negative returns and cash flows in the early years (due to the fund's investment-related expenses and fees) and to deliver positive returns and positive cash flows later in the fund's life as its portfolio companies mature and are sold. The Fund will use a combination of Private Market Assets to significantly reduce the
J-Curve
and enhance the Fund's cash flow dynamics. This is accomplished through the use of secondaries and
Co-Investments,
which will enable the Fund to achieve more efficient capital deployment than would be provided by investing in primaries alone. Secondaries are generally more mature than primaries and may not exhibit the initial decline in NAV associated with primaries, thereby reducing the impact of the
J-Curve
associated with private markets investing. Similarly,
Co-Investments
are transactions where capital is largely deployed at the time of investment, which may also help mitigate the
J-Curve
effect.
Q:
Please describe features about the Fund that would be considered 'investor friendly'?
A:
Shareholders can access the private markets with investment product terms that are more attractive than historically available investment vehicles providing similar exposure.
Shareholders will fund their entire investment concurrent with their subscription and avoid the complexity of capital calls. Upon investment, Shareholders immediately gain broad exposure to Private Market Assets. The Fund will reinvest most of the proceeds of realizations, providing investors with more consistent exposure to the private markets through economic cycles.
The Fund will provide a 1099 tax reporting document before the April 15
th
filing deadline for U.S. federal income tax returns, instead of a Schedule
K-1
that is typically provided later, so that an investment in the Fund will not require Shareholders to file for an extension.
The Shares may be purchased by IRAs, Keogh plans, and 401(k) plans.
3
Investment minimums as low as $50,000 on initial purchases rather than the higher (in most cases, substantially higher) institutional threshold that would be required from direct investors in each of the underlying investments.
Liquidity provisions that may allow Shareholders to tender their Shares to the Fund at the then calculated net asset value on a periodic basis as discussed below.
Q:
What are the Fund's investment objectives?
A:
Our investment objectives are to invest in a broad cross section of Private Market Assets that will enable us to, over time:
Achieve long-term capital appreciation.
Provide regular, current income through semi-annual distributions.
Offer an investment alternative for investors seeking to allocate a portion of their long-term portfolios to private markets through a single investment that provides substantial diversification and access to both Investment Funds and
Co-Investments.
We cannot assure you that we will achieve our investment objectives. See "Investment Program - Investment Objective" and "Types of Investments and Related Risks."
Q:
What is the Fund's investment strategy?
A:
Our investment strategy contains four principal elements designed to achieve the objectives outlined above:
Allocating the assets of the Fund among the private market asset classes: private equity, real assets and private debt.
Securing access to attractive
Co-Investments
and secondaries that the Advisers believe offer attractive value across the private market asset classes.
Seeking to manage the Fund's investment level and liquidity using the Advisers' commitment strategy which will balance total returns with reoccurring distributions and liquidity targets.
Managing risk through ongoing monitoring of the Fund's portfolio and active portfolio construction.
We cannot assure you that we will achieve our investment objectives and investment strategy. See "Investment Program - Investment Strategies" and "Types of Investments and Related Risks."
Q:
What is StepStone's experience investing in the private markets?
A:
StepStone is a global private markets specialist overseeing (together with its related advisors) approximately $659 billion of Private Market Assets, including approximately $149 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2024. StepStone's investment team of over 340 professionals allocated an average of over $70 billion over the last three years across fund investments, secondary investments, and
co-investments
as of March 31, 2024.
Q:
Does the Fund invest in the same Private Market Assets as other StepStone advised funds and clients?
A:
To the extent permitted by law, the Fund
co-invests
in Private Market Assets with other StepStone advised funds and clients. The 1940 Act imposes significant limits on the ability of the Fund to
co-invest
with other StepStone advised funds and clients. The Advisers and the Fund have obtained an
4
exemptive order from the SEC that permits the Fund to
co-invest
alongside its affiliates in Private Market Assets. However, the SEC exemptive order contains certain conditions that limit or restrict the Fund's ability to participate in such Private Market Assets, including, without limitation, in the event that the available capacity with respect to a Private Market Asset is less than the aggregate recommended allocations to the Fund. In such cases, the Fund may participate in an investment to a lesser extent or, under certain circumstances, may not participate in the investment.
Q:
What are the Fund's plans regarding leverage?
A:
The Fund may borrow money through a credit facility or other arrangements for a range of purposes. In the near term, the primary expected uses of leverage are to manage timing issues in connection with the acquisition of its investments (e.g., to provide the Fund with temporary liquidity to acquire Private Market Assets in advance of the Fund's receipt of proceeds from the realization of other Private Market Assets or additional sales of Shares) and to enhance returns of the private debt investments. The 1940 Act requires a registered investment company to satisfy an asset coverage requirement of 300% of its indebtedness, including amounts borrowed, measured at the time the investment company incurs the indebtedness (the "Asset Coverage Requirement"). This requirement means that the value of the investment company's total indebtedness may not exceed one third the value of its total assets (including the indebtedness). The Fund's borrowings will at all times be subject to the Asset Coverage Requirement.
In general, the use of leverage may increase the volatility of an investment in the Fund. See "Types of Investments and Related Risks- Investment Related Risks - Leverage Utilized by the Fund."
Q:
Who can buy Shares in the Fund?
A:
Accredited investors as defined in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D promulgated under the 1933 Act are eligible to invest. See "Purchases of Shares - Eligible Investors."
Q:
For whom may an investment in our Shares be appropriate?
A:
An investment in Shares of the Fund may be appropriate if investors:
Meet the minimum suitability standards described below under "Purchases of Shares - Eligible Investors."
Desire to obtain the potential benefit of long-term capital appreciation.
Seek to receive the potential benefit of regular, current income through regular distribution payments.
Can hold the Shares as a long-term investment and do not need short-term liquidity from the investment.
We cannot assure you that an investment in our Shares will allow you to realize any of these objectives. An investment in our Shares is only intended for investors who do not need the ability to sell their Shares quickly in the future, since we are not obligated to repurchase any Shares and may choose to repurchase only some, or even none, of the Shares that have been requested to be repurchased in any particular period in our discretion, and the opportunity to have your Shares repurchased under our share repurchase plan may not always be available.
Q:
What is the purchase price for each Share?
A:
The Fund's Shares are offered on a daily basis at the then-calculated net asset value. Accordingly, revisions to the share price is made daily to reflect updated valuations and other Fund activity. See "Calculation of Net Asset Value."
5
Q:
What is the difference between the Class
T, Class
S, Class
D, and Class
I Shares?
A:
The Fund currently offers four classes of Shares to provide investors with more flexibility in making their investment and to provide broker dealers with more flexibility to facilitate investment. Effective January 17, 2025, Class T Shares will be converted into Class S Shares and Class T Shares will no longer be offered.
Class T Shares and Class S Shares are available through brokerage and transaction-based accounts. For Class T Shares and Class S Shares, the minimum initial investment is $50,000 with additional investment minimums of $5,000. The minimum initial and additional investments may be reduced at the Adviser's discretion.
Class D Shares are generally available for purchase in this offering only (1) through
fee-based
programs, also known as wrap accounts, that provide access to Class D Shares, (2) through participating broker-dealers that have alternative fee arrangements with their clients to provide access to Class D Shares, (3) through transaction/brokerage platforms at participating broker-dealers, (4) through certain registered investment advisers, (5) through bank trust departments or any other organization or person authorized to act in a fiduciary capacity for its clients or customers or (6) other categories of investors that we name in an amendment or supplement to this prospectus. For Class D Shares, the minimum initial investment is $50,000 with additional investment minimums of $5,000. The minimum initial and additional investments may be reduced at the Adviser's discretion.
Class I Shares are generally available for purchase in this offering only (1) through
fee-based
programs, also known as wrap accounts, that provide access to Class I Shares, (2) by endowments, foundations, pension funds and other institutional investors, (3) through participating broker-dealers that have alternative fee arrangements with their clients to provide access to Class I Shares, (4) through certain registered investment advisers, (5) by the Advisers' employees, officers and directors and their immediate family members, and joint venture partners, consultants and other service providers or (6) other categories of investors that we name in an amendment or supplement to this prospectus. For Class I Shares, the minimum initial investment is $1,000,000 with additional investment minimums of $100,000. The minimum initial and additional investments may be reduced at the Adviser's discretion.
In certain cases, where a holder of Class T Shares, Class S Shares, or Class D Shares exits a relationship with a participating broker-dealer for this offering and does not enter into a new relationship with a participating broker-dealer for this offering, such holder's Shares may be exchanged into an equivalent NAV amount of Class I Shares. Before making your investment decision, please consult with your investment adviser or broker-dealer regarding your account type and the classes of Shares you may be eligible to purchase.
If you are eligible to purchase all four classes of Shares, then in most cases you should purchase Class I Shares because Class I Shares have no upfront selling commissions or shareholder servicing fees, which will reduce the NAV or distributions of the other Share classes. However, Class I Shares will not receive shareholder services. If you are eligible to purchase Class T Shares, Class S Shares, and Class D Shares but not Class I Shares, in most cases you should purchase Class D Shares because Class D Shares have no upfront selling commission, no dealer fees and lower annual shareholder servicing fees.
See "Plan of Distribution" for a discussion of the differences between our Class T Shares, Class S Shares, Class D Shares, and Class I Shares.
6
Q:
What are the fees that investors pay with respect to the Shares they purchase in the offering?
A:
There are two types of fees that you will incur:
First, for Class T Shares and Class S Shares, there are shareholder transaction expenses that are a
one-time
upfront fee calculated as a percentage of the offering price. Class T Shares and Class S Shares have a maximum selling commission of 3.50%.
Second, for Class T Shares, Class S Shares, and Class D Shares, there are ongoing distribution and shareholder servicing fees that are calculated as a percentage of net asset value. Class T Shares have maximum aggregate annual distribution and shareholder servicing fees of 0.85%. The Class S Shares have annual distribution and shareholder servicing fees of 0.85%, and Class D Shares have annual shareholder servicing fees of 0.25%.
Additional details regarding the fees that investors pay with respect to purchased Shares are discussed in "Summary of Fees and Expenses."
Q:
How does the Fund compensate the Adviser and
Sub-Adviser
for the management of the underlying assets and other administrative requirements associated with the ongoing operation of the Fund?
A:
In consideration of the advisory and other services provided by the Adviser to the Fund, the Fund pays the Adviser a monthly investment management fee ("Management Fee") equal to 1.40% on an annualized basis of the Fund's daily net assets, provided that the Management Fee shall in no instance be greater than a Management Fee computed based on the value of the net assets of the Fund as of the close of business on the last business day of the relevant month (including any assets in respect of Shares that would be repurchased by the Fund on such date). The Management Fee is paid monthly and shared evenly between the Adviser and
Sub-Adviser.
In addition, the Fund will also pay for certain recurring expenses, including administrative costs and organizational and offering costs. See "Summary of Fees and Expenses."
Q:
If I buy Shares, will I receive distributions and how often?
A:
The Adviser intends to recommend to the board of trustees (the "Board of Trustees" or the "Board") that the Fund make semi-annual distributions.
As required in connection with the Fund's intention to qualify as a regulated investment company ("RIC") under Subchapter M of the Code, the Fund will, at a minimum, make distributions annually in amounts that represent substantially all of the net investment income and net capital gains, if any, earned each year. See "Distribution Policy."
Q:
May I reinvest my cash distributions in additional Shares?
A:
Yes. We have adopted a dividend reinvestment plan ("DRIP") whereby Shareholders have their cash distributions automatically reinvested in additional Shares unless they elect to receive their distributions in cash. Reinvested distributions for all Shares are in the respective class of Shares but are not subject to sales load or other charge for reinvestment. The DRIP Shares are subject to shareholder servicing fees and distribution fees where applicable.
The DRIP is discussed later in the document. See "Distribution Policy - Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan."
Q:
How do I subscribe for Shares?
A:
If you meet the suitability standards and choose to purchase Shares in this offering, you should proceed as follows:
Read this entire prospectus, including the section entitled "Types of Investments and Related Risks," and all appendices and supplements accompanying this Prospectus.
Complete and execute a copy of an investor application.
7
By submitting an order to purchase Shares and paying the total purchase price for the Shares subscribed for, each investor attests that he or she meets the suitability standards as stated in the prospectus and/or investor application and agrees to be bound by all of its terms
Subscriptions are effective only upon the Fund's acceptance, and the Fund reserves the right to reject any subscription in whole or in part. See "Plan of Distribution."
Q:
When can Shares be purchased?
A:
Shares are offered for purchase daily on any day the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") is open for business at a price based upon the Fund's then current NAV. See "Plan of Distribution."
Q:
What is the minimum initial investment required?
A:
To purchase Class T Shares, Class S Shares, and Class D Shares in this offering, investors must make an initial purchase of at least $50,000. Once investors have satisfied the minimum initial purchase requirement, any additional purchases of our Shares in this offering must be in amounts of at least $5,000, except for additional purchases pursuant to our dividend reinvestment plan. The minimum initial and additional investments may be reduced at the Adviser's discretion.
To purchase Class I Shares in this offering, investors must make an initial purchase of at least $1,000,000. Once investors have satisfied the minimum initial purchase requirement, any additional purchases of our Shares in this offering must be in amounts of at least $100,000, except for additional purchases pursuant to our dividend reinvestment plan. The minimum initial and additional investments may be reduced at the Adviser's discretion.
Additional details regarding minimum investment amounts can be found in "Plan of Distribution."
Q:
Can I invest through my IRA, SEP or
after-tax
deferred account?
A:
Yes, subject to the suitability standards and applicable law. An approved trustee must process and forward to us subscriptions made through IRAs, Keogh plans, and 401(k) plans. In the case of investments through IRAs, Keogh plans, and 401(k) plans, our transfer agent will send the confirmation and notice of our acceptance to the trustee. Please be aware that in purchasing Shares, custodians or trustees of employee pension benefit plans or IRAs may be subject to the fiduciary duties imposed by ERISA or other applicable laws and to the prohibited transaction rules prescribed by ERISA and related provisions of the Code. In addition, prior to purchasing Shares, the trustee or custodian of an employee pension benefit plan or an IRA should determine that such an investment would be permissible under the governing instruments of such plan or account and applicable law. See "Eligible Investors" and "ERISA Considerations."
Q:
How will the payment of fees and expenses affect my invested capital?
A:
The payment of fees and expenses will reduce the funds available to us to execute our business strategy as well as funds available for distribution to Shareholders. The payment of fees and expenses will also reduce the value of your Shares. See "Fund Expenses."
Q:
What is the tax treatment of the Fund and my distributions?
A:
The Fund intends to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. For each taxable year that the Fund so qualifies, the Fund will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on its taxable income and gains that it distributes as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to Shareholders. The Fund intends to distribute its income and gains in a manner that it should not be subject to an entity-level income tax on certain undistributed amounts. These distributions generally are taxable as ordinary income or capital gains to the Shareholders, whether or not they are reinvested in Shares. U.S. federally
tax-exempt
investors generally will not recognize unrelated business taxable income with respect to an investment in Shares as long as they do not borrow to make such investment. See "Tax Aspects - Distributions."
8
Q:
What provisions exist for the repurchase or sale of Shares by Shareholders?
A:
The Shares are not a liquid investment. No Shareholder has the right to require the Fund to redeem its Shares. The Fund may offer from time to time to repurchase Shares pursuant to written tenders by the Shareholders as described below.
The Advisers intend to seek the Board's approval to offer a quarterly share repurchase program where the total amount of aggregate repurchases of Shares amounts to up to 5% of the Fund's outstanding Shares per quarter.
Q:
Are there any restrictions on the transfer of Shares?
A:
Shares may be transferred only:
By operation of law as a result of the death, bankruptcy, insolvency, adjudicated incompetence or dissolution of the Shareholder.
Under certain limited circumstances, with the prior written consent of the Fund, which may be withheld in its sole discretion and is expected to be granted, if at all, only under extenuating circumstances.
Additional details regarding restrictions on the transfer of Shares can be found in "Repurchases and Transfers of Shares -Transfers of Shares."
Q:
Where can I find the most current information on the Fund?
A:
The Fund's website, www.stepstonepw.com, is the best source for the most current information on the Fund. The Fund regularly posts updated information regarding its portfolio and activity in documents such as the most recent Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, a monthly fact card, an investor presentation, a fund commentary and the portfolio holdings report, along with other news, information and updates that may be relevant to your investment. The website also contains a link to the Fund's SEC filings. The Fund may change the information posted on the website over time. The information on the website is not incorporated by reference into this Prospectus, and investors should not consider it a part of this Prospectus.
Q:
Will there be a board responsible for the Fund?
A:
The Fund has a Board of Trustees with overall responsibility for monitoring and overseeing the Fund's investment program and its management and operations. A majority of the "Trustees" are not "interested persons" of the Fund or Advisers, as required by the 1940 Act.
See "Management of the Fund - Trustees and Officers" located in the "Statement of Additional Information."
Q:
What will I receive in terms of Fund reporting?
A:
The Fund prepares, and will make available to Shareholders, an audited annual report and an unaudited semi-annual report within 60 days after the close of the period for which the report is being made, or as otherwise required by the 1940 Act. Shareholders will also receive reports on at least a quarterly basis regarding the Fund's operations during each quarter. See "Reports to Shareholders" located in the "Statement of Additional Information."
9
Q:
When will I receive my detailed tax information?
A:
By January 31
st
, the Fund will distribute a
Form 1099-DIV
or
Form 1099-B
to each Shareholder, as appropriate, for the prior year, unless such deadline is extended by law or regulation.
Q:
What are the principal risks involved in an investment in the Fund?
A:
An investment in the Fund involves several principal risks. Investing in the Shares may be considered speculative and involves a high degree of risk, including the risk of the loss of your investment. The Shares are illiquid and appropriate only as a long-term investment.
The Fund's performance depends upon the performance of the Investment Managers and the selected Private Market Assets.
Underlying investments involve a high degree of business and financial risk that can result in substantial losses.
The securities in which an Investment Manager may invest may be among the most junior in a portfolio company's capital structure and, thus, subject to the greatest risk of loss.
An Investment Manager's investments, depending upon strategy, may be in companies or other assets whose capital structures are highly leveraged.
The Fund allocates a portion of its assets to multiple Investment Funds, and Shareholders bear two layers of fees and expenses: management fees and administrative expenses at the Fund level, and asset-based management fees, carried interests, incentive allocations or fees and expenses at the Investment Fund level.
Shareholders will have no right to receive information about the Investment Funds or Investment Managers, and they will have no recourse against Investment Funds or their Investment Managers.
The Fund intends to qualify as a RIC under the Code but may be subject to substantial tax liabilities if it fails to so qualify.
A significant portion of the Fund's investments will likely be priced by Investment Funds in the absence of a readily available market and may be priced based on determinations of fair value, which may prove to be inaccurate.
The Shares are an illiquid investment. There is no market exchange available for Shares of the Fund thereby making them difficult to liquidate.
Possible utilization of leverage, as limited by the requirements of the 1940 Act, may increase the Fund's volatility.
Accordingly, the Fund should be considered a speculative investment that entails substantial risks, and a prospective investor should invest in the Fund only if it can sustain a complete loss of its investment.
A discussion of the risks associated with an investment in the Fund can be found under "Types of Investments and Related Risks" in the Prospectus and "Other Risks" in the SAI.
10
SUMMARY OF FEES AND EXPENSES
The following table illustrates the fees and expenses that the Fund incurred, and that Shareholders can expect to bear, directly or indirectly during the 12 months ending June 30, 2025 assuming estimated net assets of the Fund of $4,611,000,000 on June 30, 2025.
To invest in Class T Shares, Class S Shares or Class D Shares of the Fund, a prospective investor must maintain or open a brokerage account with a financial institution where a selling agreement has been established ("Selling Agent"). Any costs associated with opening such an account are not reflected in the following table or the Examples below. Investors should contact their broker or other financial professional for more information about the costs associated with opening such an account.
Class T
Class S
Class D
Class I
SHAREHOLDER FEES
Maximum sales load (percentage of purchase amount)
(1)
3.50 % 3.50 % None None
ANNUAL FUND OPER
AT
ING EXPENSES

(as a percentage of the Fund's average net assets)
Management Fee
1.40 % 1.40 % 1.40 % 1.40 %
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses
(2)
0.75 % 0.75 % 0.75 % 0.75 %
Interest Payments on Borrowed Funds
(3)
0.02 % 0.02 % 0.02 % 0.02 %
Distribution and/or Shareholder Servicing Fees
0.85 % 0.85 % 0.25 % 0.00 %
Other Expenses
(4), (5)
0.26 % 0.26 % 0.26 % 0.26 %
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses
3.28 % 3.28 % 2.68 % 2.43 %
(1)
Investors purchasing Class T and Class S Shares may be charged a sales load of up to 3.50% of the investment amount. The table assumes the maximum sales load is charged. A Selling Agent may, in its discretion, waive all or a portion of the sales load for certain investors. See "Plan of Distribution."
(2)
The "Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses" are based on estimated amounts for the 12 months ending June 30, 2025. Some or all of the Investment Funds in which the Fund intends to invest charge carried interests, incentive fees or allocations based on the Investment Funds' performance. The Investment Funds in which the Fund intends to invest generally charge a management fee of 1.00% to 2.00% based on the original cost of their investments, and approximately 20% of net profits as a carried interest allocation. The "Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses" disclosed above are based on historic returns of the Investment Funds in which the Fund anticipates investing in for the 12 months ending June 30, 2025, which may change substantially over time and, therefore, significantly affect "Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses." The 0.75% shown as "Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses" reflects operating expenses of the Investment Funds (e.g., management fees, administration fees and professional and other direct, fixed fees and expenses of the Investment Funds) after refunds, excluding any performance-based fees or allocations paid by the Investment Funds that are paid solely on the realization and/or distribution of gains, or on the sum of such gains and unrealized appreciation of assets distributed
in-kind,
as such fees and allocations for a particular period may be unrelated to the cost of investing in the Investment Funds.
(3)
These expenses represent estimated interest payments the Fund expects to incur in connection with its credit facility during the 12 months ending June 30, 2025. See "Investment Program - Leverage."
(4)
Other Expenses include all other expenses incurred by the Fund, such as certain administrative costs and expenses relating to the offering and sale of Shares. Other Expenses are estimated for the 12 months ending June 30, 2025.
(5)
Includes amounts paid under an administration agreement (the "Administration Agreement") between the Fund and StepStone Private Wealth as administrator (the "Administrator"). Under the Administration Agreement, the Fund pays the Administrator an administration fee (the "Administration Fee") in an amount up to 0.12% on an annualized basis of the Fund's net assets. From the proceeds of the Administration Fee, the Administrator pays UMB Fund Services, Inc. (the
"Sub-Administrator")
a
sub-administration
fee (the
"Sub-Administration
Fee") in an amount up to 0.08% on an annualized basis of the Fund's net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee. The
Sub-Administration
Fee is paid pursuant to a
sub-administration
agreement and a fund accounting agreement each between the Administrator and the
Sub-Administrator.
The Administration Fee is accrued daily based on the value
11
of the net assets of the Fund as of the close of business on each business day (including any assets in respect of shares that is repurchased by the Fund on such date) and payable in arrears within ten business days after the end of the month. The
Sub-Administration
Fee is calculated in a manner substantially similar to the Administration Fee and is payable monthly in arrears.
EXAMPLE:
You would pay the following fees and expenses on a $1,000 investment, assuming a 5.00% annual return, and the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
If You SOLD Your Shares
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class T
$ 67 $ 132 $ 200 $ 380
Class S
$ 67 $ 132 $ 200 $ 380
Class D
$ 27 $ 83 $ 142 $ 301
Class I
$ 25 $ 76 $ 130 $ 277
If You HELD Your Shares
1 Year
3 Years
5 Years
10 Years
Class T
$ 67 $ 132 $ 200 $ 380
Class S
$ 67 $ 132 $ 200 $ 380
Class D
$ 27 $ 83 $ 142 $ 301
Class I
$ 25 $ 76 $ 130 $ 277
The examples should not be considered a representation of future expenses, and actual expenses may be greater or less than those shown
. The rate of return of the Fund may be greater or less than the hypothetical 5.00% return used in the Example.
The purpose of the table above is to assist investors in understanding the various fees and expenses Shareholders will bear directly or indirectly. For a more complete description of the various fees and expenses of the Fund, see "Fund Expenses," "Management Fee" and "Purchases of Shares."
12
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The Fund's financial highlights are incorporated by reference from the Fund's
annual report
for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 (File
No. 811-23480),
as filed with the SEC on Form
N-CSR
on June 6, 2024 (accession no.
0001398344-23-011796).
13
THE FUND
The Fund is registered under the 1940 Act as a diversified,
closed-end
management investment company and was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on September 6, 2019. The Fund's principal office is located at 128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600, Charlotte, NC 28202, and its telephone number is (704)
215-4300.
Investment advisory services are provided to the Fund by the Adviser and
Sub-Adviser
pursuant to the Advisory Agreement and
Sub-Advisory
Agreement, respectively. Responsibility for monitoring and overseeing the Fund's investment program and its management and operation is vested in the individuals who serve on the Board of Trustees. See "Statement of Additional Information - Management of the Fund."
USE OF PROCEEDS
Under normal circumstances, the proceeds from the sale of Shares, net of the Fund's fees and expenses, are invested by the Fund to pursue its investment program and objectives as soon as practicable. It is anticipated that proceeds from the sale of Shares will be invested as appropriate in investment opportunities within three months; however, changes in market conditions could result in the Fund's anticipated investment period extending as long as six months. See "Other Risks - Availability of Investment Opportunities" in the SAI for a discussion of the timing of Investment Funds' subscription activities, market conditions, and other considerations relevant to the timing of the Fund's investments generally.
The Fund will pay the Adviser the full amount of the Management Fee during any period prior to which less than all of the Fund's assets (including any proceeds received by the Fund from the offering of Shares) are invested in Private Market Assets.
STRUCTURE
The Fund is a specialized investment vehicle that combines many of the features of an investment fund not registered under the 1940 Act, often referred to as a "private investment fund," with those of a registered
closed-end
investment company. Private investment funds, such as the Investment Funds, are collective asset pools that typically offer their securities privately, without registering such securities under the 1933 Act. The Advisers believe that securities offered by private investment funds are typically sold in large minimum denominations (often at least $5,000,000 to $20,000,000) to a limited number of institutional investors and high net worth individuals. Compared to Investment Funds, registered
closed-end
investment companies often impose relatively modest minimum investment requirements and offer their shares to a broader range of investors. The managers or investment advisers of private investment funds are usually compensated through asset-based fees and incentive-based fees. The advisers to registered
closed-end
investment companies are typically compensated through asset-based fees.
Investors may purchase Shares of the Fund daily based upon the Fund's daily NAV per Share. Unlike the practices of many private investment funds, the Fund intends to offer Shares without limiting the number of Eligible Investors that can participate in its investment program.
In private investment funds, often organized as limited partnerships, investors usually commit to provide up to a certain amount of capital as and when requested by the fund's manager or general partner. The general partner then makes private market investments on behalf of the fund, typically according to a
pre-defined
investment strategy. The fund's investments are usually realized, or "exited" after a four to seven year holding period through a private sale, an initial public offering (IPO) or a recapitalization, and the proceeds are distributed to the fund's investors. The private investment funds themselves typically have a duration of ten to twelve years. In contrast, registered
closed-end
funds typically reinvest most of the proceeds of realized investments and do not have a stated duration. This attribute provides investors with more consistent exposure to the underlying assets through economic cycles and maintains an investor's intended allocation to the target asset class, such as private markets.
14
INVESTMENT PROGRAM
Investment Objectives
The Fund's investment objectives are to invest, directly and indirectly, in a broad cross section of private market assets that will enable it to, over time:
Achieve long-term capital appreciation.
Provide regular, current income through semi-annual distributions.
Offer an investment alternative for investors seeking to allocate a portion of their long-term portfolios to private markets through a single investment that provides substantial diversification and access to historically
top-tier
managers.
The Fund intends to invest and/or make capital commitments of at least 80% of its assets in Private Market Assets.
Distinctive Attributes
The Fund offers the following attributes which create an attractive opportunity for investors when considering an investment in the Shares.
Broad Exposure to Private Markets
: Through a single investment in the Fund, investors gain exposure to the major asset classes within private markets: private equity, real assets and private debt in comprehensive solution.
Deep Knowledge and Expertise in Private Markets
: As one of the world's largest allocators of capital to the private markets, StepStone's global investment team of over 340 professionals oversees approximately $659 billion of Private Market Assets as of March 31, 2024. StepStone's investment team of over 340 professionals allocated an average of over $70 billion over the last three years across fund investments, secondary investments, and
co-investments
as of March 31, 2024.
Proprietary Database and Insights:
StepStone's proprietary SPI system represents one of the industry's most comprehensive and powerful databases, tracking over 42,000 funds and 193,000 investments in underlying companies/assets and incorporating information garnered from the over 3,500 Investment Manager meetings StepStone holds per year.
Differentiated Access:
Given its scale, expertise, and relationships, StepStone has preferred access to
top-tier
Investment Managers and proprietary opportunities, including
Co-Investments
and secondary investments. Due to the scale and depth of StepStone's global investment program, the firm has the ability to negotiate preferred terms, including fee discounts for primaries and
Co-Investment
rights, that will benefit the Shareholders.
Institutional Caliber Investment Management:
StepStone has developed differentiated and customized analytics to drive the SAA of private markets portfolios for large institutional investors. The same tools are used to actively manage the Fund's allocation across private market asset types to optimize portfolio construction with the goals of enhancing returns, reducing volatility, and managing cash flow for distribution and other purposes.
Investment Strategies
The principal elements of the Advisers' investment strategy include: (i) allocating the assets of the Fund among the private market asset classes of private equity, real assets and private debt; (ii) securing access to attractive
Co-Investments
and Secondary Investment Funds that the Advisers believe offer attractive value across the private market asset classes; (iii) seeking to manage the Fund's investment level and liquidity using a commitment strategy which will balance total returns with reoccurring distributions and liquidity targets; and (iv) managing risk through ongoing monitoring of the Fund's portfolio and active portfolio construction.
Asset Allocation
. The Advisers employ an asset allocation strategy that seeks to benefit from the diversification of the Fund's investments across private investment strategies, geographic markets, and lifecycles.
Access
. The Fund provides Shareholders with access to Private Market Assets and underlying strategies that are generally unavailable to the investing public due to resource requirements and high investment minimums.
15
Commitment Strategy
. The Advisers plan to manage the Fund's commitment strategy to reduce the amount of uninvested cash (or "cash drag") associated with the underlying investments. In the majority of private investment vehicles, commitments are made to the fund and the investments are completed over a three to
six-year
investment period, depending on the strategy. As a result, a significant portion of the committed capital remains uninvested in the form of unfunded commitments.
In addition, Primary Investment Funds typically experience a
"J-Curve"
- the tendency to deliver negative returns and cash flows in the early years (due to the fund's investment-related expenses and fees) and to deliver positive returns and positive cash flows later in the fund's life as its portfolio companies mature and are sold. In order to alleviate this dynamic during the early years, the Fund intends to rely heavily on purchases of Secondary Investment Funds where all or a substantial portion of the capital has already been invested and
Co-Investments
where the capital is largely deployed at the time of commitment. The Fund will also invest in seasoned Primary Investment Funds ("Seasoned Primaries"), a
sub-category
of Primary Investment Funds made after the primary has already invested a certain percentage of its capital commitments (e.g., 25%, at the time of closing). As Seasoned Primaries are made later in an Investment Fund's lifecycle than typical primaries, these investments, like secondaries, these investments may receive earlier distributions, and the investment returns from these investments may exhibit to a lesser degree the delayed cash flow and return
"J-curve"
performance associated with primary investments. In addition, Seasoned Primaries may enable the Fund to deploy capital more readily with less blind pool risk than investments in typical primaries. Lastly, over time, the Fund intends to over-commit to Primary Investment Funds, given this capital is not immediately deployed.
The commitment strategy will aim to keep the Fund substantially invested and to minimize cash drag where possible by making commitments based on anticipated future distributions from investments. The commitment strategy will also take other anticipated cash flows into account, such as those relating to new subscriptions, the tender of Shares by Shareholders and distributions to Shareholders. To forecast portfolio cash flows, the Advisers will utilize a proprietary model that incorporates historical data, actual portfolio observations, insights, and forecasts by the Advisers.
Risk Management.
The long-term nature of private market investments requires a commitment to ongoing risk management. The Advisers seek to monitor the performance of Private Market Assets and developments at the individual portfolio companies that are material positions held by the Fund. By tracking commitments, capital calls, distributions, valuations, and other pertinent details, the Advisers seek to use a range of techniques to reduce the risk associated with the commitment strategy. These techniques may include, without limitation:
Diversifying commitments across Private Market Assets at different parts of fund lifecycles through the use of Primary Investment Funds, Secondary Investment Funds and
Co-Investments.
Actively managing cash and liquid assets.
Modeling and actively monitoring cash flows to avoid cash drag and maintain maximum appropriate levels of commitment.
Seeking to establish credit lines to provide liquidity to satisfy tender requests, consistent with the limitations and requirements of the 1940 Act.
To enhance the Fund's liquidity, particularly in times of possible net outflows through the tender of Shares by Shareholders, the Advisers may from time to time determine to sell certain of the Fund's assets. In implementing the Fund's liquidity management program, so as to minimize cash drag while providing the necessary liquidity to support the Fund's private markets investment strategies and potential tender of Shares, the Fund may invest a portion of the Fund's assets in securities and vehicles that are intended to provide an investment return while offering better liquidity than private markets investments. The liquid assets may include both fixed income and equities as well as public and private vehicles that derive their investment returns from fixed income and equity securities.
The Fund's investment objective and strategies are
non-fundamental
and may be changed without Shareholder approval. For a complete description of the Fund's fundamental policies, see "Fundamental Policies" and "Other Fundamental Policies" in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information.
16
Private Equity Asset Class
Private equity is a common term for investments that are typically made in
non-public
companies through bespoke, privately negotiated transactions. Private equity investments may be structured using a range of financial instruments, including common and preferred equity, subordinated debt and warrants, or other instruments, depending on the strategy of the investor and the financing requirements of the company. Investments in private equity have grown significantly over the last 20 years, driven principally by large institutional investors seeking increased returns and portfolio efficiency. Large pension funds, endowments, and other sophisticated institutional investors commonly invest a meaningful portion of their overall portfolios to private equity.
The private equity market is diverse and can be divided into several different segments, each of which may exhibit distinct characteristics based on combinations of various factors. These include the type and financing stage of the investment, the geographic region in which the investment is made and the vintage year. The Fund may invest in all segments of private equity on a global basis.
Private Equity Financing Stages
In private equity, the term "financing stage" is used to describe investments (or funds that invest) in companies at a certain stage of development. The different financing stages have distinct risk, return and correlation characteristics and play different roles within a diversified private equity portfolio. Broadly speaking, private equity investments can be broken down into three financing stages: buyout, venture capital and growth equity. These categories may be further subdivided based on the investment strategies that are employed. The Fund may make private equity investments across all financing stages and investment strategies.
Buyouts
. Control investments in established, cash flow positive companies are usually classified as buyouts. Buyout investments may focus on small-,
mid-
or large-capitalization companies, and such investments collectively represent a substantial majority of the capital deployed in the overall private equity market. The use of debt financing, or leverage, is prevalent in buyout transactions - particularly in the
large-cap
segment. Overall, debt financing typically makes up
45-65%
of the price paid for a company.
Venture Capital and Growth Equity
. Investments in new and emerging companies are usually classified as venture capital. Such investments are often in technology, healthcare, or other high growth industries. Companies financed by venture capital are generally not cash flow positive at the time of investment and may require several rounds of financing before the company can be sold privately or taken public. Venture capital investors may finance companies along the full path of development or focus on certain
sub-stages
(usually classified as seed, early, and late stage) and often do so in partnership with other investors.
Growth equity investors target companies that require additional capital to expand their businesses but are typically more mature than the recipients of traditional venture capital. Such companies might be in a high growth phase but have largely mitigated the basic technology risk in their business plan. Many venture capitalists will consider a later stage investment in previously venture-backed companies to be a growth investment. The Advisers define growth equity as a minority equity investment in a profitable company where the capital invested is used to accelerate commercialization of a product, for example, as opposed to funding a business that is not cash flow positive.
Real Assets Asset Class
The real assets asset class includes infrastructure, real estate, energy, agriculture and other natural resources investments. The common thread across the
sub-strategies
is a component of current yield and an expected insulation of the underlying asset's appreciation against the effects of inflation. The mix of current yield and growth across the underlying assets will vary depending on the specific asset class and stage of development of the underlying assets. Institutional investors have long made significant allocations to private real estate and other real assets and have increasingly embraced infrastructure over recent years. The Fund intends to invest in real assets on a global basis.
17
Infrastructure
Infrastructure opportunities arise across multiple geographic regions, including North America, Australasia, Europe and Latin America. Infrastructure assets may include, among other asset types, regulated assets (such as electricity generation, transmission and distribution facilities, gas transportation and distribution systems, water distribution, and waste water collection and processing facilities), transportation assets (such as toll roads, airports, seaports, railway lines, intermodal facilities), renewable power generation (wind, solar and hydro power) and communications assets (including broadcast and wireless towers, fiber, data centers, distributed network systems and satellite networks). These assets share certain investment features that may be attractive as part of an overall diversified portfolio, including some or all of the following:
Provision for essential services with few substitutes that generally serve as the backbone for local, regional, and national economic and social activity.
Stable and predictable income and cash flow that are often inflation-linked with low return correlations to traditional asset classes such as public equities and fixed income.
Inelastic demand with strong pricing power for their use as essential assets for a functioning society.
Limited operating risk.
High operating margins and predictable maintenance capital requirements.
Strong competitive advantages characteristics with high barriers to entry.
In many cases, the rates, or the fees charged to end users, that are charged by infrastructure assets are determined by regulators, concession agreements with governments, and long-term contracts. Owners of such assets in many cases have the ability to increase such rates or fees at some level linked to inflation or economic growth.
Energy
Energy related assets consist of investments in the oilfield service and equipment manufacturing, exploration and production, technology, pipelines, and storage sectors. Energy investments will focus on the removal of the fuel from the earth, transportation of the resource to the refinery or storage facility, the storage of the resources until they are distributed to a third party, and the servicers that support each stage outlined above.
Energy investments will generally focus on a specific level of development for the underlying assets. When the Fund purchases developed or "producing" assets, these investments will have an expected stream of cash flows that will likely be distributed to investors on an expected and reoccurring basis. Early stage assets will require significantly more capital as the underlying assets are being developed. Upon reaching a stage where the underlying assets begin to produce the underlying resources, leverage can be applied to the known production which can typically be utilized to drive continued development of the assets or begin to create cash flows to investors. Early stage assets generally rely on a higher component of investment level appreciation vs. current yield to drive returns to compensate the investors for the level of development risk.
Agriculture and other Natural Resources
Agriculture consists of direct investments in rural land, along with crop and livestock assets that produce food, fiber, and energy. Agriculture investments focus on the productive capacity of the land base, and returns are based on the biological growth of crops and livestock, as well as appreciation of land and related assets. Agriculture investments have often shown historical returns with a positive correlation to inflation, a low or negative correlation to public equities and debt, and low volatility in their return profile with stable income attributes.
18
Agriculture may also include forestry investments, including tree farms, and managed natural forests. Forestry investments provide revenue generation from multiple sources, including harvesting, leasing, and usage fees.
This category also includes other natural resources opportunities, including industries such as steel and iron ore production, base metal production, paper products, chemicals, building materials, coal, alternative energy sources, environmental services, industrial and precious metals.
Real Estate
Private real estate is a common term for unregistered real estate investments made through privately negotiated transactions. Private real estate investments are typically equity investments in the underlying real estate property, but in some cases, may also involve the debt/mortgages supporting the properties. Private real estate will generally include, without limitation, multifamily, retail, office, hospitality, data centers, senior living, and industrial assets.
The Fund will generally employ a multi-strategy approach in an attempt to diversify the risk-reward profiles and the underlying types of real estate in which it invests within the strategies noted below. Because each real estate strategy may perform differently throughout the overall real estate and economic cycle, the Fund will seek to invest in a diversified pool of assets that include multiple strategies in order to have lower volatility than targeting a single investment strategy.
Value Add/Opportunistic.
The "value add" or "opportunistic" strategy typically focuses on more active asset management and often employs more leverage. Such investments can include properties that require repositioning, recapitalization, or
ground-up
development, in both primary and secondary markets, and in all property types and geographies. Properties are considered value add when they would benefit from repositioning or moderate renovations and opportunistic when they require major renovations or
ground-up
development. Due to the capital expenditures required under this strategy, the underlying properties may not have meaningful current yield. Ultimately, the returns may be 100% dependent on the appreciation of the asset due to the repositioning/renovations undertaken by the investment manager and resulting expected cash flows for the properties into the future.
Core Plus.
The "core plus" strategy seeks moderate risk portfolios with moderate levels of leverage that are intended to provide higher returns than core portfolios. Such investments can have similarities to core but often with an emphasis on a modest value add management approach. The focus is on the main property types, in both primary and secondary markets, in Class A or B quality buildings that may benefit from some level of enhancement (i.e., moderate refurbishment or incremental leasing).
Core.
The "core" strategy targets high-quality portfolios with real estate assets that provide relatively lower and more stable returns and no or low levels of leverage. Such investments are typically located in primary markets and consist of the main property types (office, industrial multi-family, and retail). Core properties are stable, well-maintained, well-leased, and are of Class A quality and locations. Class A properties are the most prestigious buildings competing for premier tenants with rents above average for the area. For example, office properties tend to be Class A buildings with predominantly investment grade tenants. Core multi-family properties are usually in major metropolitan areas with higher rental rates. Core retail would typically be more traditional neighborhood and community shopping centers, as well as regional and super regional malls.
Private Debt Asset Class
Private debt is a common term for loans and similar investments typically made in private companies that are generally negotiated directly with the borrower. Private debt investments may be structured using a range of financial instruments, including but not limited to, first and second lien senior secured loans, unitranche debt, unsecured debt, and structurally subordinated instruments. From time to time these investments might include equity features such as warrants, options, common stock or preferred stock, depending on the strategy of the investor and the
19
financing requirements of the company or asset. The Fund's private debt investments may be rated below investment grade by rating agencies or would be rated below investment grade if they were rated. Below investment grade securities have predominantly speculative characteristics and may carry a greater risk with respect to a borrower's capacity to pay interest and repay principal. The global capital markets have undergone substantial and structural changes since the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis. Where once banks were dominant providers of credit, their relative size is in secular decline, thus creating an opportunity for other providers of capital. In addition, a new regulatory regime surrounding bank balance sheets has placed greater emphasis on the private
non-bank
lending sector - this capital is increasingly provided by pension funds and insurance companies who maintain an allocation to this asset class. The Fund may invest in all forms of private debt on a global basis.
Private Debt Instruments
The Fund may invest in private debt across all types of instruments and asset classes. First and second lien senior secured loans are situated at the top of the capital structure and typically have the first claim on the assets and cash flows of a company. Unsecured debt, including private high yield, structurally subordinated instruments, and some forms of public debt, generally rank junior to secured debt on the capital structure, similar to equity. Due to this priority of cash flows, an investment's risk increases as it moves further down the capital structure. Investors are usually compensated for this risk associated with junior status in the form of higher expected returns. Loans to private companies can range in credit quality depending on security-specific factors, including total leverage, amount of leverage senior to the security in question, variability in the issuer's cash flows, the size of the issuer, the quality of assets securing debt, and the degree to which such assets cover the subject company's debt obligations.
Private debt will include direct lending to borrowers, alternative lending (such as trade finance, receivable transfer, life settlement, consumer lending, etc.) and leveraged loans. The Fund may invest in the debt securities of small or middle-market portfolio companies. Additionally, the Fund may also invest in distressed debt
(non-control
and distressed for control), turnarounds and
non-performing
loans that may be classified as special situations. Distressed debt and turnarounds represent opportunities where the debt or equity of the company is trading or otherwise available at a level significantly below the expected value of the assets if the company were to undertake a balance sheet restructuring or overall improvement to operations. The value drivers and cash flow characteristics of distressed debt investments are frequently distinct from those of other private debt and private equity investments, complementing the other private equity and private debt components of a portfolio.
The Fund expects to access the private debt asset class, other than distressed debt and leveraged loans, principally through primaries.
Impact Investing
Impact investing covers a wide spectrum of investments in companies focused on positive, measurable improvements across a range of social and environmental metrics. Investors in such companies seek clarity around the impact goal and then measure objective data to gauge the results while earning a competitive financial return - often termed the "double bottom line." Impact investing goes further than screening for investments associated with undesirable consequences and seeks to create desirable impact while maintaining financial discipline.
The Advisers are focused on strategies that deliver impact but also competitive risk-adjusted returns. The Advisers believe that impact investing requires specialized domain expertise to effectively execute on the dual mandate. The Fund's strategy will include impact investments through primaries, secondaries and
Co-Investments
across private equity, real assets and private debt.
Types of Investment Structures
The Fund invests, directly and indirectly, in private equity, real assets and private debt through the various structures described below.
Primary Investment Funds
. Primary Investment Funds, or "primaries," refer to investments in newly established private market funds which have not yet begun operation. Primary investments are made during an initial fundraising period in the form of capital commitments, which are then called down by the fund and utilized to finance its investments in portfolio companies during a predefined period. A private markets fund's NAV will typically exhibit
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a
"J-Curve,"
undergoing a decline in the early portion of the fund's lifecycle as investment-related expenses and fees accrue prior to the realization of investment gains from portfolio investments, with the trend typically reversing in the later portion of the fund's lifecycle as portfolio investments are sold and gains from investments are realized and distributed. There can be no assurance that any or all primary investments made by the Fund will exhibit this pattern of investment returns and realization of later gains is dependent upon the performance and disposition of each Primary Investment Fund's portfolio investments. Private equity and real asset Primary Investment Funds typically range in duration from ten to twelve years, including extensions, while private debt primary investment funds typically range in duration from eight to ten years. Underlying investments in portfolio investments generally have a three to six year range of duration with potentially shorter periods for private debt or longer for infrastructure investments.
Primary Investment Funds are generally
closed-end
funds and only accept new investments during a finite period. Typically, Investment Managers will not launch new funds more frequently than every two to four years. Market leaders generally offer multiple Primary Investment Funds each year, but they may not offer funds within a given geography or that pursue a certain strategy in any particular year. Accordingly, many funds managed by
top-tier
private market firms will be unavailable for a primary investment at any given time. Because of the limited timeframe of opportunity for investment in any given fund, having a well-established relationship with an Investment Manager is critically important for primary investors.
Secondary Investment Funds.
Secondary Investment Funds, or "secondaries," typically refer to investments in existing private market funds through the acquisition of an existing interest in a private markets fund by one investor from another in a negotiated transaction. In so doing, the buyer will agree to take on future funding obligations in exchange for future returns and distributions. Secondaries include the growing general
partner-led
secondary market, which has evolved toward strip sales and continuation vehicles with general partners structuring a vehicle that allows for continued participation in the growth of the remaining assets beyond a fund's traditional exit time frame. Secondaries may also include newly established private markets funds that are fully funded at the time of the Fund's acquisition. Secondary Investment Funds may be acquired at a discount to the Primary Investment Fund's NAV. As a result, Secondary Investment Funds acquired at a discount may result in unrealized gains at the time the Fund next calculates its daily NAV. Because Secondary Investment Funds are generally made when a Primary Investment Fund is three to seven years into its investment period and has deployed a significant portion of its capital into portfolio companies, these investments are viewed as more mature. Since its inception, StepStone has invested in Secondary Investment Funds that were
70-75%
deployed on average. Thus, they may not exhibit the initial decline in NAV associated with primaries and may reduce the impact of the
"J-Curve"
associated with private markets investing. However, there can be no assurance that any or all secondary investments made by the Fund will exhibit this pattern of investment returns, and realization of later gains is dependent upon the performance of each Investment Fund's portfolio investments.
The market for purchasing Investment Funds on the secondary market may be very limited and competitive, and the strategies and Investment Funds to which the Fund wishes to allocate capital may not be available for secondary investment at any given time. Purchases of Investment Funds on the secondary market may be heavily negotiated and may create additional transaction costs for the Fund.
Secondaries may include various structures by which the Fund gains exposure to the private markets. The Fund may purchase direct investments in an existing operating company, project or property from another investor in a negotiated transaction. The Fund may invest in the equity or debt of structured transactions such as collateralized fund obligations or similar investment vehicles ("CFOs") that own existing funds and direct investments. The Fund may also invest in
open-end
or
closed-end
funds and similar investment vehicles that hold private debt, which may be evergreen funds with existing assets at the time of the Fund's investment.
Co-Investments
.
Co-Investments
involve the Fund directly acquiring an interest in an operating company, project or property generally alongside an investment by an Investment Manager that leads the transaction.
Co-Investments
are generally structured such that the lead and
co-investors
collectively hold a controlling interest of the operating company, project or property.
Co-Investments
can include investments in a stream of cash flows such as tax receivables. Capital committed to a
Co-Investment
is typically invested immediately, mitigating
J-Curve
and creating a more predictable cash flow dynamic, but may also involve a commitment to fund additional capital under certain circumstances.
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Geographic Regions
Private Market Assets may be domiciled in the United States or outside the United States, though the Fund will principally invest in U.S.-domiciled investments. The Advisers intend for the Fund to have limited exposure to emerging market countries.
Investment Selection
The Advisers seek to invest the Fund's capital allocated to each segment in the highest quality investments available. As available investment opportunities are analyzed, investment professionals seek to evaluate them in relation to historical benchmarks and peer analysis, current information from the Advisers' private market investments, and against each other.
General Due Diligence
The Advisers and their investment personnel use a range of resources to identify and source the availability of promising Private Market Assets. The Advisers' investment approach is based on the extensive research conducted by their research professionals. The Advisers' research professionals are organized into sector-focused teams, which allow the Advisers to develop a deep perspective on the different
sub-sectors
in the private markets.
The Advisers' research professionals assess the relative attractiveness of different geographies and strategies for private market investments. This allows the Advisers to identify the areas that they believe will outperform over the next three to five years, the typical investing cycle of a private market asset. Shorter-term opportunistic allocations will also be utilized to seek to capitalize on near-term market trends. Examples of factors that are considered include the supply of capital available for investments (based on fundraising) compared to the likely supply of investment opportunities; projected growth rates; availability of leverage; long-term industry and geographic-specific trends; regulatory and political conditions; and demographic and technological trends.
The due diligence process is led by at least one StepStone partner, who is supported by the sector team that covers the relevant Investment Manager. StepStone's Investment Committee(s) will also be highly involved throughout the manager evaluation and selection process. The Investment Committee will conduct a detailed review of each Investment Manager that has passed into the due diligence stage. StepStone's due diligence report serves as a framework for these discussions. Once a deal has been identified as a potential transaction, the deal team summarizes the opportunity in a report. Each report is reviewed, and the team prioritizes the opportunity accordingly. Through this process, the Advisers can identify the most attractive opportunities and focus their resources on the most promising leads.
For each priority deal, the assigned investment team gathers and reviews available information on the underlying assets. To facilitate this process, StepStone utilizes its proprietary database, SPI, that tracks information on over 193,000 investments in underlying companies/assets companies and assets, 42,000 Investment Funds and incorporating information garnered from over 3,500 Investment Manager meetings StepStone holds per year. This database is populated with information StepStone has gathered from general partner meetings, due diligence materials, quarterly reports, annual meetings, marketing materials and other sources. The database is critical during the preliminary due diligence phase, as some parties are unwilling to share portfolio information early in the process. During this stage, StepStone also leverages information from the independent valuation assessments produced by StepStone's monitoring and reporting team. This exercise encompasses thousands of companies and provides valuable insights on the quality of the funds' underlying assets and the general partners' valuation practices.
After preliminary due diligence is completed, the sector team works closely with the Investment Committee to validate that the opportunity fits the Fund's strategy and meets its investment objectives. The Investment Committee also provides valuable feedback on the assets, the merits and the risks/opportunities of each transaction.
The Advisers finalize their diligence process by interviewing the general partner, placing third party reference calls, reviewing fund-level legal documents and performing sensitivity and scenario analyses. Once the final diligence items have been performed, the Advisers will make an investment decision.
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In selecting
Co-Investments,
the Advisers will review a number of factors before making an investment decision, which often include: historical financial information and projected results; industry information and the company's position; business strategy and potential for growth; the capitalization of the company and impact of leverage; analysis of third party business consulting, legal and accounting firms; comparable company valuations; the ability to exit the investment within a reasonable time frame; and previous transactions of similar companies. Typically, the
Sub-Adviser
gathers the majority of this information from the lead sponsor, in the interest of efficiency. In the evaluation process, the
Sub-Adviser
will work with the broader research team focused on primary investments to determine if the
Co-Investment
is consistent with the general partner's strengths and falls into its ideal type of investment. Additionally, the
Sub-Adviser
will also leverage existing relationships with investment partners who may have bid on the asset or are invested in competitors to fully complete the analysis. Holistically, this approach is deemed to provide the Fund the highest likelihood of success in choosing
Co-Investments.
The Advisers' analysis of a potential secondary purchase incorporates the analysis of primaries referenced above as well as the review of the manager of the fund and the pricing of the secondary investment. In a secondary, the subject fund is typically partially or largely invested, in which case the Advisers conduct a review of the underlying investments made by such fund to project an expected return. The Advisers also evaluate the ability of the manager to invest any remaining capital commitment at appropriate risk adjusted returns.
During this diligence process for all Private Market Assets, the Advisers review offering documents, financial statements, regulatory filings and client correspondence, and may conduct interviews with senior personnel of Investment Managers. In particular, the Advisers expect to regularly communicate with the Fund's Investment Managers and other personnel about the Private Market Assets in which the Fund has invested or may invest, or about particular investment strategies, risk management and general market trends. This interaction facilitates ongoing portfolio analysis and may help to address potential issues, such as loss of key team members or proposed changes in constituent documents. It also provides ongoing due diligence feedback for future investments, as additional investments with a particular Investment Manager are considered. The Advisers may also perform background and reference checks on an Investment Manager's personnel.
There can be no assurance that the Fund's investment program will be successful, that the objectives of the Fund with respect to liquidity management will be achieved or that the Fund's portfolio design and risk management strategies will be successful. Prospective investors should refer to the discussion of the risks associated with the investment strategy and structure of the Fund.
ESG Due Diligence
The Advisers fundamentally believe that the integration of environmental, social and governance considerations ("ESG") in the investment process, both
pre-
and post-investment, will lead to improved and sustainable risk-adjusted returns. ESG not only presents risks to be mitigated, but value creation opportunities. As such, the Advisers have fully integrated an ESG process across all asset classes and strategies for the Fund. ESG is not a separate or stand-alone investment strategy.
StepStone has established an ESG due diligence procedure when completing due diligence for broader business, financial, and operational aspects of an investment. This procedure includes a detailed and comprehensive set of
ESG-related
risk considerations, as well as value creation opportunities. Dedicated resources are allocated from each sector group to oversee the ESG process in the evaluation and ongoing management of investments.
StepStone performs a review of each Investment Manager and the responsible investment policy, implementation and monitoring framework for the Investment Manager and its funds. Key focus areas include:
How the Investment Manager or investee company identifies and manages ESG risks and opportunities;
If the Investment Manager or investee company has clearly identified a responsible person for ESG policy;
The skill set of the managing partners and/or board and the ESG committee (if ESG responsibility has been delegated);
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The level of involvement of Partner or
C-level
management, and the level of leadership driving the ESG culture;
The fund's approach to ESG training and priority of maintaining current best practices; and
How the fund monitors and reports its compliance with ESG principles.
These topics are incorporated into the investment decision process and the ongoing monitoring and management of investments but are not solely determinative of investment decisions. As a result, the Fund may make investments that do not have favorable ESG characteristics or high ESG ratings.
Portfolio Allocation
In allocating the Fund's capital, the Advisers seek to maximize the risk adjusted returns to the Shareholders. Portfolio construction is the first level of the risk management process. At a high level, the planning of a portfolio is intended to take into account medium- to long-term secular and macroeconomic risks, and how they are likely to impact private market strategies. A fundamental premise of the Advisers investment strategy is to prioritize a proactive sourcing approach for all forms of Private Market Assets, driven by a thoughtful portfolio construction plan.
The objective of this plan is twofold: first, to build in appropriate defensive and opportunistic elements so that downside capture of the risk of the broader capital markets is minimized, while upside capture is maximized, creating an asymmetric risk/return profile-i.e., lower downside potential, higher upside potential. This applies equally to the planning and pacing of primaries, as well as secondaries and
co-investments,
which are by definition more opportunistic.
Second, this plan maximizes the potential for the portfolio to capture the greatest allocation to the best managers available. The Advisers believe that approximately two thirds of the alpha in private market investments is created through selection of the best managers. In order to maximize allocation, it is critical to work with those managers ahead of their formal fundraising process to ensure that the maximum allocation for the subject portfolio is achieved. Similarly, proactive sourcing is critical to building the best risk-adjusted performance in secondaries and
co-investments.
As for the objective elements of portfolio construction, the Advisers will generally seek to invest no more than 25% of the Fund's capital, measured at the time of investment, in any one Private Market Asset. In addition, the Fund's investment in any one Investment Fund will be limited to no more than 25% of the Investment Fund's economic interests, measured at the time of investment. The Advisers may invest the Fund's capital in Private Market Assets that engage in investment strategies other than those described in this Prospectus and may sell the Fund's portfolio holdings at any time.
In constructing the Fund's portfolio, the Advisers will seek to achieve three goals: meeting the Fund's target returns, generating sufficient liquidity for the quarterly share repurchase program and minimizing volatility. The Advisers will dynamically allocate the portfolio among both private market asset classes and investment types with the intention of optimizing for these three goals. There can be no assurance that the Fund will provide any particular level of return, liquidity or volatility.
The projected long-term asset allocation targets shown below reflects the Advisers' current assessment of the appropriate mix of asset classes and investment types. Over time, the targets may change. Over shorter periods, the portfolio composition may reflect the allocation of capital more opportunistically in accordance with the Fund's investment objectives. The Advisers currently expect that the Fund's asset allocation will tilt more heavily toward Secondary Investment Funds and
Co-Investments
in the near term.
Asset Allocation
Investment Type
Range
Secondary Investment Funds
40-80%
Co-Investments
20-50%
Primary Investment Funds
0-15%
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Asset Class
Range
Private Equity
60-80%
Real Assets
15-30%
Private Debt
5-15%
Geographic Region
Range
North America
70-80%
Europe
10-20%
Rest of World
0-10%
There can be no assurance that all investment types will be available, will be consistent with the Fund's investment objectives, will satisfy the Advisers' due diligence considerations or will be selected for the Fund.
While the Fund actively pursues
Co-Investments,
the Fund's allocations to Investment Funds may be made in the form of capital commitments which are called down by an Investment Fund over time. Thus, in general, the Fund's private markets allocation will consist of both funded and unfunded commitments. Only the funded private market commitments are reflected in the Fund's NAV. Over time, the allocation ranges and commitment strategy may be adjusted based on the Advisers' analysis of the private markets, the Fund's existing portfolio at the relevant time, and other pertinent factors.
StepStone Allocation Policy
Allocation decisions may arise when there is more demand from the Fund and other StepStone clients for a particular investment opportunity, such as the capacity in an Investment Fund or a
Co-Investment,
than supply. StepStone employs an allocation policy designed to ensure that all of its clients will be treated fairly and equitably over time. The portfolio managers have discretion to lower the allocation as appropriate for portfolio construction purposes.
With respect to Primary Investment Funds, StepStone uses its best efforts to defer the allocation decision to the relevant Investment Manager, mitigating the potential conflict. In Secondary Investment Funds, StepStone typically manages the allocation of the transactions across its clients. Under the StepStone allocation policy, if clients are similarly situated, considering all relevant facts and circumstances, allocations will be made pro rata based on the deployment pace for each client determined in accordance with StepStone's standard operational processes and specified in each client's annual portfolio plan. Allocation of
Co-Investments
is a hybrid of StepStone's approach on Investment Funds; in certain cases,
Co-Investments
are allocated by the Investment Manager leading the transaction, while in others StepStone has the ability to allocate the transaction across its clients, in which case the allocation method outlined with respect to secondaries is used. Due to these processes, StepStone does not believe there is a material risk of a conflict arising in the area of allocations that would disadvantage the Fund relative to another StepStone client. With respect to evergreen funds such as the Fund, StepStone may evaluate the deployment pace, investment budget and portfolio plan of such client more frequently than annually.
Importantly, StepStone's allocation process is managed independently by StepStone's Finance team and ratified by the StepStone's Legal and Compliance department.
Leverage
The Fund may borrow money in connection with its investment activities, to satisfy repurchase requests from Shareholders and to otherwise provide the Fund with liquidity - i.e., the Fund may utilize leverage.
In the near term, the primary expected uses of leverage are to manage timing issues in connection with the acquisition of the Fund's investments (e.g., to provide the Fund with temporary liquidity to acquire investments in Private Market Assets in advance of the Fund's receipt of proceeds from the realization of other Private Market Assets or additional sales of Shares) and to enhance returns of private debt investments.
25
The 1940 Act requires a registered investment company to satisfy an asset coverage requirement of 300% of its indebtedness, including amounts borrowed, measured at the time the investment company incurs the indebtedness (the "Asset Coverage Requirement"). This requirement means that the value of the investment company's total indebtedness may not exceed one third the value of its total assets (including the indebtedness). The 1940 Act also requires that dividends may not be declared if this Asset Coverage Requirement is breached. The Fund's borrowings will at all times be subject to the Asset Coverage Requirement.
Private Market Assets may also utilize leverage in their investment activities. Borrowings by Private Market Assets are not subject to the Asset Coverage Requirement. Accordingly, the Fund's portfolio may be exposed to the risk of highly leveraged investment programs of certain Private Market Assets and the volatility of the value of Shares may be great, especially during times of a "credit crunch" and/or general market turmoil, such as that experienced during late 2008 or the recent global pandemic. In general, the use of leverage by Private Market Assets or the Fund may increase the volatility of the Private Market Assets or the Fund. See "Types of Investments and Related Risks - Investment Related Risks - Leverage Utilized by the Fund."
TYPES OF INVESTMENTS AND RELATED RISKS
General
The value of the Fund's total net assets may be expected to fluctuate in response to fluctuations in the value of the Private Market Assets in which the Fund invests. Discussed below are the investments generally made by Investment Funds and the principal risks that the Advisers and the Fund believe are associated with those investments. These principal risks will, in turn, have an effect on the Fund. In addition, the Fund may also make these types of investments pending the investment of assets in Private Market Assets or to maintain the liquidity necessary to effect repurchases of Shares. When the Fund takes a defensive position or otherwise makes these types of investments, it may not achieve its investment objectives.
Principal Investment Related Risks
General Economic and Market Conditions
. The value of the Fund's total net assets should be expected to fluctuate. To the extent that the Fund's portfolio is concentrated in securities of a single issuer or issuers in a single sector, the risk of any investment decision is increased. A Private Market Asset's use of leverage is likely to cause the Fund's average net assets to appreciate or depreciate at a greater rate than if leverage were not used.
An investment in the Fund involves a high degree of risk, including the risk that the Shareholder's entire investment may be lost. The Fund's performance depends upon the Advisers' selection of Private Market Assets, the allocation of offering proceeds thereto and the performance of the Private Market Assets. The Fund's investment activities involve the risks associated with private market investments generally. Risks include adverse changes in national or international economic conditions, adverse local market conditions, the financial conditions of portfolio companies, changes in the availability or terms of financing, changes in interest rates, exchange rates, corporate tax rates and other operating expenses, environmental laws and regulations, and other governmental rules and fiscal policies, energy prices, changes in the relative popularity of certain industries or the availability of purchasers to acquire companies, and dependence on cash flow, as well as acts of God, uninsurable losses, war, terrorism, earthquakes, hurricanes or floods and other factors which are beyond the control of the Fund or the Private Market Assets. Unexpected volatility or lack of liquidity, such as the general market conditions that had prevailed in 2008, could impair the Fund's profitability or result in its suffering losses.
Availability of Investment Opportunities
. The business of identifying and structuring investments of the types contemplated by the Fund is competitive and involves a high degree of uncertainty. The availability of investment opportunities generally is subject to market conditions as well as, in some cases, the prevailing regulatory or political climate. No assurance can be given that the Fund will be able to identify and complete attractive investments in the future or that it will be able to fully invest its subscriptions.
26
Similarly, identification of attractive investment opportunities by Investment Managers is difficult and involves a high degree of uncertainty. Even if an attractive investment opportunity is identified by an Investment Manager, it may not be permitted to take advantage of the opportunity to the fullest extent desired. Other investment vehicles sponsored, managed or advised by the Advisers and their affiliates may seek investment opportunities similar to those the Fund may be seeking. The Advisers will allocate fairly between the Fund and such other investment vehicles any investment opportunities that may be appropriate for the Fund and such other investment vehicles. See "Conflicts of Interest - The Advisers."
Leverage Utilized by the Fund
. The Fund may borrow money in connection with its investment activities, to satisfy repurchase requests from Shareholders and to otherwise provide the Fund with liquidity - i.e., the Fund may utilize leverage. Specifically, the Fund may borrow money through a credit facility or other arrangements to fund investments in Private Market Assets up to the limits of the Asset Coverage Requirement. The Fund may also borrow money through a credit facility or other arrangements to manage timing issues in connection with the acquisition of its investments (e.g., to provide the Fund with temporary liquidity to acquire investments in Private Market Assets in advance of the Fund's receipt of proceeds from the realization of other Private Market Assets or additional sales of Shares). The Fund is expected to enter into the credit agreement for such purposes. See "Investment Program-Leverage."
The use of leverage is speculative and involves certain risks. Although leverage will increase the Fund's investment return if the Fund's interest in a Private Market Asset purchased with borrowed funds earns a greater return than the interest expense the Fund pays for the use of those funds, the use of leverage will decrease the return on the Fund if the Fund fails to earn as much on its investment purchased with borrowed funds as it pays for the use of those funds. The use of leverage will in this way magnify the volatility of changes in the value of an investment in the Fund, especially in times of a "credit crunch" or during general market turmoil, such as that experienced during late 2008. The Fund may be required to maintain minimum average balances in connection with its borrowings or to pay a commitment or other fee to maintain a line of credit; either of these requirements would increase the cost of borrowing over the stated interest rate. In addition, a lender to the Fund may terminate or refuse to renew any credit facility into which the Fund has entered. If the Fund is unable to access additional credit, it may be forced to sell its interests in Investment Funds at inopportune times, which may further depress the returns of the Fund.
The 1940 Act's Asset Coverage Requirement requires a registered investment company to satisfy an asset coverage requirement of 300% of its indebtedness, including amounts borrowed, measured at the time the investment company incurs the indebtedness. This requirement means that the value of the investment company's total indebtedness may not exceed one third of the value of its total assets (including the indebtedness). The 1940 Act also requires that dividends may not be declared if this Asset Coverage Requirement is breached. The Fund's borrowings will at all times be subject to the Asset Coverage Requirement.
Private Equity Investments.
Private equity is a common term for investments that are typically made in private or public companies through privately negotiated transactions, and generally involve equity-related finance intended to bring about some kind of change in an operating company (e.g., providing growth capital, recapitalizing a company or financing an acquisition). Private equity funds, often organized as limited partnerships, are the most common vehicles for making private equity investments, although the Fund may also
co-invest
directly in an operating company in conjunction with an Investment Manager. The investments held by private equity funds and
Co-Investments
made by the Fund involve the same types of risks associated with an investment in any operating company. However, securities of private equity funds, as well as the underlying companies these funds invest in, tend to be more illiquid, and highly speculative. Private equity has generally been dependent on the availability of debt or equity financing to fund the acquisitions of their investments. Depending on market conditions, however, the availability of such financing may be reduced dramatically, limiting the ability of private equity funds to obtain the required financing or reducing their expected rate of return.
The regulatory environment for private investment funds continues to evolve, and changes in the regulation of private investment funds may adversely affect the value of the Fund's investments and the ability of the Fund to implement its investment strategy (including the use of leverage). The financial services industry generally and the activities of private investment funds and their investment advisers, in particular, have been the subject of increasing legislative and regulatory scrutiny. Such scrutiny may increase the Fund's and/or the Advisers' legal, compliance, administrative and other related burdens and costs as well as regulatory oversight or involvement in the Fund and/or the Advisers' business. There can be no assurances that the Fund or the Advisers will not in the future be subject to regulatory review or discipline. The effects of any regulatory changes or developments on the Fund may affect the manner in which it is managed and may be substantial and adverse.
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Special Situations and Distressed Investments.
The Investment Funds may invest in securities and other obligations of companies that are in special situations involving significant financial or business distress, including companies involved in bankruptcy or other reorganization and liquidation proceedings. Although such investments may result in significant returns, they involve a substantial degree of risk. The level of analytical sophistication, both financial and legal, necessary for successful investment in distressed assets is unusually high. There is no assurance that an Investment Manager will correctly evaluate the value of the assets securing the Investment Fund's debt investments or the prospects for a successful reorganization or similar action in respect of any company. In any reorganization or liquidation proceeding relating to a company in which an Investment Fund invests, the Investment Fund may lose its entire investment, may be required to accept cash or securities with a value less than the Investment Fund's original investment and/or may be required to accept payment over an extended period of time. Troubled company investments and other distressed asset-based investments require active monitoring.
Venture Capital and Growth Equity.
An Investment Fund may invest, and the Fund may
co-invest
in venture capital and growth equity. Venture capital is usually classified by investments in private companies that have a limited operating history, are attempting to develop or commercialize unproven technologies or implement novel business plans or are not otherwise developed sufficiently to be self-sustaining financially or to become public. Although these investments may offer the opportunity for significant gains, such investments involve a high degree of business and financial risk that can result in substantial losses.
Growth equity is usually classified by investments in private companies that have reached profitability but still need capital to achieve the desired level of commercialization before having access to the public markets for financing. As a result of the risks associated with advancing the company's growth plan, investors can expect a higher return than might be available in the public markets, but also need to recognize the business and financial risks that remain in advancing the company's commercial aspirations.
For both venture capital and growth equity companies, the risks are generally greater than the risks of investing in public companies that may be at a later stage of development.
Investments in the Debt Securities of Small or Middle-Market Portfolio Companies
. The Investment Funds' investments may consist of loans to small and/or less well-established privately held companies. While smaller private companies may have potential for rapid growth, investments in private companies pose significantly greater risks than investments in public companies. For example, private companies:
have reduced access to the capital markets, resulting in diminished capital resources and the ability to withstand financial distress;
may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their obligations under their debt securities that an Investment Fund holds, which may be accompanied by a deterioration in the value of any collateral and a reduction in the likelihood of the Investment Fund realizing any guarantees it may have obtained in connection with the Investment Fund's investment;
may have shorter operating histories, narrower product lines and smaller market shares than larger businesses, which tend to render them more vulnerable to competitors' actions and changing market conditions, as well as general economic downturns;
generally, are more likely to depend on the management talents and efforts of a small group of persons; therefore, the death, disability, resignation or termination of one or more of these persons could have a material adverse impact on a portfolio company and, in turn, on the Investment Fund that has invested in the portfolio company; and
generally, have less predictable operating results, may from time to time be parties to litigation, may be engaged in rapidly changing businesses with products subject to a substantial risk of obsolescence, and may require substantial additional capital to support their operations, finance expansion or maintain their competitive position.
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Investments in smaller capitalization companies often involve significantly greater risks than the securities of larger, better-known companies because they may lack the management expertise, financial resources, product diversification and competitive strengths of larger companies. The prices of the securities of smaller companies may be subject to more abrupt or erratic market movements than those of larger, more established companies, as these securities typically are less liquid, traded in lower volume and the issuers typically are more subject to changes in earnings and prospects. In addition, when selling large positions in small capitalization securities, the seller may have to sell holdings at discounts from quoted prices or may have to make a series of small sales over a period of time.
In addition, investments in private companies tend to be less liquid. The securities of many of the companies in which an Investment Fund may invest are not publicly traded or actively traded on the secondary market and are, instead, traded on a privately negotiated
over-the-counter
secondary market for institutional investors only. Such securities may be subject to legal and other restrictions on resale. As such, an Investment Fund may have difficulty exiting an investment promptly or at a desired price prior to maturity or outside of a normal amortization schedule. As a result, the relative lack of liquidity and the potential diminished capital resources of target portfolio companies may affect the Investment Fund's investment returns.
First Lien Senior Secured Loans, Second Lien Senior Secured Loans and Unitranche Debt.
When an Investment Fund invests in first lien senior secured loans, second lien senior secured loans, and unitranche debt of portfolio companies, the Investment Fund will generally seek to take a security interest in the available assets of those portfolio companies, including the equity interests of the portfolio companies' subsidiaries. There is a risk that the collateral securing these loans may decrease in value over time or lose its entire value, may be difficult to sell in a timely manner, may be difficult to appraise and may fluctuate in value based upon the success of the business and market conditions, including as a result of the inability of the portfolio company to raise additional capital. To the extent an Investment Fund's debt investment is collateralized by the securities of a portfolio company's subsidiaries, such securities may lose some or all of their value in the event of the bankruptcy or insolvency of the portfolio company. Also, in some circumstances, the Investment Fund's lien may be contractually or structurally subordinated to claims of other creditors. In addition, deterioration in a portfolio company's financial condition and prospects, including its inability to raise additional capital, may be accompanied by deterioration in the value of the collateral for the loan. Loans that are under- collateralized involve a greater risk of loss. Consequently, the fact that a loan is secured does not guarantee that an Investment Fund will receive principal and interest payments according to the loan's terms, or at all, or that the Investment Fund will be able to collect on the loan should the Investment Fund be forced to enforce its remedies. Finally, particularly with respect to a unitranche debt structure, unitranche debt will generally have higher leverage levels than a standard first lien term loan.
Mezzanine Investments.
An Investment Fund may invest, and the Fund may
co-invest,
in mezzanine loans. Structurally, mezzanine loans usually rank subordinate in priority of payment to senior debt, such as senior bank debt, and are often unsecured. However, mezzanine loans rank senior to common and preferred equity in a borrower's capital structure. Mezzanine debt is often used in leveraged buyout and real estate finance transactions. Typically, mezzanine loans have elements of both debt and equity instruments, offering the fixed returns in the form of interest payments associated with senior debt, while providing lenders an opportunity to participate in the capital appreciation of a borrower, if any, through an equity interest. This equity interest typically takes the form of warrants. Due to their higher risk profile and often less restrictive covenants as compared to senior loans, mezzanine loans generally earn a higher return than senior secured loans. The warrants associated with mezzanine loans are typically detachable, which allows lenders to receive repayment of their principal on an agreed amortization schedule while retaining their equity interest in the borrower. Mezzanine loans also may include a "put" feature, which permits the holder to sell its equity interest back to the borrower at a price determined through an agreed-upon formula. Mezzanine investments may be issued with or without registration rights. Similar to other high yield securities, maturities of mezzanine investments are typically seven to ten years, but the expected average life is significantly shorter at three to five years. Mezzanine investments are usually unsecured and subordinate to other debt obligations of an issuer.
Risks Associated With Covenant-Lite Loans.
A significant number of leveraged loans in the market may consist of loans that do not contain financial maintenance covenants ("Covenant-Lite Loans"). While the Fund does not intend to invest in Covenant-Lite Loans as part of its principal investment strategy, it is possible that such loans may comprise a small portion of the Fund's portfolio. Such loans do not require the borrower to maintain debt service or other financial ratios. Ownership of Covenant-Lite Loans may expose the Fund to different risks, including with respect to liquidity, price volatility, ability to restructure loans, credit risks and less protective loan documentation than is the case with loans that also contain financial maintenance covenants.
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Infrastructure Sector Risk.
Some Investment Funds or
Co-Investments
maybe focused on the infrastructure sector. Infrastructure assets may be subject to a variety of risks, not all of which can be foreseen or quantified, including: (i) the burdens of ownership of infrastructure: (ii) local, national and international political and economic conditions; (iii) the supply and demand for services from and access to infrastructure; (iv) the financial condition of users and suppliers of infrastructure assets; (v) changes in interest rates and the availability of funds which may render the purchase, sale or refinancing of infrastructure assets difficult or impracticable; (vi) changes in regulations, planning laws and other governmental rules; (vii) changes in fiscal and monetary policies; (viii) under-insured or uninsurable losses, such as force majeure acts and terrorist events; (ix) reduced investment in public and private infrastructure projects; and (x) other factors which are beyond the reasonable control of the Fund. Many of the foregoing factors could cause fluctuations in usage, expenses and revenues, causing the value of investments to decline and a material adverse effect on an Investment Fund's or
Co-Investment's
performance.
Agriculture and Forestry Sector Risk
. Investments in agriculture/farmland are subject to various risks, including adverse changes in national or international economic conditions, adverse local market conditions, adverse natural conditions such as storms, floods, drought, windstorms, hail, temperature extremes, frosts, soil erosion, infestations and blights, failure of irrigation or other mechanical systems used to cultivate the land, financial conditions of tenants, marketability of any particular kind of crop that may be influenced, among other things, by changing consumer tastes and preferences, import and export restrictions or tariffs, casualty or condemnation losses, government subsidy or production programs, buyers and sellers of properties, availability of excess supply of property relative to demand, changes in availability of debt financing, changes in interest rates, real estate tax rates and other operating expenses, environmental laws and regulations, governmental regulation of and risks associated with the use of fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals used in commercial agriculture, zoning laws and other governmental rules and fiscal policies, energy prices, changes in the relative popularity of properties, risk due to dependence on cash flow, as well as acts of God, uninsurable losses and other factors which are beyond the control of an Investment Fund or the Fund through
Co-Investments.
In addition, the forestry and timber industry is highly cyclical and the market value of timber investments is strongly affected by changes in international economic conditions, interest rates, weather cycles, changing demographics, environmental conditions and government regulations, among other factors. For example, the volume and value of timber that can be harvested from timberlands is limited by natural disasters, fire, volcanic eruptions, insect infestation, disease, ice storms, windstorms, flooding and other events and weather conditions and changes in climate conditions could intensify the effects of any of these factors. Many companies in the timber and forestry industry do not insure against damages to their timberlands. This industry is also subject to stringent U.S. federal, state and local environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. Significant timber deposits are located in emerging markets countries where corruption and security may raise significant risks.
Real Estate Investments.
The Fund may be exposed to real estate risk through its allocation to real estate Private Market Assets. The decline in the broader credit markets following the market turmoil in 2008 related to the
sub-prime
mortgage dislocation caused the global financial markets to become more volatile, and the United States real estate market was dramatically impacted as a result. Future dislocations in the real estate credit markets with the broad-based stress in the global real estate industry could create a difficult operating environment for owners of real estate in the near term and investors should be aware that the general risks of investing in real estate may be magnified.
Real estate assets are subject to risks associated with the ownership of real estate, including (i) changes in general economic and market conditions; (ii) changes in the value of real estate properties; (iii) risks related to local economic conditions, overbuilding and increased competition; (iv) increases in property taxes and operating expenses; (v) changes in zoning laws; (vi) casualty and condemnation losses; (vii) variations in rental income, neighborhood values or the appeal of property to tenants; (viii) the availability of financing and (ix) changes in interest rates. Many real estate companies utilize leverage, which increases investment risk and could adversely affect a company's operations and market value in periods of rising interest rates. The value of securities of companies in the real estate industry may go through cycles of relative under-performance and over-performance in comparison to equity securities markets in general.
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There are also special risks associated with particular real estate sectors, or real estate operations generally, as described below:
Retail Properties.
Retail properties are affected by the overall health of the economy and may be adversely affected by, among other things, the growth of alternative forms of retailing, bankruptcy, departure or cessation of operations of a tenant, a shift in consumer demand due to demographic changes, changes in spending patterns and lease terminations.
Office Properties.
Office properties are affected by the overall health of the economy, and other factors such as a downturn in the businesses operated by their tenants, obsolescence and
non-competitiveness.
Industrial Properties
. Industrial properties are affected by the overall health of the economy and other factors such as downturns in the manufacture, processing and shipping of goods and other factors that impact the transportation sector, such as trade policy.
Hospitality Properties.
The risks of hotel, motel and similar hospitality properties include, among other things, the necessity of a high level of continuing capital expenditures, competition, increases in operating costs which may not be offset by increases in revenues, dependence on business and commercial travelers and tourism, increases in fuel costs and other expenses of travel, and adverse effects of general and local economic conditions. Hotel properties tend to be more sensitive to adverse economic conditions and competition than many other commercial properties.
Healthcare Properties.
Healthcare properties and healthcare providers are affected by several significant factors, including federal, state and local laws governing licenses, certification, adequacy of care, pharmaceutical distribution, rates, equipment, personnel and other factors regarding operations, continued availability of revenue from government reimbursement programs and competition on a local and regional basis. The failure of any healthcare operator to comply with governmental laws and regulations may affect its ability to operate its facility or receive government reimbursements. Major governmental policy changes to the U.S. healthcare system could have a material adverse impact on the healthcare industry and the Fund's real estate and other investments relating to this sector.
Multifamily Properties.
The value and successful operation of a multifamily property may be affected by a number of factors such as the location of the property, the ability of the management team, the level of mortgage interest rates, the presence of competing properties, adverse economic conditions in the locale, oversupply and rent control laws or other laws affecting such properties.
Residential Properties.
Residential properties can be significantly affected by the national, regional and local real estate markets. This segment of the real estate industry also is sensitive to interest rate fluctuations which can cause changes in the availability of mortgage capital and directly affect the purchasing power of potential homebuyers. Thus, residential properties can be significantly affected by changes in government spending, consumer confidence, demographic patterns and the level of new and existing home sales.
Shopping Centers.
Shopping center properties are dependent upon the successful operations and financial condition of their tenants, particularly certain of their major tenants, and could be adversely affected by bankruptcy of those tenants. In some cases, a tenant may lease a significant portion of the space in one center, and the filing of bankruptcy could cause significant revenue loss, including the loss of revenue from smaller tenants with
co-tenancy
rights. Like others in the commercial real estate industry, community centers are subject to environmental risks and interest rate risk. They also face the need to enter into new leases or renew leases on favorable terms to generate rental revenues. Community center properties could be adversely affected by changes in the local markets where their properties are located, as well as by adverse changes in national economic and market conditions.
Self-Storage Properties.
The value and successful operation of a self-storage property may be affected by a number of factors, such as the ability of the management team, the location of the property, the presence of competing properties, changes in traffic patterns and effects of general and local economic conditions with respect to rental rates and occupancy levels.
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Data Centers
. Data center properties are subject to the risk of becoming obsolete based upon changing technology and the high investment cost of such assets.
Other factors may contribute to the risk of real estate investments:
Development Issues.
Real estate property development creates exposure to risks, such as the risk that there will be insufficient tenant demand to occupy newly developed properties, and the risk that prices of construction materials or construction labor may rise materially during the development.
Lack of Insurance.
Real estate investments may fail to carry comprehensive liability, fire, flood, earthquake extended coverage and rental loss insurance, or insurance in place may be subject to various policy specifications, limits and deductibles. Should any type of uninsured loss occur, the real estate investments could lose its investment in, and anticipated profits and cash flows from, a number of properties and, as a result, adversely affect the Fund's investment performance.
Dependence on Tenants.
The value of real estate investments' properties and the ability of these investments to make distributions to their shareholders depends upon the ability of the tenants at the properties to generate enough income in excess of their tenant operating expenses to make their lease payments. Changes beyond the control of the real estate investments may adversely affect their tenants' ability to make their lease payments and, in such event, would substantially reduce both their income from operations and ability to make distributions to Private Market Assets and, consequently, the Fund.
Financial Leverage.
Real estate investments may be highly leveraged and financial covenants may affect the ability of real estate investments to operate effectively.
Environmental Issues.
In connection with the ownership (direct or indirect), operation, management and development of real properties that may contain hazardous or toxic substances, a real estate investment may be considered an owner, operator or responsible party of such properties and, therefore, may be potentially liable for removal or remediation costs, as well as certain other costs, including governmental fines and liabilities for injuries to persons and property. The existence of any such material environmental liability could have a material adverse effect on the results of operations and cash flow of any such real estate.
Financial Institutions Risk.
Financial institutions in which the Fund may invest are subject to extensive government regulation. This regulation may limit both the amount and types of loans and other financial commitments a financial institution can make, and the interest rates and fees it can charge. In addition, interest and investment rates are highly sensitive and are determined by many factors beyond a financial institution's control, including general and local economic conditions (such as inflation, recession, money supply and unemployment) and the monetary and fiscal policies of various governmental agencies such as the Federal Reserve Board. These limitations may have a significant impact on the profitability of a financial institution since profitability is attributable, at least in part, to the institution's ability to make financial commitments such as loans. Profitability of a financial institution is largely dependent upon the availability and cost of the institution's funds and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change.
U.S. and global markets recently have experienced increased volatility, including as a result of the recent failures of certain U.S. and
non-U.S.
banks, which could be harmful to a Fund and issuers in which it invests. For example, if a bank in which the Fund or issuer has an account fails, any cash or other assets in bank accounts may be temporarily inaccessible or permanently lost by the Fund or issuer. If a bank that provides a subscription line credit facility, asset-based facility, other credit facility and/or other services to an issuer fails, the issuer could be unable to draw funds under its credit facilities or obtain replacement credit facilities or other services from other lending institutions with similar terms. Even if banks used by issuers in which the Fund invests remain solvent, continued volatility in the banking sector could cause or intensify an economic recession, increase the costs of banking services or result in the issuers being unable to obtain or refinance indebtedness at all or on as favorable terms as could otherwise have been obtained. Conditions in the banking sector are evolving, and the scope of any potential impacts to the Fund and issuers, both from market conditions and also potential legislative or regulatory responses, are uncertain. Continued market volatility and uncertainty and/or a downturn in market and economic and financial conditions, as a result of developments in the banking industry or otherwise (including as a result of delayed access to cash or credit facilities), could have an adverse impact on the Fund and issuers in which it invests.
32
Energy Sector Risk
. The Fund's Private Market Assets may include energy sector investments, thereby exposing the Fund to risks associated with this sector. Increases or decreases in the commodity supply or demand and resulting changes in pricing related to natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, coal or other energy commodities, may have a significant impact on Private Market Assets focused on this sector. Major governmental policy changes impacting fossil fuels could have a material adverse impact on the energy industry and the Fund's investments relating to this sector. Additionally, the energy sector is a highly regulated industry both domestically and internationally which can also have a material impact on the investments in this sector. Other factors that may adversely affect the value of securities of companies in the energy sector include operational risks, challenges to exploration and production, competition, inability to make accretive acquisitions, significant accident or event that is not fully insured at a company, natural depletion of reserves, and other unforeseen natural disasters.
Energy sector investments are affected by worldwide energy prices and costs related to energy production. These investments may have significant operations in areas at risk for natural disasters, social unrest and environmental damage. These investments may also be at risk for increased government regulation and intervention, energy conservation efforts, litigation and negative publicity and perception.
Utilities Sector.
The Fund's Private Market Assets may include utilities sector investments, thereby exposing the Fund to risks associated with this sector. Rates charged by traditional regulated utility companies are generally subject to review and limitation by governmental regulatory commissions, and the timing of rate changes will adversely affect such companies' earnings and dividends when costs are rising. Other factors that may adversely affect the value of securities of companies in the utilities sector include interest rate changes, supply and demand fluctuations, technological developments, natural resources conservation, and changes in commodity prices, which may be caused by supply and demand fluctuations or other market forces.
Geographic Concentration Risks.
An Investment Fund may concentrate its investments in specific geographic regions. This focus may constrain the liquidity and the number of portfolio companies available for investment by an Investment Fund. In addition, the investments of such an Investment Fund will be disproportionately exposed to the risks associated with the region of concentration.
Emerging Markets.
Some Investment Funds may invest in portfolio companies located in emerging industrialized or less developed countries. Risks particularly relevant to such emerging markets may include greater dependence on exports and the corresponding importance of international trade, higher risk of inflation, more extensive controls on foreign investment and limitations on repatriation of invested capital, increased likelihood of governmental involvement in, and control over, the economies, decisions by the relevant government to cease its support of economic reform programs or to impose restrictions, and less established laws and regulations regarding fiduciary duties of officers and directors and protection of investors.
The Fund's Private Market Assets could be negatively impacted by the current hostilities in Eastern Europe, including direct and indirect effects on their operations and financial condition. In the event these hostilities escalate, the impact could be more significant. Certain of the Private Market Assets in which the Fund may invest may operate in, or have dealings with, countries subject to sanctions or embargos imposed by the U.S. government, foreign governments, or the United Nations or other international organizations. In particular, as a result of recent events involving Ukraine and Russia, the United States and other countries have imposed economic sanctions on Russian sovereign debt and on certain Russian individuals, financial institutions, and others. Sanctions could result in Russia taking counter measures or retaliatory actions which may further impair the value and liquidity of Russian securities. These sanctions could also impair the Fund's ability to meet its investment objective. For example, the Fund may be prohibited from investing in securities issued by companies subject to such sanctions. In addition, the sanctions may require the Fund to freeze its existing investments in companies operating in or having dealings with sanctioned countries, prohibiting the Fund from selling or otherwise transacting in these investments. This could impact the Fund's ability to sell securities or other financial instruments as needed to meet shareholder redemptions. The Fund could seek to suspend redemptions in the event that an emergency exists in which it is not reasonably practicable for the Fund to dispose of its securities or to determine the value of its net assets.
Sector Concentration.
An Investment Fund may concentrate its investments in specific industry sectors. This focus may constrain the liquidity and the number of portfolio companies available for investment by an Investment Fund. In addition, the investments of such an Investment Fund will be disproportionately exposed to the risks associated with the industry sectors of concentration.
33
Technology Sector.
Certain technology companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, or may depend on a limited management group. In addition, these companies are strongly affected by worldwide technological developments, and their products and services may not be economically successful or may quickly become outdated.
Financial Sector.
Financial services companies are subject to extensive governmental regulation that may limit the amounts and types of loans and other financial commitments they can make, and the interest rates and fees they can charge. Profitability of such companies is generally dependent on the availability and cost of capital, and it can fluctuate as a result of increased competition or changing interest rates. In addition, events in the financial sector over the past several years have resulted in reduced liquidity in credit and a high degree of volatility in the financial markets. This situation has negatively affected many financial services companies, such as by causing such companies' values to decline.
Currency Risk.
Private Market Assets may include direct and indirect investments in a number of different currencies. Any returns on, and the value of such investments may, therefore, be materially affected by exchange rate fluctuations, local exchange control, limited liquidity of the relevant foreign exchange markets, the convertibility of the currencies in question and/or other factors. A decline in the value of the currencies in which the Private Market Assets are denominated against the U.S. dollar may result in a decrease in the Fund's NAV. The Advisers will not elect to hedge the value of investments made by the Fund against currency fluctuations. Accordingly, the performance of the Fund could be adversely affected by such currency fluctuations.
Non-U.S.
Risk.
Certain Private Market Assets may invest in foreign portfolio companies that do not maintain internal management accounts or adopt financial budgeting, internal audit or internal control procedures to standards normally expected of companies in the United States. Accordingly, information supplied regarding the Private Market Assets may be incomplete, inaccurate and/or significantly delayed. The Fund and the Investment Funds may therefore be unable to take or influence timely actions necessary to rectify management deficiencies in such portfolio companies, which may ultimately have an adverse impact on the NAV of the Fund.
Illiquidity of Private Market Assets.
There is no regular market for interest in Private Market Assets, which typically must be sold in privately negotiated transactions. Any such sales would likely require the consent of the applicable Investment Manager or portfolio company and could occur at a discount to the stated NAV. If the Advisers determine to cause the Fund to sell its interests in a Private Market Asset, the Fund may be unable to sell such interests quickly, if at all, and could therefore be obligated to continue to hold such interests for an extended period of time.
Investments in
Non-Voting
Stock; Inability to Vote.
Under certain circumstances, the Fund may hold its interests in the Private Market Assets in
non-voting
form or limit its voting rights to a certain percentage. In such cases, where only voting securities are available for purchase, the Fund will generally seek to create by contract the same result as owning a
non-voting
security by agreeing to relinquish or limit the right to vote in respect of its investment. The Fund will not receive any consideration in return for entering into a voting waiver arrangement. To the extent that the Fund contractually foregoes the right to vote Private Market Asset securities, the Fund will not be able to vote or may be able to vote only to a limited extent on matters that may be adverse to the Fund's interests. As a result, the Fund's influence on a Private Market Assets could be diminished, which may consequently adversely affect the Fund and its Shareholders.
Nature of Portfolio Companies.
The Private Market Assets include direct and indirect investments in various companies, ventures and businesses. This may include portfolio companies in the early phases of development, which can be highly risky due to the lack of a significant operating history, fully developed product lines, experienced management, or a proven market for their products. The Fund's investments may also include portfolio companies that are in a state of distress or which have a poor record and which are undergoing restructuring or changes in management, and there can be no assurances that such restructuring or changes will be successful. The management of such portfolio companies may depend on one or two key individuals, and the loss of the services of any of such individuals may adversely affect the performance of such portfolio companies.
High Yield Securities and Distressed Securities
. Private Market Assets may include investments in fixed income securities rated investment grade or
non-investment
grade (commonly referred to as high yield securities or "junk bonds") and may include investments in unrated fixed income securities.
Non-investment
grade securities are fixed income securities rated below Baa by Moody's Investors Service, Inc. ("Moody's") or below BBB by
34
Standard & Poor's Rating Group, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. ("S&P"), or if unrated considered by an Investment Manager to be equivalent quality.
Non-investment
grade debt securities in the lowest rating categories or unrated debt securities determined to be of comparable quality may involve a substantial risk of default or may be in default. Private Market Assets in
non-investment
grade securities expose it to a substantial degree of credit risk.
Non-investment
grade securities may be issued by companies that are restructuring, are smaller and less creditworthy or are more highly indebted than other companies, and therefore they may have more difficulty making scheduled payments of principal and interest.
Non-investment
grade securities are subject to greater risk of loss of income and principal than higher rated securities and may be considered speculative.
Non-investment
grade securities may experience reduced liquidity, and sudden and substantial decreases in price. An economic downturn affecting an issuer of
non-investment
grade debt securities may result in an increased incidence of default. In the event of a default, an Investment Fund or the Fund may incur additional expenses to seek recovery. In addition, the market for lower grade debt securities may be thinner and less active than for higher grade debt securities.
Certain Private Market Assets may be in transition, out of favor, financially leveraged or troubled, or potentially troubled, and may be or have recently been involved in major strategic actions, restructurings, bankruptcy, reorganization or liquidation. The characteristics of these companies can cause their securities to be particularly risky, although they also may offer the potential for high returns. These companies' securities may be considered speculative, and the ability of the companies to pay their debts on schedule could be affected by adverse interest rate movements, changes in the general economic climate, economic factors affecting a particular industry or specific developments within the companies. These securities may also present a substantial risk of default. An Investment Fund's or the Fund's investment in any instrument is subject to no minimum credit standard and a significant portion of the obligations and preferred stock in which an Investment Fund or the Fund may invest may be
non-investment
grade (commonly referred to as junk bonds), which may result in the Investment Fund or the Fund experiencing greater risks than it would if investing in higher rated instruments.
Co-Investments
. The market for
Co-Investments
may be very limited and competitive, and the
Co-Investments
to which the Fund wishes to allocate capital may not be available at any given time.
Co-Investments
may be heavily negotiated and may create additional transaction costs for the Fund.
Co-Investments
are more concentrated than investments in Investment Funds, which hold multiple portfolio companies.
LIBOR Risk.
The Fund's investments, payment obligations and financing terms may be based on floating rates, such as certain London Interbank Offer Rates (collectively, "LIBOR"), Euro Interbank Offered Rate and other similar types of reference rates (each, a "Reference Rate"). Certain LIBORs were generally phased out by the end of 2021, and some regulated entities have ceased to enter into new LIBOR-based contracts beginning January 1, 2022. There remains uncertainty regarding the future use of LIBOR, and the nature of any replacement rate. The potential effect of a transition away from LIBOR on the Fund or the LIBOR-based instruments in which the Fund invests cannot yet be determined, and it is not possible to completely identify or predict any establishment of alternative Reference Rates or any other reforms to Reference Rates that may be enacted in the United Kingdom or elsewhere.
The termination of certain Reference Rates presents risks to the Fund. The elimination of a Reference Rate or any other changes or reforms to the determination or supervision of Reference Rates could have an adverse impact on the market for or value of any securities or payments linked to those Reference Rates and other financial obligations held by the Fund or on its overall financial condition or results of operations. In addition, any substitute Reference Rate and any pricing adjustments imposed by a regulator or by counterparties or otherwise may adversely affect the Fund's performance and/or NAV. The transition process away from LIBOR may involve, among other things, increased volatility or illiquidity in markets for instruments that currently rely on LIBOR. The transition process may also result in a reduction in the value of certain instruments held by the Fund or reduce the effectiveness of related Fund transactions. While some instruments in which the Fund invests may contemplate a scenario where LIBOR is no longer available by providing for an alternative rate setting methodology, not all instruments in which the Fund invests may have such provisions and there is significant uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of any such alternative methodologies. Any potential effects of the transition away from LIBOR on the Fund or on financial instruments in which the Fund invests, as well as other unforeseen effects, could result in losses to the Fund.
The risks set out above are heightened with respect to investments in LIBOR-based products that do not include a fall back provision that addresses how interest rates will be determined if LIBOR stops being published. Other important factors include the pace of the transition, the specific terms of alternative Reference Rates accepted in the market, the depth of the market for investments based on alternative reference rates, and the Advisers' ability to develop appropriate investment and compliance systems capable of addressing alternative Reference Rates.
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Force Majeure Risk
.
Issuers may be affected by force majeure events (
i.e.
, events beyond the control of the party claiming that the event has occurred, including, without limitation, acts of God, fire, flood, earthquakes, outbreaks of an infectious disease, pandemic or any other serious public health concern, war, terrorism and labor strikes). Some force majeure events may adversely affect the ability of a party (including an issuer or a counterparty to the Fund or an issuer) to perform its obligations until it is able to remedy the force majeure event. In addition, the cost to an issuer or the Fund of repairing or replacing damaged assets resulting from such force majeure event could be considerable. Certain force majeure events (such as war or an outbreak of an infectious disease) could have a broader negative impact on the world economy and international business activity generally, or in any of the countries in which the Fund may invest specifically. Additionally, a major governmental intervention into industry, including the nationalization of an industry or the assertion of control over one or more issuers or its assets, could result in a loss to the Fund, including if its investment in such issuer is canceled, unwound or acquired (which could be without what the Fund considers to be adequate compensation). Any of the foregoing may therefore adversely affect the performance of the Fund and its investments.
Principal Risks Related to Private Market Assets
Valuation of the Fund's Interests in Investment Funds.
The valuation of the Fund's investments in Investment Funds is ordinarily determined based upon valuations provided by the Investment Managers on a quarterly basis. Although such valuations are provided on a quarterly basis, the Fund provides valuations, and issues Shares, on a daily basis. A large percentage of the securities in which the Fund invests do not have a readily ascertainable market price and are fair valued by the Investment Manager. In this regard, an Investment Manager may face a conflict of interest in valuing the securities, as their value may affect the Investment Manager's compensation or its ability to raise additional funds. No assurances can be given regarding the valuation methodology or the sufficiency of systems utilized by any Investment Manager, the accuracy of the valuations provided by the Investment Managers, that the Investment Managers will comply with their own internal policies or procedures for keeping records or making valuations, or that the Investment Managers' policies and procedures and systems will not change without notice to the Fund. As a result, an Investment Manager's valuation of the securities may fail to match the amount ultimately realized with respect to the disposition of such securities.
An Investment Manager's information could also be inaccurate due to fraudulent activity, mis-valuation or inadvertent error. The Fund may not uncover errors in valuation for a significant period of time, if ever.
Valuations Subject to Adjustment.
The Fund determines its NAV daily based upon the quarterly valuations reported by the Investment Managers, which may not reflect market or other events occurring subsequent to the
quarter-end.
The Fund fair values its holdings in Investment Funds to reflect such events, consistent with its valuation policies; however, there is no guarantee the Fund will correctly fair value such investments. Additionally, the valuations reported by Investment Managers may be subject to later adjustment or revision. For example, fiscal
year-end
NAV calculations of the Investment Funds may be revised as a result of audits by their independent auditors. Other adjustments may occur from time to time. The Fund's NAV also may be revised as part of the preparation of its financial statements to include adjustments made in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles required at period end for financial reporting purposes, which may result in differences from the NAV and returns for Shareholder transactions. Because such adjustments or revisions, whether increasing or decreasing the NAV of the Fund, and therefore the Fund, at the time they occur, relate to information available only at the time of the adjustment or revision, the adjustment or revision may not affect the amount of the repurchase proceeds of the Fund received by Shareholders who had their Shares repurchased prior to such adjustments and received their repurchase proceeds. As a result, to the extent that such subsequently adjusted valuations from the Investment Managers or revisions to the NAV of an Investment Fund adversely affect the Fund's NAV, the remaining outstanding Shares may be adversely affected by prior repurchases to the benefit of Shareholders who had their Shares repurchased at a NAV higher than the adjusted amount. Conversely, any increases in the NAV resulting from such subsequently adjusted valuations may be entirely for the benefit of the outstanding Shares and to the detriment of Shareholders who previously had their Shares repurchased at a NAV lower than the adjusted amount. The same principles apply to the purchase of Shares. New Shareholders may be affected in a similar way.
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Daily Valuation Risk.
The Fund is offered on a daily basis and calculates a daily NAV per Share. The Adviser seeks to evaluate on a daily basis material information about the Fund's holdings; however, for the reasons noted herein, the Adviser may not be able to acquire and/or evaluate properly such information on a daily basis. Due to these various factors, the Adviser's fair value determinations could cause the Fund's NAV on a valuation day to materially differ from what it would have been had such information been fully incorporated. As a result, investors who purchase Shares may receive more or less Shares and investors who tender their Shares may receive more or less cash proceeds than they otherwise would receive.
Termination of the Fund's Interest in an Investment Fund.
An Investment Fund may, among other things, terminate the Fund's interest in that Investment Fund (causing a forfeiture of all or a portion of such interest) if the Fund fails to satisfy any capital call by that Investment Fund or if the continued participation of the Fund in the Investment Fund would have a material adverse effect on the Investment Fund or its assets. The Fund's over-commitment strategy may increase the risk that the Fund is unable to satisfy a capital call from an Investment Fund.
General Risks of Secondary Investment Funds.
The overall performance of the Fund's Secondary Investment Funds will depend in large part on the acquisition price paid, which may be negotiated based on incomplete or imperfect information. There is a risk that investors exiting an Investment Fund through a secondary transaction may possess superior knowledge regarding the value of their holdings and the portfolio investments of the Investment Fund and the Fund may pay more for a secondary investment than it would have if it were also privy to such information. Certain Secondary Investment Funds may be purchased as a portfolio, and in such cases the Fund may not be able to carve out from such purchases those investments that the Advisers consider (for commercial, tax, legal or other reasons) less attractive. Where the Fund acquires a Secondary Investment Fund, the Fund will generally not have the ability to modify or amend such Secondary Investment Fund's constituent documents (
e.g.
, limited partnership agreements) or otherwise negotiate the economic terms of the interests being acquired. In addition, the costs and resources required to investigate the commercial, tax and legal issues relating to secondary investments may be greater than those relating to primary investments.
Where the Fund acquires a Secondary Investment Fund, the Fund may acquire contingent liabilities associated with such interest. Specifically, where the seller has received distributions from the relevant Secondary Investment Fund and, subsequently, that Secondary Investment Fund recalls any portion of such distributions, the Fund (as the purchaser of the interest to which such distributions are attributable) may be obligated to pay an amount equivalent to such distributions to such Secondary Investment Fund. While the Fund may be able, in turn, to make a claim against the seller of the interest for any monies so paid to the Secondary Investment Fund, there can be no assurance that the Fund would have such right or prevail in any such claim.
The Fund may acquire Secondary Investment Funds as a member of a purchasing syndicate, in which case the Fund may be exposed to additional risks including, among other things: (i) counterparty risk, (ii) reputation risk, (iii) breach of confidentiality by a syndicate member, and (iv) execution risk.
Additionally, the Fund may acquire interests in Secondary Investment Funds through structured transactions such as CFOs or similar investment vehicles that own existing secondaries and direct investments. These structures may impose additional administrative costs that the Fund would not have incurred had it invested in Secondary Investment Funds directly. Secondary Investment Funds held inside of a CFO may be subject to the risks and benefits of leverage at the CFO level. If the Fund acquires interests in a Secondary Investment Fund through a CFO, the Fund may be limited in its ability to enforce its rights against such Secondary Investment Fund.
Commitment Strategy
. The Fund may maintain a sizeable cash position in anticipation of funding capital calls. The Fund will be required to make incremental contributions pursuant to capital calls issued from time to time by Investment Funds. The overall impact on performance due to holding a portion of the investment portfolio in cash or cash equivalents could be negative.
The Fund will employ an "over-commitment" strategy, which could result in an insufficient cash supply to fund unfunded commitments to Investment Funds. Such a short fall would have negative impacts on the Fund, including an adverse impact on the Fund's ability to pay for repurchases of Shares tendered by Shareholders, pay distributions or to meet expenses generally. Moreover, if the Fund defaults on its unfunded commitments or fails to satisfy capital calls in a timely manner then, generally, it will be subject to significant penalties, including the complete forfeiture of the Fund's investment in the Investment Fund. Any failure by the Fund to make timely capital
37
contributions in respect of its unfunded commitments may (i) impair the ability of the Fund to pursue its investment program, (ii) force the Fund to borrow, indirectly cause the Fund, and, indirectly, the Shareholders to be subject to certain penalties from the Investment Funds (including the complete forfeiture of the Fund's investment in an Investment Fund), or (iv) otherwise impair the value of the Fund's investments (including the devaluation of the Fund).
Allocation Risk.
The
Sub-Adviser
advises clients and sponsors, administers, manages and/or advises traditional and
non-traditional
investment funds and investment programs, accounts and businesses (collectively, together with any new or successor funds, programs, accounts or businesses, the "Related Investment Accounts"). Certain Related Investment Accounts may have investment objectives and/or utilize investment strategies that are similar or comparable to those of the Fund (the "Related Funds"). As a result, certain investments may be appropriate for the Fund and also for other Related Investment Accounts.
Decisions as to the allocation of investment opportunities among the Fund and other Related Investment Accounts present numerous inherent conflicts of interest, particularly where an investment opportunity has limited availability. In order to address these conflicts of interest, the
Sub-Adviser
adopted allocation policies and procedures that were designed to require that all investment allocation decisions made by the investment team are being made fairly and equitably among Related Investment Accounts over time.
Subject to applicable law, the
Sub-Adviser
will allocate opportunities among the Fund and the Related Investment Accounts in its sole discretion. The
Sub-Adviser
will determine such allocations among its Related Investment Accounts in its sole discretion in accordance with their respective guidelines and based on such factors and considerations as it deems appropriate. Subject to the foregoing and the paragraph below, available capacity with respect to each investment opportunity generally will be allocated among the various Related Investment Accounts for which the investment has been approved pro rata.
The 1940 Act imposes significant limits on
co-investments
with affiliates of the Fund. The Advisers and the Fund have obtained an exemptive order from the SEC that permits the Fund to
co-invest
alongside its affiliates in privately negotiated investments. However, the SEC exemptive order contains certain conditions that limit or restrict the Fund's ability to participate in a Private Market Asset, including, without limitation, in the event that the available capacity with respect to a Private Market Asset is less than the aggregate recommended allocation to the Fund and the Related Investment Accounts. In such cases, the Fund may participate in an investment to a lesser extent or, under certain circumstances, may not participate in the investment. Additionally, third parties, such as the general partners of Primary Investment Funds, may not prioritize an allocation to the Fund when faced with a more established pool of capital also competing for allocation. Ultimately, an inability to receive the desired allocation to certain Private Market Assets could represent a risk to the Fund's ability to achieve the desired investment returns. See "Investment Program - StepStone Allocation Policy."
Tax
Status
. The Fund intends to maintain its qualification to be treated as a RIC under the Code. To qualify as a RIC under the Code, the Fund must, among other things, diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of each taxable year, (A) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund's assets is represented by cash, cash items, U.S. government securities, securities of other regulated investment companies and other securities, with such other securities of any one issuer limited for the purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets and 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer and (B) not more than 25% of the market value of the Fund's total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities and the securities of other regulated investment companies) of (1) any one issuer, (2) any two or more issuers that the Fund controls and that are determined to be engaged in the same business or similar or related trades or businesses, or (3) any one or more "qualified publicly traded partnerships." As such, the Advisers typically endeavor to limit the Fund's investments in any one Investment Fund to no more than 25% of the Fund's gross assets (measured at the time of purchase).
"J-Curve"
Performance Risk.
Investment Funds typically exhibit
"J-curve"
performance, such that an Investment Fund's net asset value typically declines moderately or flattens during the early portion of the Investment Fund's lifecycle as investment-related fees and expenses accrue prior to the realization of investment gains. As the Investment Fund matures and as assets are sold, the Advisers believe that the pattern typically reverses with increasing net asset value and distributions. There can be no assurance, however, that any or all of the Investment Funds in which the Fund invests will exhibit this pattern of investment returns.
38
LIMITS OF RISK DISCLOSURES
The above discussions of the various risks associated with the Fund and the Shares are not, and are not intended to be, a complete enumeration or explanation of the risks involved in an investment in the Fund as the above discussion does not address unknown risks that may be material to the Fund. Prospective investors should read this entire Prospectus and consult with their own advisors before deciding whether to invest in the Fund. In addition, as the Fund's investment program changes or develops over time, an investment in the Fund may be subject to risk factors not described in this Prospectus. The Fund will update this Prospectus to account for any material changes in the risks involved with an investment in the Fund.
MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND
General
The Fund's Board of Trustees provides broad oversight over the operations and affairs of the Fund. A majority of the Fund's Board of Trustees is comprised of persons who are independent trustees. StepStone Private Wealth serves as the Fund's Adviser, and StepStone serves as the Fund's
Sub-Adviser.
The Adviser, StepStone Private Wealth, is an investment platform designed to expand access to the private markets for high net worth and accredited investors. SPW intends to create innovative solutions for investors by focusing on convenience, efficiency and transparency. StepStone Private Wealth's mission is to convert the private market advantages enjoyed by institutional investors into opportunities for individual investors. SPW is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. SPW, established in 2019, is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Please see SPW's website at www.stepstonepw.com for the most
up-to-date
information.
StepStone is a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions and advisory and data services to its clients. 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. StepStone partners with its clients to develop and build portfolios designed to meet their specific objectives across all forms of Private Market Assets. As of March 31, 2024, StepStone oversaw $659 billion of "private markets allocations"
2
, including $149 billion of assets under management.
StepStone Group Inc. is listed and trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol STEP. StepStone Group Inc. is the sole managing member of StepStone Group Holdings LLC, which in turn is the general partner of StepStone. Please see StepStone's website at www.stepstonegroup.com for the most
up-to-date
information. StepStone advises and/or manages accounts other than that of the Fund, which may give rise to certain conflicts of interest. In addition, StepStone wholly owns SPW. See "Conflicts of Interest."
Under the terms of the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is responsible for the overall management of the Fund's activities. The Adviser is responsible for formulating and updating (as needed) the overall investment strategy of the Fund. The Adviser is also responsible for the structuring and distribution functions for the Fund. In addition, the Adviser is responsible for the operational and governance aspects of the Fund, including the selection and management of the Fund's service providers and the management of the Fund's tender offers and distributions and dividend reinvestment plan. The Adviser is also responsible for the Fund's SEC and other regulatory reporting obligations. The Adviser is subject to the ultimate supervision of, and any policies established by, the Board of Trustees.
The Adviser has entered into a
Sub-Advisory
Agreement with the
Sub-Adviser.
The
Sub-Adviser
is responsible for the
day-to-day
management of the Fund's assets. The
Sub-Adviser
provides ongoing research, recommendations, and portfolio management regarding the Fund's investment portfolio subject to the overall supervision of the Adviser and the Fund's officers and Board of Trustees.
2
"Private markets allocations" means the total amount of assets under management and assets under advisement.
39
A description of the factors considered by the Fund's Board of Trustees in approving the Advisory Agreement and the
Sub-Advisory
Agreement is available in the Fund's annual report on Form
N-CSR
for the period ended March 31, 2024.
Management Team
The personnel of the Advisers principally responsible for management of the Fund are experienced and educated investment professionals with a long performance record in private market investments. They have identified, evaluated, structured, managed and monitored billions of dollars in a wide range of private market investments globally and maintain a strong network within the private markets investment community as a result of their prior and ongoing experience. The Advisers believe that, as a result of these relationships, the Fund should have access to a large number of Private Market Assets from which to select.
StepStone Private Wealth Team
Bob Long
Bob Long is the Chief Executive Officer of StepStone Private Wealth. Mr. Long has three decades of experience in the private markets and has served as the CEO of two publicly traded companies focused on expanding access for high net worth investors. He was a founding Director of the Defined Contribution Alternatives Association and chairs its Public Policy Committee.
Mr. Long has served as the CEO of a Nasdaq-listed business development company managed by Oak Hill Advisors, a leading global credit investment firm. He was the
co-founder
and CEO of Conversus Capital, and along with Mr. Smith, led the $2 billion IPO of this innovative permanent capital vehicle that was the largest publicly traded fund of private equity funds. Mr. Long also ran Bank of America's $7 billion AUM Strategic Capital Division, which held investments in over 1,000 private market funds and direct investments.
Early in his career, Mr. Long 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. He graduated from
UNC-Chapel
Hill and the University of Virginia School of Law.
A frequent commentator on private market topics, Mr. Long was named one of 50 Game Changers by Private Equity International, has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, and guest hosted CNBC Squawk Box Europe on numerous occasions. He currently serves on the Gift of Adoption Strategic Advisory Council and previously served on the board of the Children's Home Society of North Carolina.
Tom Sittema
Tom Sittema is the Executive Chairman of StepStone Private Wealth. In his four decades of capital markets experience, Mr. Sittema has served as the CEO of an industry-leading private markets asset manager and the Chairman of the Board of numerous publicly registered funds designed for individual investors. He serves on the Board of the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives, a private markets industry group, and during his term as Chairman led several of its strategic initiatives.
Mr. Sittema served as the CEO of CNL Financial Group, a $10 billion asset manager providing access for individual investors to the private markets where he recruited Mr. Menard. Mr. Sittema held a variety of leadership roles at Bank of America Merrill Lynch / Bank of America over a
27-year
career, including the U.S. Head of Real Estate Investment Trusts and Lodging Investment Banking, and worked closely with Mr. Long for over 10 years.
Mr. Sittema graduated from Dordt College and Indiana University Kelley School of Business. He serves as Board Chair of Advent Health's Consumer Innovation Advisory Board and is the
co-founder
and board chair of LIFT Orlando, an organization established to break the cycle of generational concentrated poverty in a community in Central Florida. Mr. Sittema is Director of the Florida Council of 100 and has received numerous economic development and civic awards, including Central Florida Social Entrepreneur of the Year.
40
Neil Menard
Neil Menard is the President of Distribution for StepStone Private Wealth. Mr. Menard is a seasoned distribution leader with over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Over his career, he has built a broad and deep network within the financial advisor and broker dealer communities. He has led sales teams distributing billions of dollars of private market assets to hundreds of advisory firms, including the largest players in several verticals.
Mr. Menard recently served as the President of CNL Securities Corporation and CNL Capital Markets where he oversaw the capital raising efforts of the firm then led by Mr. Sittema. Previously, he served as senior vice president of Franklin Square Capital Partners, where he was responsible for creating a new business unit to sell business development companies to registered investment advisors (RIAs), strategically setting a vision for the products and executing that vision in the marketplace. Additionally, he sat on the firm's management committee where he led the firm's initiatives in building relationships, as well as creating its RIA team and growing market share in the RIA space.
Mr. Menard spent nine years at Steben & Company Inc., a leading provider of managed futures to independent broker-dealers and RIAs. He was responsible for the day to day operation of the firm, and he was the head of distribution.
Mr. Menard has served on the board of the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives, a private markets industry group. He is on the board of the Florida Hospital Cardiovascular Institute and graduated from Colby College.
Tim Smith
Tim Smith is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of StepStone Private Wealth. Mr. Smith brings over 30 years of operational experience working in private equity, private markets distribution and asset management businesses. During that time, he has served as the CFO and CEO of two publicly traded companies.
Mr. Smith
co-founded
Carolon Capital UK Limited, a U.K. based distribution firm focusing on long-only strategies for asset managers. He also
co-founded
Carolon Investment Funds headquartered in Dublin, Ireland to assist asset managers with fund structuring and regulatory oversight.
Mr. Smith worked with Mr. Long to launch Conversus Capital and was the CFO of the publicly traded entity. Mr. Smith led all facets of Conversus' operations, finance, treasury and investor relations activities and led the sale of Conversus' $2 billion portfolio in 2012.
Mr. Smith is a Certified Public Accountant, has an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and a graduate degree from the University of Richmond. Mr. Smith is active with the Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry and serves on the board of the Emergency Medical Center at the University of Virginia.
Kimberly Zeitvogel
Ms. Zeitvogel is a member of StepStone Private Wealth.
Prior to joining StepStone, Ms. Zeitvogel spent 12 years at Chapter IV Investors, LLC, an investment adviser that managed a privately held hedge fund with $300 million of assets under management, where she was CFO and CCO. Prior to joining Chapter IV, Ms. Zeitvogel was the CFO of a structured finance firm focused on the acquisition, securitization and value enhancement of distressed debt. Previously, she worked for Wachovia Securities in Investment Banking Finance supporting various business units, including private equity, mergers & acquisitions, leveraged capital and fund investing. Ms. Zeitvogel began her professional career in public accounting at Arthur Andersen, LLP.
Ms. Zeitvogel has her BS from Appalachian State University and is a Certified Public Accountant. Ms. Zeitvogel also serves on the board of RunningWorks and is on the steering committee for the Charlotte Chapter of CFO Leadership Council.
41
Dean Caruvana
Dean Caruvana serves as General Counsel of StepStone Private Wealth and Associate General Counsel of StepStone, where he is responsible for legal matters for StepStone Private Wealth and its investment products, with a focus on securities law and corporate governance matters.
Prior to joining StepStone Private Wealth, Mr. Caruvana was Principal at Blue Owl Capital, where he was responsible for legal oversight of the firm's business development companies ("BDCs"). Mr. Caruvana previously was Vice President at BlackRock, Inc., where he focused on U.S. registered products including
open-end
funds,
closed-end
funds, exchange-traded funds and BDCs. Mr. Caruvana began his career an associate in the Asset Management group at Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.
Mr. Caruvana received a B.S. in Accounting and Finance and a M.S. in Accounting from Wagner College and a J.D. from Cornell Law School.
StepStone Team
The personnel of the Advisers who have primary responsibility for ongoing research, recommendations, and portfolio management regarding the Fund's investment portfolio are Thomas Keck and Michael Elio.
Thomas Keck
Thomas Keck leads StepStone's global research activities and the development of SPI
TM
, StepStone's proprietary research database. He is also involved in the Firm's ESG and risk management initiatives.
Prior to
co-founding
StepStone, Mr. Keck was a managing director at Pacific Corporate Group, a private equity investment firm that oversaw over $15 billion of private equity commitments for institutional investors. Before that he was a principal with Blue Capital, a middle market buyout firm.
Mr. Keck graduated cum laude with a BA from the George Washington University and received his MBA with high honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He served in the US Navy as a Naval Flight Officer, receiving numerous decorations flying
EA-6Bs
off the USS Nimitz
(CVN-68).
Michael Elio
Michael Elio is a member of StepStone's private equity team, focusing on middle-market buyouts and secondary funds. He is also involved in advisory and portfolio management activities.
Prior to joining StepStone in 2014, Mr. Elio was a managing director at ILPA, where he led programs around research, standards and industry strategic priorities. Before that he was a partner and managing director at LP Capital Advisors where he led the firm's Boston office and served as the lead consultant to North American and European institutional investors. Mr. Elio was the primary consultant for many of the firm's largest clients including public and private pension plans committing more than $5 billion annually.
The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers' compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers, and the portfolio managers' ownership of Shares in the Fund.
Control Persons
A control person generally is a person who beneficially owns more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or has the power to exercise control over the management or policies of such company. As of the date of this Prospectus, there were no Shareholders that held greater than 25% of the voting securities of the Fund.
Administrator
StepStone Private Wealth serves as the Fund's Administrator under an Administration Agreement with the Fund, and performs certain administrative, accounting and other services for the Fund. In consideration for these services, the Fund pays the Administrator the Administration Fee in an amount up to 0.12% on an annualized basis of
42
the Fund's net assets. The Administration Fee is calculated based on the Fund's average daily net asset value and payable monthly in arrears. The Administration Fee is an expense paid out of the Fund's net assets. The Administrator's principal business address is 128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600, Charlotte, NC 28202. The Administrator may delegate or
sub-contract
certain of its services to other entities, including a
sub-administrator,
and has done so as described below.
Sub-Administrator
UMB Fund Services, Inc. serves as the Fund's
Sub-Administrator
to provide certain
sub-administration
and
sub-accounting
services for the Fund. In consideration of the
sub-administrative
services and
sub-accounting
services provided by the
Sub-Administrator
to the Fund, the Administrator pays the
Sub-Administrator
from the proceeds of the Administration Fee a
sub-administration
fee (the
"Sub-Administration
Fee") in an amount up to 0.08% on an annualized basis of the Fund's net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee. The
Sub-Administration
Fee is calculated based on the Fund's average daily net asset value and payable monthly in arrears. The
Sub-Administrator's
principal business address is 235 West Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212.
Custodian and Transfer Agent
UMB Bank, N.A. (the "Custodian") serves as the custodian of the Fund's assets. The Custodian's principal business address is 928 Grand Blvd., 5th Floor, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.
UMB Fund Services, Inc. (the "Transfer Agent") serves as transfer agent with respect to maintaining the registry of the Fund's Shareholders and processing matters relating to subscriptions for, and repurchases of, Shares. The Transfer Agent's principal business address is 235 West Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212.
FUND EXPENSES
The Advisers bear all of their own costs incurred in providing investment advisory services to the Fund. As described below, however, the Fund bears all other expenses related to its investment program. The Administrator provides, or arranges for certain administrative services to be provided to the Fund, among those services are: providing office space, adequate personnel, and communications and other facilities necessary for administration of the Fund, performing certain administrative functions to support the Fund and its service providers, supporting the Fund's Board and providing it with information, providing accounting and legal services in support of the Fund, compliance testing services, analyzing the value of the Fund's assets, and reviewing and arranging for payment of the Fund's expenses and other support services. Such administrative services are included in the Administration Fee. In addition to the services above, the Administrator is responsible for overseeing the
Sub-Administrator.
Expenses borne by the Fund (and thus indirectly by Shareholders) include:
all expenses related to its investment program, including, but not limited to, expenses borne indirectly through the Fund's investments in the underlying Private Market Assets, including any fees and expenses charged by the Investment Managers of the Private Market Assets (including management fees, carried interest or incentive fees and redemption or withdrawal fees, however titled or structured), all costs and expenses directly related to due diligence of portfolio transactions for the Fund such as direct and indirect expenses associated with the Fund's investments (whether or not consummated), and enforcing the Fund's rights in respect of such investments, transfer taxes and premiums, taxes withheld on
non-U.S.
dividends, fees for data and software providers, research expenses, professional fees (including, without limitation, the fees and expenses of consultants, attorneys and experts) and, if applicable, brokerage commissions, interest and commitment fees on loans and debit balances, borrowing charges on securities sold short, dividends on securities sold but not yet purchased and margin fees;
attorneys' fees and disbursements associated with preparing and updating the Fund's registration statement and other regulatory filings, and with reviewing potential investments to be made and executing the Fund's investments;
43
fees and disbursements of all accountants or auditors engaged by the Fund, expenses related to the annual audit of the Fund, expenses related to the unaudited financial statements of the Fund and expenses related to the preparation, review, approval and filing of the Fund's tax information;
recordkeeping, custody and transfer agency fees and expenses;
the costs of errors and omissions/Trustees' and officers' liability insurance and a fidelity bond;
the Management Fee and Administration Fee;
fees paid to third-party consultants or service providers relating to the Fund's establishment or operations and fees paid to third-party providers for due diligence and valuation services;
the costs of preparing and mailing reports and other communications, including proxy, repurchase offer correspondence, annual reports or similar materials, to Shareholders;
fees of Trustees who are not "interested persons" and travel and administrative expenses of Trustees who are not "interested persons" relating to meetings of the Board of Trustees and committees thereof;
costs and charges related to electronic or other platforms through which investors may access, complete and submit subscription and other fund documents or otherwise facilitate activity with respect to their investment in the Fund;
costs and charges related to purchasing, holding, selling or trading cryptocurrencies, digital assets or other investments or instruments which utilize blockchain or related distributed ledger technology, including but not limited to costs associated with specialized software and hardware solutions, additional custodial and settlement expenses and additional professional services as required from time to time;
costs of administrative,
sub-accounting,
recordkeeping or investor related services charged by financial intermediaries in conjunction with processing through the National Securities Clearing Corporation's Fund/SERV and Networking or similar systems;
all costs and charges for equipment or services used in communicating information regarding the Fund's transactions among the Adviser and any custodian or other agent engaged by the Fund;
any extraordinary expenses (as defined below), including indemnification expenses as provided for in the Fund's organizational documents; and
other expenses not explicitly borne by the Adviser or Administrator associated with the investment operations of the Fund; and all reasonable costs and expenses incurred in connection with the formation and organization of, and offering and sale of Shares in, the Fund, as determined by the Adviser, including all
out-of-pocket
legal, accounting, registration and filing fees and expenses will be borne by the Fund. The Fund will also bear certain administrative costs.
The Adviser and Administrator will be reimbursed by the Fund for any of the above expenses that it pays on behalf of the Fund, except as otherwise provided above.
Expenses of Fund Investments
Private Market Assets bear various expenses in connection with their operations similar to those incurred by the Fund. Investment Managers generally assess asset-based fees to, and receive incentive-based fees from, the Investment Funds (or their investors), which effectively will reduce the investment returns of the Private Market Assets. These expenses and fees will be in addition to those incurred by the Fund itself. As an investor in the Private Market Assets, the Fund will bear its proportionate share of the expenses and fees of the Private Market Assets and will also be subject to incentive fees to the Investment Managers.
44
MANAGEMENT FEE
In consideration of the advisory and other services provided by the Adviser to the Fund, the Fund pays a monthly Management Fee equal to 1.40% on an annualized basis of the Fund's daily net assets, provided that the Management Fee shall in no instance be greater than a Management Fee computed based on the value of the net assets of the Fund as of the close of business on the last business day of the relevant month (including any assets in respect of Shares that would be repurchased by the Fund on such date). The Management Fee is an expense paid out of the Fund's assets. The Management Fee is accrued daily and payable monthly in arrears within three business days of the determination of the Fund's net assets but no later than 20 business days after the end of the month.
The Adviser pays the
Sub-Adviser
50% of the Management Fee proceeds each month.
CALCULATION OF NET ASSET VALUE
The Fund calculates its NAV as of the close of business on each business day, in accordance with the procedures described below or as may be determined from time to time in accordance with policies approved by the Board (each, a "Determination Date"). In determining the Fund's NAV, the Adviser values the Fund's investments as of the relevant Determination Date. The NAV of the Fund equals, unless otherwise noted, the value of the total assets of the Fund, less all of its liabilities, including accrued fees and expenses, each determined as of the relevant Determination Date.
The Class T Shares' NAV plus the Class S Shares' NAV plus the Class D Shares' NAV plus the Class I Shares' NAV equals the total value of the net assets of the Fund. The different share NAVs are calculated separately based on the fees and expenses applicable to each class. Because of differing class fees and expenses, the per share NAV of the classes will vary over time.
The Board has designated the Adviser as the Fund's valuation designee for purposes of Rule
2a-5
under the 1940 Act. The Board has approved valuation procedures for the Fund and the Adviser (the "Valuation Procedures").
The Valuation Procedures provide that the Fund will value its investments in Private Market Assets at fair value. The starting point for fair value of such investments as of each Determination Date ordinarily will be the capital account value of the Fund's interest in such investments as provided by the relevant Investment Manager as of or prior to the relevant Determination Date; provided that such values will be adjusted for any other relevant information available at the time the Adviser values the Fund's portfolio, including capital activity and material events occurring between the reference dates of the Investment Manager's valuations and the relevant Determination Date. In fair valuing certain
co-investments,
the Adviser may consider a number of factors such as the Fund's cost, latest round of financing, company operating performance, market-based performance multiples, announced capital markets activity and any other relevant information will be considered at the time the Adviser values the Fund's portfolio.
The Adviser has developed a proprietary, predictive analytics tool that is intended to track the performance of the private markets and produce a current estimate of the value of the portion of the Fund's investment portfolio that is invested in Investment Funds. The analytics tool considers several data points from broad securities indices. The application of these factors results in a daily adjustment factor that is applied to the portion of the Fund invested in certain Investment Funds and is intended to minimize the potential deviation of the value of the Investment Funds as reflected in the books and records of the Fund as compared to the net asset value of each Investment Fund provided on a quarterly basis by the Investment Manager. As appropriate, the Adviser will use the analytics tool to adjust the value of its Investment Funds as part of its determination of fair value.
The valuation of the Fund's investments in Private Market Assets is performed in accordance with Topic 820 -
Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures
. Generally, Investment Managers value investments at their market price if market quotations are readily available. In the absence of observable market prices, Investment Managers value investments using valuation methodologies applied on a consistent basis. For some investments little market activity may exist. The Investment Managers' determination of fair value is then based on the best information available in the circumstances and may incorporate management's own assumptions and involves a significant degree of judgment, taking into consideration a combination of internal and external factors, including the appropriate risk adjustments for nonperformance and liquidity risks. Investments for which market prices are not observable include private investments in the equity of operating companies, projects, properties or certain debt positions. Market quotations will not be readily available for most of the Fund's investments.
45
The actual realized returns on the Investment Managers' unrealized investments will depend on, among other factors, future operating results, the value of the assets and market conditions at the time of disposition, any related transaction costs and the timing and manner of sale, all of which may differ from the assumptions on which the Investment Managers' valuations are based. Neither the Fund nor the Adviser has oversight or control over the implementation of the Investment Managers' valuation process.
In reviewing the valuations provided by Investment Managers, the Valuation Procedures require the consideration of all relevant information reasonably available at the time the Adviser values the Fund's portfolio, including the output of the predictive analytics tool. The Adviser will consider such information and may conclude in certain circumstances that the information provided by the Investment Manager does not represent the fair value of a particular Private Market Asset. In accordance with the Valuation Procedures, the Adviser will consider whether it is appropriate, in light of all relevant circumstances, to value such interests based on the NAV reported or expected to be reported by the relevant Investment Manager, or whether to adjust such value to reflect a premium or discount to such NAV.
For example, Investment Managers may value investments in portfolio companies and direct private equity investments at cost. The Valuation Procedures provide that, where cost is determined to best approximate the fair value of the particular security under consideration, the Adviser may approve such valuations. In other cases, the Adviser may be aware of sales of similar securities to third parties at materially different prices, or of other circumstances indicating that cost may not approximate fair value (which could include situations where there are no sales to third parties). In such cases, the Fund's investment will be revalued in a manner that the Adviser, in accordance with the Valuation Procedures, determine in good faith best approximates fair value. The Board of Trustees is responsible for ensuring that the Valuation Procedures are fair to the Fund and consistent with applicable regulatory guidelines.
Notwithstanding the above, Investment Managers unaffiliated with the Fund may adopt a variety of valuation bases and provide differing levels of information concerning Private Market Assets, and there will generally be no liquid markets for such investments. Consequently, there are inherent difficulties in determining the fair value that cannot be eliminated. Neither the Board nor the Adviser will be able to confirm independently the accuracy of valuations provided by any Investment Managers (which are generally unaudited).
To the extent the Fund holds securities or other instruments that are not investments in Private Market Assets, the Adviser will generally value such assets as described below. Securities traded or dealt in upon one or more securities exchanges (whether domestic or foreign) for which market quotations are readily available and not subject to restrictions against resale shall be valued at the last quoted sales price on the primary exchange or, in the absence of a sale on the primary exchange, at the mean between the current bid and ask prices on the primary exchange. Securities primarily traded in the National Association of Securities Dealers' Automated Quotation System ("Nasdaq") National Market System for which market quotations are readily available shall be valued using the Nasdaq Official Closing Price. If market quotations are not readily available, or deemed unreliable for a security, or if a security's value may have been materially affected by events occurring after the close of a securities market on which the security principally trades, but before the Fund calculates its NAV, securities will be valued at the last sale price or, in the absence of a sale, at the mean between the current bid and ask prices.
In cases where a fair valuation of securities is applied, the Fund's NAV will reflect certain portfolio securities' fair value rather than their market price. Fair value pricing involves subjective judgments, and it is possible that the fair value determined for a security is materially different than the value that could be realized upon the sale of that security. This fair value may also vary from valuations determined by other funds using their own fair valuation procedures. The fair value prices can differ from market prices when they become available or when a price becomes available.
The Adviser may use independent pricing services to assist in calculating the value of the Fund's securities. In addition, market prices for foreign securities are not determined at the same time of day as the NAV for the Fund. In computing the NAV, the Adviser values foreign securities held by the Fund at the latest closing price on the
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exchange in which they are traded immediately prior to closing of the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE"). Prices of foreign securities quoted in foreign currencies are translated into U.S. dollars at current rates. If events materially affecting the value of a security in the Fund's portfolio, particularly foreign securities, occur after the close of trading on a foreign market but before the Adviser prices the Fund's Shares, the security will be valued at fair value. For example, if trading in a portfolio security is halted and does not resume before the Adviser calculates the Fund's NAV, the Adviser may need to price the security using the Fund's fair value pricing guidelines.
With respect to any portion of the Fund's assets that are invested in one or more
open-end
management investment companies registered under the 1940 Act, the Fund's NAV is calculated based upon the NAVs of those
open-end
management investment companies, and the prospectuses for these companies explain the circumstances under which those companies will use fair value pricing and the effects of using fair value pricing.
As a result of investments by the Fund or other investment vehicles accessed by the Fund, if any, in foreign securities or other instruments denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, the NAV of the Fund's Shares may be affected by changes in the value of currencies in relation to the U.S. dollar. The value of these instruments denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar may be affected significantly on a day that the NYSE is closed, and an investor is not able to purchase, redeem or exchange Shares.
The Adviser or its affiliates act as investment advisers to other clients that may invest in securities for which no public market price exists. Valuation determinations by the Adviser or its affiliates for other clients may result in different values than those ascribed to the same security owned by the Fund. Consequently, the fees charged to the Fund may be different than those charged to other clients, since the method of calculating the fees takes the value of all assets, including assets carried at different valuations, into consideration.
Expenses of the Fund, including the Management Fee and Administration Fees are accrued on a daily basis and taken into account for the purpose of determining the Fund's NAV on a Determination Date.
Prospective investors should be aware that situations involving uncertainties as to the value of portfolio positions could have an adverse effect on the Fund's NAV if the judgments of the Adviser or the Investment Managers regarding appropriate valuations, should prove incorrect.
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The Advisers
The Advisers or their affiliates provide or may provide investment advisory and other services to various entities. The Advisers and certain of their investment professionals and other principals, may also carry on substantial investment activities for their own accounts, for the accounts of family members and for other accounts (collectively, with the other accounts advised by the Advisers and their affiliates, "Other Accounts"). The Fund has no interest in these activities. As a result of the foregoing, the Adviser and the investment professionals who, on behalf of the Adviser, will manage the Fund's investment portfolio will be engaged in substantial activities other than on behalf of the Fund, may have differing economic interests in respect of such activities, and may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and activity between the Fund and Other Accounts. Such persons will devote only so much of their time as in their judgment is necessary and appropriate.
There also may be circumstances under which the Advisers will cause one or more Other Accounts to commit a larger percentage of its assets to an investment opportunity than to which the Advisers will commit the Fund's assets. There also may be circumstances under which the Advisers will consider participation by Other Accounts in investment opportunities in which the Advisers do not intend to invest on behalf of the Fund, or vice versa.
Allocation decisions may arise when there is more demand from the Fund and other StepStone clients for a particular investment opportunity, such as the capacity in an Investment Fund or a
Co-Investment,
than supply. StepStone employs an allocation policy designed to ensure that all of its clients will be treated fairly and equitably over time.
With respect to primary fund investments, StepStone uses its best efforts to defer the allocation decision to the relevant Investment Manager, mitigating the potential conflict. In secondary investments, StepStone typically
47
manages the allocation of the transaction across its clients. Under the StepStone allocation policy, if clients are similarly situated, considering all relevant facts and circumstances, allocations will be made pro rata based on the annual investment budget specified in each client's annual portfolio plan for secondaries. Allocation of
Co-Investments
is a hybrid of StepStone's approach on primary fund investments and secondaries; in certain cases,
Co-Investments
are allocated by the general partner leading the transaction, while in others StepStone has the ability to allocate the transaction across its clients, in which case the allocation method outlined with respect to secondaries is used. Due to these processes, StepStone does not believe there is a material risk of a conflict arising in the area of allocations that would disadvantage the Fund relative to another StepStone client.
Importantly, StepStone's allocation process is managed independently by StepStone's Finance team and ratified by the StepStone's Legal and Compliance department.
The 1940 Act imposes significant limits on
co-Investments
with affiliates of the Fund. The Advisers and the Fund have obtained an exemptive order from the SEC that permits the Fund to
co-invest
alongside its affiliates in Private Market Assets. However, the SEC exemptive order contains certain conditions that limit or restrict the Fund's ability to participate in such Private Market Assets, including, without limitation, in the event that the available capacity with respect to a Private Market Asset is less than the aggregate recommended allocations to the Fund. In such cases, the Fund may participate in an investment to a lesser extent or, under certain circumstances, may not participate in the investment.
The Adviser also intends to compensate, from its own resources, third-party securities dealers, other industry professionals and any affiliates thereof ("financial intermediaries") in connection with the distribution of Shares in the Fund or for their ongoing servicing of Shares acquired by their clients. Such compensation may take various forms, including a fixed fee, a fee determined by a formula that takes into account the amount of client assets invested in the Fund, the timing of investment or the overall NAV of the Fund, or a fee determined in some other method by negotiation between the Adviser and such financial intermediaries. Financial intermediaries may also charge investors, at the financial intermediaries' discretion, a placement fee based on the purchase price of Shares purchased by the investor. As a result of the various payments that financial intermediaries may receive from investors and the Adviser, the amount of compensation that a financial intermediary may receive in connection with the sale of Shares in the Fund may be greater than the compensation it may receive for the distribution of other investment products. This difference in compensation may create an incentive for a financial intermediary to recommend the Fund over another investment product.
Financial intermediaries may be subject to certain conflicts of interest with respect to the Fund. For example, the Fund, the Advisers, Investment Funds or portfolio companies or investment vehicles managed or sponsored by the Advisers or Investment Managers may (i) purchase securities or other assets directly or indirectly from, (ii) enter into financial or other transactions with or (iii) otherwise convey benefits through commercial activities to a financial intermediary. As such, certain conflicts of interest may exist between such persons and a financial intermediary. Such transactions may occur in the future and generally there is no limit to the amount of such transactions that may occur.
Financial intermediaries may perform investment advisory and other services for other investment entities with investment objectives and policies similar to those of the Fund or an Investment Fund. Such entities may compete with the Fund or the Investment Fund for investment opportunities and may invest directly in such investment opportunities. Financial intermediaries that invest in an Investment Fund or a portfolio company may do so on terms that are more favorable than those of the Fund.
Financial intermediaries that act as selling agents for the Fund also may act as distributor for an Investment Fund in which the Fund invests and may receive compensation in connection with such activities. Such compensation would be in addition to the placement fees described above. Financial intermediaries may pay all or a portion of the fees paid to it to certain of their affiliates, including, without limitation, financial advisors whose clients purchase Shares of the Fund. Such fee arrangements may create an incentive for a financial intermediary to encourage investment in the Fund, independent of a prospective Shareholder's objectives.
A financial intermediary may provide financing, investment banking services or other services to third parties and receive fees therefore in connection with transactions in which such third parties have interests which may conflict with those of the Fund or an Investment Fund. A financial intermediary may give advice or provide financing to such third parties that may cause them to take actions adverse to the Fund, an Investment Fund or a portfolio company. A
48
financial intermediary may directly or indirectly provide services to, or serve in other roles for compensation for, the Fund, an Investment Fund or a portfolio company. These services and roles may include (either currently or in the future) managing trustee, managing member, general partner, investment manager or advisor, investment
sub-advisor,
distributor, broker, dealer, selling agent and investor servicer, custodian, transfer agent, fund administrator, prime broker, recordkeeper, shareholder servicer, interfund lending servicer, Fund accountant, transaction (
e.g.
, a swap) counterparty and/or lender.
In addition, issuers of securities held by the Fund or a Private Market Asset may have publicly or privately traded securities in which a financial intermediary is an investor or makes a market. The trading activities of financial intermediaries generally will be carried out without reference to positions held by the Fund or a Private Market Asset and may have an effect on the value of the positions so held, or may result in a financial intermediary having an interest in the issuer adverse to the Fund or the Private Market Asset. No financial intermediary is prohibited from purchasing or selling the securities of, otherwise investing in or financing, issuers in which the Fund or a Private Market Asset has an interest.
A financial intermediary may sponsor, organize, promote or otherwise become involved with other opportunities to invest directly or indirectly in the Fund or an Investment Fund. Such opportunities may be subject to different terms than those applicable to an investment in the Fund or the Investment Fund, including with respect to fees and the right to receive information.
Set out below are practices that the Advisers may follow. Although the Advisers anticipate that the Investment Managers will follow practices similar to those described below, no guarantee or assurances can be made that similar practices will be followed or that an Investment Manager will abide by, and comply with, its stated practices. An Investment Manager may provide investment advisory and other services, directly or through affiliates, to various entities and accounts other than Private Market Assets.
Participation in Investment Activities
Directors, principals, officers, employees and affiliates of the Advisers may buy and sell securities or other investments for their own accounts and may have actual or potential conflicts of interest with respect to investments made on behalf of the Fund or a Private Market Asset in which the Fund invests. As a result of differing trading and investment strategies or constraints, positions may be taken by directors, principals, officers, employees and affiliates of the Advisers, or by the Advisers for the Other Accounts, or any of their respective affiliates on behalf of their own other accounts ("Investment Manager Accounts") that are the same as, different from or made at a different time than, positions taken for the Fund or a Private Market Asset.
Other Matters
An Investment Manager may, from time to time, cause an Investment Fund to effect certain principal transactions in securities with one or more Investment Manager Accounts, subject to certain conditions. Future investment activities of the Investment Managers, or their affiliates, and the principals, partners, directors, officers or employees of the foregoing, may give rise to additional conflicts of interest.
The Advisers and their affiliates will not purchase securities or other property from, or sell securities or other property to the Fund, except that the Fund may, in accordance with rules under the 1940 Act, engage in transactions with accounts that are affiliated with the Fund as a result of common officers, directors, advisers, members or managing general partners. These transactions would be effected in circumstances in which the Advisers determined that it would be appropriate for the Fund to purchase and another client to sell, or the Fund to sell and another client to purchase, the same security or instrument on the same day.
Future investment activities of the Advisers and their affiliates and their principals, partners, members, directors, officers or employees may give rise to conflicts of interest other than those described above.
49
PURCHASES OF SHARES
Purchase Terms
The Fund currently offers four classes of Shares. Effective January 17, 2025, Class T Shares will be converted into Class S Shares and Class T Shares will no longer be offered. Investors purchasing Class T Shares or Class S Shares in the Fund may be charged a sales load of up to 3.50% of the investment amount. A Selling Agent may, in its discretion, waive all or a portion of the sales load for certain investors.
The minimum initial investment for Class T Shares, Class S Shares, and Class D Shares in the Fund from each investor is at least $50,000, and the minimum additional investment in the Fund is $5,000. The minimum initial and additional investments may be reduced at the Adviser's discretion. The Fund reserves the right to repurchase all of the Shares held by a Shareholder if the Shareholder's account balance in the Fund, as a result of repurchase or transfer requests by the Shareholder, is less than $10,000.
The minimum initial investment for Class I Shares in the Fund from each investor is at least $1,000,000, and the minimum additional investment in the Fund is $100,000, except for additional purchases pursuant to our dividend reinvestment plan. The minimum initial and additional investments may be reduced at the Adviser's discretion. The Fund reserves the right to repurchase all of the Shares held by a Shareholder if the Shareholder's account balance in the Fund, as a result of repurchase or transfer requests by the Shareholder, is less than $10,000.
Shares will generally be offered for purchase on each business day, except that Shares may be offered more or less frequently as determined by the Fund in its sole discretion. The Board may also suspend or terminate offerings of Shares at any time.
Except as otherwise described in the following paragraph, initial and any additional purchases of Shares of the Fund by any Shareholder must be made via wire transfer of funds or another method of immediately available funds. Payment for each initial or subsequent additional purchases of Shares must be made in one installment. Except as otherwise described in the following paragraph, initial and subsequent purchases of Shares will be payable in cash. Orders will be priced at the appropriate price next computed after the order is received by the Administrator. The Fund reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to accept or reject any subscription to purchase Shares in the Fund at any time. In the event that cleared funds and/or a properly completed investor application are not received from a prospective investor prior to the
cut-off
time of 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time pertaining to a particular closing, the Fund may hold the relevant funds and investor application for processing in the next closing.
Purchases
In-Kind
Under certain circumstances, you may purchase shares of the Fund by transferring securities to the Fund in exchange for Shares
("in-kind
purchase").
In-kind
purchases may be made only upon the approval of the Adviser and upon the determination that the securities are acceptable investments for the Fund. The Fund reserves the right to amend or terminate this practice at any time. Please contact the Fund at (704)
215-4300
before sending any securities.
Eligible Investors
Each investor in the Fund is required to certify to the Fund that the Shares are being acquired for the account of an "accredited investor" as defined in Rule 501(a) of Regulation D promulgated under the 1933 Act. Investors who are "accredited investors" are referred to in this Prospectus as "Eligible Investors." Existing Shareholders who subscribe for additional Shares are required to qualify as Eligible Investors at the time of each additional purchase. Qualifications that must be met in becoming a Shareholder are set out in the investor application. The Distributor and/or any Selling Agent may impose additional eligibility requirements for investors who purchase Shares through the Distributor or such Selling Agent. The Distributor or any registered investment adviser (a "RIA") who offers Class I Shares may impose additional eligibility requirements on investors who purchase Class I Shares from the Distributor through such RIA. See "Plan of Distribution."
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Outstanding Securities
The following table sets forth information about the Fund's outstanding Shares as of October 25, 2024:
Amount
Authorized
Amount Held by the
Fund for its Own
Account
Amount
Outstanding
Class T Shares
Unlimited None 369,418.595
Class S Shares
Unlimited None 12,045,776.899
Class D Shares
Unlimited None 1,132,289.136
Class I Shares
Unlimited None 48,147,074.080
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
The Fund is offered on a continuous basis. Distribution Services, LLC acts as the Distributor of the Fund, subject to various conditions. The minimum initial investment is $50,000 for Class T Shares, Class S Shares, and Class D Shares. The minimum initial investments for Class I Shares is $1,000,000. Subscriptions will be effective only upon the Fund's acceptance, and the Fund reserves the right to reject any subscription in whole or in part in certain limited circumstances (including, without limitation, when it has reason to believe that a purchase of Shares would be unlawful). Shares will be sold only to Eligible Investors (as defined herein). Shares will not be listed on any national securities exchange. Shares are not available in certificated form.
The Fund has entered into a Distribution Agreement under which the Distributor, with principal offices at 235 West Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212, distributes the Shares of the Fund. The Distributor is authorized to enter into
Sub-Distribution
Agreements with brokers, dealers and certain RIAs and other financial intermediaries to effect the distribution of Shares of the Fund. To operate in a manner consistent with Rule
12b-1
under the 1940 Act, the Fund pays a distribution and/or shareholder servicing fee out of the net assets of Class T Shares and Class S Shares at the annual rate of 0.85% of the aggregate NAV of Class T Shares and Class S Shares, respectively, determined and accrued on each business day (before any repurchases of Shares). To operate in a manner consistent with Rule
12b-1
under the 1940 Act, the Fund pays a shareholder servicing fee out of the net assets of Class D Shares at the annual rate of 0.25% of the aggregate NAV of Class D Shares. Class I Shares are not subject to any distribution and/or shareholder servicing fee.
Selling Agents may receive the Distribution and/or Shareholder Servicing Fee which they will use to compensate their brokerage representatives for Class T Shares, Class S Shares or Class D Shares sales and support. Sales Loads may be assessed at the time of purchase, on Class T Shares and on Class S Shares, up to a maximum of 3.50% of the investment amount. Class I and Class D Shares are not subject to any sales load at the time of purchase.
Class I Shares may be purchased through an RIA that offers Shares in conjunction with a "wrap" fee, asset allocation or other managed asset program sponsored by such RIA.
The Adviser may pay additional compensation out of its own resources
(i.e.
, not Fund assets) to certain brokers, dealers or other financial intermediaries that have agreed to participate in the distribution of the Fund's Shares, including the Distributor, for sales and wholesaling support, and also for other services including due diligence support, account maintenance, provision of information and support services.
REPURCHASES AND TRANSFERS OF SHARES
No Right of Redemption
No Shareholder or other person holding Shares acquired from a Shareholder has the right to require the Fund to repurchase any Shares. No public market for Shares exists, and none is expected to develop in the future. Consequently, Shareholders may not be able to liquidate their investment other than as a result of repurchases of Shares by the Fund. Liquidity in assets that are not publicly traded is a rapidly evolving area, and the Fund may seek to create opportunities for Shareholders to achieve liquidity through any secondary market, listing service or similar mechanism that may become available.
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Repurchase of Shares
The Advisers intend to seek the Board's approval to offer a quarterly share repurchase program where the total amount of aggregate repurchases of Shares will be up to 5% of the Fund's outstanding Shares per quarter pursuant to the procedures described below under "Share Repurchase Procedures." The Advisers intend to recommend to the Board of Trustees that the Fund offer to repurchase Shares from Shareholders quarterly, with such repurchases to typically occur on March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15 of each year. In determining whether to accept a recommendation to conduct a repurchase offer at any such time, the Board of Trustees will consider the following factors, among others:
whether any Shareholders have requested to tender Shares to the Fund;
the liquidity of the Fund's assets (including fees and costs associated with redeeming or otherwise withdrawing from Private Market Assets);
the investment plans and working capital and reserve requirements of the Fund;
the relative economies of scale of the tenders with respect to the size of the Fund;
the history of the Fund in repurchasing Shares;
the availability of information as to the value of the underlying Private Market Assets in the Fund's Shares;
the existing conditions of the securities markets and the economy generally, as well as political, national or international developments or current affairs;
any anticipated tax consequences to the Fund of any proposed repurchases of Shares; and
the recommendations of the Adviser.
Share Repurchase Procedures
The Fund will repurchase Shares from Shareholders pursuant to written tenders on terms and conditions that the Board of Trustees determines to be fair to the Fund and to all Shareholders. When the Board of Trustees determines that the Fund will repurchase Shares, notice will be provided to Shareholders describing the terms of the offer, containing information Shareholders should consider in deciding whether to participate in the repurchase opportunity and containing information on how to participate. Shareholders deciding whether to tender their Shares during the period that a repurchase offer is open may obtain the Fund's NAV per share by contacting the Adviser during the period, calling
877-772-7724
or by going to www.stepstonepw.com. If a repurchase offer is oversubscribed by Shareholders who tender Shares, the Fund may repurchase a pro rata portion by value of the Shares tendered by each Shareholder, extend the repurchase offer, or take any other action with respect to the repurchase offer permitted by applicable law.
Repurchases of Shares from Shareholders by the Fund will be paid in cash as described below. Repurchases will be effective after receipt and acceptance by the Fund of eligible tenders of Shares from Shareholders by the applicable repurchase offer deadline. The Fund does not impose any charges in connection with repurchases of Shares except with respect to Shares held less than one year.
In light of liquidity constraints associated with the Fund's investments, the Fund expects to employ the following repurchase procedures:
Key Date
When Key Date Will Occur
Definition
"Commencement Date" Approximately 35 days prior to the "Valuation Date" (as defined below). The date as of which the repurchase offer will commence.
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Key Date
When Key Date Will Occur
Definition
"Notice Date"
Generally expected to be March 15, June 15, September 15, or December 15. The date by which each Shareholder desiring to tender Shares for repurchase must provide proper notice to the Fund.
"Tender Withdrawal Date"
Generally expected to be March 15, June 15, September 15, or December 15. The date by which a Shareholder who has previously provided proper notice to the Fund of such Shareholder's desire to tender Shares may properly notify the Fund of such Shareholder's desire to withdraw its previous tender request.
"Valuation Date"
Generally expected to be March 15, June 15, September 15, or December 15. The date as of which the NAV of the Shares is calculated, which is generally expected to be March 15, June 15, September 15, or December 15 or, if the Fund properly authorizes any extension of the repurchase offer, the last day of which the Notice Date occurs.
These dates are subject to change in the event that the Fund properly authorizes an extension of time during which the repurchase offer is pending. In the event of any such extension, Shareholders will be notified in writing by the Fund. In no case will the Fund make full payment of all consideration offered in the repurchase offer later than eight (8) days after the last day that Shares may be tendered pursuant to the repurchase offer.
Upon its acceptance of tendered Shares for repurchase, the Fund will maintain daily on its books a segregated account consisting of (1) cash, (2) liquid securities or (3) interests in Private Market Assets that the Fund has requested be redeemed (or any combination of them), in an amount equal to the aggregate estimated unpaid dollar amount of the Shares accepted for repurchase.
Payment for repurchased Shares may require the Fund to liquidate portfolio holdings earlier than the Adviser would otherwise have caused these holdings to be liquidated, potentially resulting in losses, and may increase the Fund's investment related expenses as a result of higher portfolio turnover rates. The Adviser intends to take measures, subject to policies as may be established by the Board of Trustees, to attempt to avoid or minimize potential losses and expenses resulting from the repurchase of Shares.
A Shareholder tendering for repurchase only a portion of the Shareholder's Shares will be required to maintain an account balance of at least $10,000 after giving effect to the repurchase. If a Shareholder tenders an amount that would cause the Shareholder's account balance to fall below the required minimum, the Fund reserves the right to repurchase all of a Shareholder's Shares at any time if the aggregate value of such Shareholder's Shares is, at the time of such compulsory repurchase, less than the minimum initial investment applicable for the Fund. This right of the Fund to repurchase Shares compulsorily may be a factor which Shareholders may wish to consider when determining the extent of any tender for purchase by a Fund.
The Fund may also repurchase Shares of a Shareholder without consent or other action by the Shareholder or other person if the Fund determines that:
the Shares have been transferred or have vested in any person other than by operation of law as the result of the death, bankruptcy, insolvency, adjudicated incompetence or dissolution of the Shareholder or with the consent of the Fund, as described below;
ownership of Shares by a Shareholder or other person is likely to cause the Fund to be in violation of, require registration of any Shares under, or subject the Fund to additional registration or regulation under, the securities, commodities or other laws of the United States or any other relevant jurisdiction;
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continued ownership of Shares by a Shareholder may be harmful or injurious to the business or reputation of the Fund, the Board of Trustees, the Adviser or any of their affiliates, or may subject the Fund or any Shareholder to an undue risk of adverse tax or other fiscal or regulatory consequences;
any of the representations and warranties made by a Shareholder or other person in connection with the acquisition of Shares was not true when made or has ceased to be true;
with respect to a Shareholder subject to Special Laws or Regulations, the Shareholder is likely to be subject to additional regulatory or compliance requirements under these Special Laws or Regulations by virtue of continuing to hold any Shares; or
it would be in the best interests of the Fund for the Fund to repurchase the Shares.
In the event that the Advisers or any of their affiliates holds Shares in the capacity of a Shareholder, the Shares may be tendered for repurchase in connection with any repurchase offer made by the Fund. Shareholders who require minimum annual distributions from a retirement account through which they hold Shares should consider the Fund's schedule for repurchase offers and submit repurchase requests accordingly.
Transfers of Shares
Shares may be transferred only:
by operation of law as a result of the death, bankruptcy, insolvency, adjudicated incompetence or dissolution of the Shareholder;
under certain limited circumstances, with the written consent of the Fund, which may be withheld in its sole discretion and is expected to be granted, if at all, only under extenuating circumstances; or
The Fund generally will not consent to a transfer of Shares by a Shareholder unless (i) the transferring Shareholder has been a Shareholder for at least six months, (ii) the transfer is to a transferee who represents that it is an Eligible Investor and (iii) after a partial transfer, the value of the Shares held in the account of each of the transferee and transferor would be at least equal to the amount of the applicable minimum initial investment in the Fund. A Shareholder transferring Shares may be charged reasonable expenses, including attorneys' and accountants' fees, incurred by the Fund in connection with the transfer. In connection with any request to transfer Shares, the Fund may require the Shareholder requesting the transfer to obtain, at the Shareholder's expense, an opinion of counsel selected by the Fund as to such matters as the Fund may reasonably request.
In subscribing for Shares, a Shareholder agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Fund, the Board of Trustees, the Advisers, each other Shareholder and any of their affiliates against all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses (including legal or other expenses incurred in investigating or defending against any losses, claims, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses or any judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement), joint or several, to which those persons may become subject by reason of, or arising from, any transfer made by that Shareholder in violation of these provisions or any misrepresentation made by that Shareholder or a substituted Shareholder in connection with any such transfer.
DISTRIBUTION POLICY
The Adviser intends to recommend to the Board of Trustees that the Fund make semi-annual distributions.
As required in connection with the Fund's intention to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code, the Fund will, at a minimum, make distributions annually in amounts that represent substantially all of the net investment income and net capital gains, if any, earned each year. The NAV of each Share that you own will be reduced by the amount of the distributions or dividends that you receive from that Share.
It is likely that many of the Private Market Assets in whose securities the Fund invests will not pay any dividends, and this, together with the Fund's expenses, means that there can be no assurance the Fund will have substantial income or pay dividends. The Fund is not a suitable investment for any investor who requires regular dividend income.
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Automatic Dividend Reinvestment Plan
Pursuant to the dividend reinvestment plan established by the Fund (the "DRIP"), each Shareholder whose Shares are registered in its own name will automatically be a participant under the DRIP and have all income dividends and/or capital gains distributions automatically reinvested in additional Shares unless such Shareholder specifically elects to receive all income, dividends and/or capital gain distributions in cash. A Shareholder is free to change this election at any time. If, however, a Shareholder requests to change its election within 45 days prior to a distribution, the request will be effective only with respect to distributions after the
45-day
period. A Shareholder whose Shares are registered in the name of a nominee must contact the nominee regarding its status under the DRIP, including whether such nominee will participate on such Shareholder's behalf.
A Shareholder may elect to:
reinvest both dividends and capital gain distributions;
receive dividends in cash and reinvest capital gain distributions; or
receive both dividends and capital gain distributions in cash.
Generally, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, Shareholders receiving Shares under the DRIP will be treated as having received a distribution equal to the amount payable to them in cash as a distribution had the Shareholder not participated in the DRIP.
Shares will be issued pursuant to the DRIP at their NAV determined on the next valuation date following the
ex-dividend
date (the last date of a dividend period on which an investor can purchase Shares and still be entitled to receive the dividend). There is no sales load or other charge for reinvestment, but shareholder servicing fees and distribution fees will be charged where applicable. A request must be received by the Fund before the record date to be effective for that dividend or capital gain distribution. The Fund may terminate the DRIP at any time. Any expenses of the DRIP will be borne by the Fund. The reinvestment of dividends and distributions pursuant to the DRIP will increase the Fund's net assets on which the Management Fee is payable to the Adviser.
VOTING
Each Shareholder has the right to cast a number of votes equal to the number of Shares held by such Shareholder at a meeting of Shareholders called by the Fund's Board of Trustees. Shareholders will be entitled to vote on any matter on which shareholders of a registered investment company organized as a corporation would be entitled to vote, including certain elections of a Trustee and approval of the Advisory Agreement, in each case to the extent that voting by shareholders is required by the 1940 Act. Notwithstanding their ability to exercise their voting privileges, Shareholders in their capacity as such are not entitled to participate in the management or control of the Fund's business and may not act for or bind the Fund.
TAX ASPECTS
The following is a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations relevant to the acquisition, holding and disposition of Shares. This discussion offers only a brief outline of the U.S. federal income tax consequences of investing in the Fund and is based upon present provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), the regulations promulgated thereunder, and judicial and administrative ruling authorities, all of which are subject to change, which change may be retroactive. The discussion is limited to persons who hold their Shares as capital assets (generally, property held for investment) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This summary does not address all of the U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to a particular Shareholder or to Shareholders who may be subject to special treatment under U.S. federal income tax laws, such as U.S. financial institutions, insurance companies, broker-dealers, traders in securities that have made an election for U.S. federal income tax purposes to
mark-to-market
their securities holdings,
tax-exempt
organizations, partnerships, Shareholders who are not "United States Persons" (as defined in the Code), Shareholders liable for the alternative minimum tax,
55
persons holding Shares through partnerships or other pass-through entities, or persons that have a functional currency (as defined in Section 985 of the Code) other than the U.S. dollar. No ruling has been or will be obtained from the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") regarding any matter relating to the Fund or the Shares. No assurance can be given that the IRS would not assert a position contrary to any of the tax aspects described below. The discussion set forth herein does not constitute tax advice. Prospective Shareholders and Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors as to the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, holding and disposition of Shares of the Fund, as well as the effects of state, local and
non-U.S.
tax laws.
UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, REFERENCES IN THIS DISCUSSION TO THE FUND'S INVESTMENTS, ACTIVITIES, INCOME, GAIN AND LOSS, INCLUDE THE DIRECT INVESTMENTS OR
CO-INVESTMENTS,
ACTIVITIES, INCOME, GAIN AND LOSS OF THE FUND, AS WELL AS THOSE INDIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE FUND AS A RESULT OF THE FUND'S INVESTMENT IN ANY INVESTMENT FUND (OR OTHER ENTITY) THAT IS PROPERLY CLASSIFIED AS A PARTNERSHIP OR DISREGARDED ENTITY FOR U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX PURPOSES (AND NOT AN ASSOCIATION OR PUBLICLY TRADED PARTNERSHIP TAXABLE AS A CORPORATION).
Qualification as a Regulated Investment Company; Tax Treatment
It is expected that the Fund will qualify for treatment as a RIC under the Code. If the Fund so qualifies and distributes (or is deemed to have distributed) each taxable year to Shareholders dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes of an amount at least equal to the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes, among other items, dividends, interest and net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses, but determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) plus 90% of any net
tax-exempt
income for the Fund's taxable year, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal corporate income taxes on any amounts it distributes as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes, including distributions (if any) derived from the Fund's net capital gain (
i.e
., the excess of the net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) to Shareholders. The Fund intends to distribute to its Shareholders, at least annually, substantially all of its investment company taxable income, net
tax-exempt
income, and net capital gains.
In addition, amounts not distributed on a timely basis in accordance with a separate calendar year distribution requirement are subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax. To prevent imposition of the excise tax, the Fund generally must be considered to have distributed dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes in respect of each calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gains or losses), determined on a calendar year basis, (2) 98.2% of its capital gain net income, determined under prescribed rules for this purpose (which is generally determined on the basis of the
one-year
period ending on October 31st of such calendar year, and adjusted for certain ordinary losses), and (3) any ordinary income and capital gain net income from previous years that was not distributed during those years and on which the Fund incurred no U.S. federal income tax. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, dividends declared by the Fund in October, November or December to Shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month and paid during January of the following calendar year are taxable to such Shareholders, and deductible by the Fund, as if paid on December 31 of the calendar year declared. The Fund generally intends to make distributions sufficient to avoid imposition of the excise tax, although there can be no assurance that it will be able to do so.
In order to qualify as a RIC, the Fund must, among other things: (a) derive in each taxable year (the "gross income test") at least 90% of its gross income from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stocks, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stocks, securities or currencies, and (ii) net income from interests in "qualified publicly traded partnerships" (as defined in the Code) (all such income items, "qualifying gross income"); and (b) diversify its holdings (the "asset diversification test") so that, at the end of each quarter of the taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the value of the Fund's total assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. Government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities of any one issuer limited for the purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. Government securities or the securities of other RICs) of a single issuer, two or more issuers that the Fund controls and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses or one or more "qualified publicly traded partnerships" (as defined in the Code).
56
For the purpose of determining whether the Fund satisfies the gross income test, the character of the Fund's distributive share of items of income, gain and loss derived through any Private Market Assets that are properly treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes (other than certain publicly traded partnerships) generally will be determined as if the Fund realized such tax items in the same manner as realized by those Private Market Assets. Similarly, for the purpose of the asset diversification test, the Fund, in appropriate circumstances, will "look through" to the assets held by such Investment Funds.
A RIC that fails the gross income test for a taxable year shall nevertheless be considered to have satisfied the test for such taxable year if (i) the RIC satisfies certain procedural requirements, and (ii) the RIC's failure to satisfy the gross income test is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. However, in such case, a tax is imposed on the RIC for the taxable year in which, absent the application of the above cure provision, it would have failed the gross income test equal to the amount by which the RIC's
non-qualifying
gross income exceeds
one-ninth
of the RIC's qualifying gross income, each as determined for purposes of applying the gross income test for such taxable year.
Additionally, a RIC that fails the asset diversification test as of the end of a quarter of a taxable year shall nevertheless be considered to have satisfied the test as of the end of such quarter in the following circumstances. If the RIC's failure to satisfy the asset diversification test at the end of the quarter is due to the ownership of assets the total value of which does not exceed the lesser of (i) one percent of the total value of the RIC's assets at the end of such quarter and (ii) $10,000,000 (a "
de minimis
failure"), the RIC shall be considered to have satisfied the asset diversification test as of the end of such quarter if, within six months of the last day of the quarter in which the RIC identifies that it failed the asset diversification test (or such other prescribed time period), the RIC either disposes of assets in order to satisfy the asset diversification test, or otherwise satisfies the asset diversification test.
In the case of a failure to satisfy the asset diversification test at the end of a quarter of a taxable year under circumstances that do not constitute a
de minimis
failure, a RIC shall nevertheless be considered to have satisfied the asset diversification test as of the end of such quarter if (i) the RIC satisfies certain procedural requirements; (ii) the RIC's failure to satisfy the asset diversification test is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect; and (iii) within six months of the last day of the quarter in which the RIC identifies that it failed the asset diversification test (or such other prescribed time period), the RIC either disposes of the assets that caused the asset diversification failure in order to satisfy the asset diversification test, or otherwise satisfies the asset diversification test. However, in such case, a tax is imposed on the RIC, at the highest stated corporate income tax rate, on the net income generated by the assets that caused the RIC to fail the asset diversification test during the period for which the asset diversification test was not met. In all events, however, such tax will not be less than $50,000.
If before the end of any taxable quarter of its taxable year, the Fund believes that it may fail the asset diversification test, the Fund may seek to take certain actions to avert such a failure. However, the action typically taken by RICs to avert such a failure (
e.g.
, the disposition of assets causing the asset diversification discrepancy) may be difficult for the Fund to pursue because of the limited liquidity of the interests in the Private Market Assets. While the Code generally affords the Fund a
30-day
period after the end of the relevant quarter in which to cure a diversification failure by disposing of
non-diversified
assets, the constraints on the Fund's ability to do so may limit utilization of this statutory
30-day
cure period and, possibly, the extended cure period provided by the Code as discussed above.
If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC, it will be treated for tax purposes as an ordinary corporation. In that case, all of its taxable income would be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions made to Shareholders. In addition, all distributions (including distributions of net capital gain) made to Shareholders generally would be characterized as dividend income to the extent of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits.
Distributions
The Fund will ordinarily declare and pay distributions from its net investment income and distribute net realized capital gains, if any, at least once a year. The Fund, however, may make distributions on a more frequent basis to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code, in all events in a manner consistent with the provisions of the 1940 Act. After the end of each calendar year, Shareholders will be provided a Form 1099, containing information regarding the amount and character of distributions received from the Fund during the calendar year.
57
Shareholders normally will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, and any state and/or local income taxes, on any distributions that they receive from the Fund. Distributions from net investment income and net short-term capital gain generally will be characterized as ordinary income (which generally cannot be offset with capital losses from other sources), and, to the extent attributable to dividends from U.S. corporations, may be eligible for a dividends-received deduction for Shareholders that are corporations. Further, to the extent the dividends are attributable to dividends from U.S. corporations and certain foreign corporations, such dividends may, in certain cases, be eligible for treatment as "qualified dividend income," which is generally subject to tax at rates equivalent to long-term capital gain tax rates, by Shareholders that are individuals. Distributions from net capital gain (typically referred to as a "capital gain dividend") will be characterized as long-term capital gain, regardless of how long Shares have been held by the Shareholder and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction or treatment as "qualified dividend income." However, if the Shareholder received any long-term capital gain distributions in respect of the repurchased Shares (including, for this purpose, amounts credited as undistributed capital gains in respect of those Shares) and held the repurchased Shares for six months or less, any loss realized by the Shareholder upon the repurchase will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent that it offsets the long-term capital gain distributions. Distributions by the Fund that are or are considered to be in excess of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits for the relevant period will be treated as a
tax-free
return of capital to the extent of (and in reduction of) a Shareholder's tax basis in its Shares and any such amount in excess of such tax basis will be treated as gain from the sale of Shares, as discussed below. Similarly, as discussed below at "Income from Repurchases and Transfers of Shares," if a repurchase of a Shareholder's Shares does not qualify for sale or exchange treatment, the Shareholder may, in connection with such repurchase, be treated as having received, in whole or in part, a taxable dividend, a
tax-free
return of capital or taxable capital gain, depending on (i) whether the Fund has sufficient earnings and profits to support a dividend and (ii) the Shareholder's tax basis in the relevant Shares repurchased. In such case, the tax basis in the Shares repurchased by the Fund, to the extent remaining after any dividend and return of capital distribution with respect to those Shares, will be transferred to any remaining Shares held by the Shareholder.
The tax treatment of the Fund's distributions from net investment income and capital gains generally will be the same whether the Shareholder takes such distributions in cash or reinvests them to buy additional Shares.
The Fund may elect to retain its net capital gain or a portion thereof for investment and be subject to tax at corporate rates on the amount retained. In such case, the Fund may report the retained amount as undistributed capital gains to its Shareholders, who will be treated as if each Shareholder received a distribution of his or her
pro rata
share of such gain, with the result that each Shareholder will (i) be required to report his or her
pro rata
share of such gain on his or her tax return as long-term capital gain, (ii) receive a refundable tax credit for his or her
pro rata
share of tax paid by the Fund on the gain, and (iii) increase the tax basis for his or her Shares by an amount equal to the deemed distribution less the tax credit.
For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2026, individuals (and certain other
non-corporate
entities) are generally eligible for a 20% deduction with respect to taxable ordinary real estate investment trust ("REIT") dividends. Applicable Treasury regulations allow RICs to pass through to shareholders such taxable ordinary REIT dividends. Accordingly, individual (and certain other
non-corporate)
Shareholders of the Fund that have received such taxable ordinary REIT dividends may be able to take advantage of this 20% deduction with respect to any such amounts passed through.
Certain distributions reported by the Fund as section 163(j) interest dividends may be treated as interest income by Shareholders for purposes of the tax rules applicable to interest expense limitations under Section 163(j) of the Code. Such treatment by the Shareholder is generally subject to holding period requirements and other potential limitations, although the holding period requirements are generally not applicable to dividends declared by money market funds and certain other funds that declare dividends daily and pay such dividends on a monthly or more frequent basis. The amount that the Fund is eligible to report as a Section 163(j) dividend for a tax year is generally limited to the excess of the Fund's business interest income over the sum of the Fund's (i) business interest expense and (ii) other deductions properly allocable to the Fund's business interest income.
An additional 3.8% tax will be imposed in respect of the net investment income of certain individuals and on the undistributed net investment income of certain estates and trusts to the extent such person's "modified adjusted gross income" (in the case of an individual) or "adjusted gross income" (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts. For these purposes, "net investment income" will generally include, among other things, dividends (including dividends paid with respect to the Shares to the extent paid out of the Fund's current or
58
accumulated earnings and profits as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles) and net gain attributable to the disposition of property not held in a trade or business (which could include net gain from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of Shares), but will be reduced by any deductions properly allocable to such income or net gain.
Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisors regarding the additional taxation of net investment income.
Income from Repurchases and Transfers of Shares
A repurchase or transfer of Shares by the Fund generally will be treated as a taxable transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes, either as a "sale or exchange," or, under certain circumstances, as a "dividend." In general, the transaction should be treated as a sale or exchange of the Shares if the receipt of cash results in a meaningful reduction in the Shareholder's proportionate interest in the Fund or results in a "complete redemption" of the Shareholder's Shares, in each case applying certain constructive ownership rules in the Code. Alternatively, if a Shareholder does not tender all of his or her Shares, such repurchase may not be treated as a sale or exchange for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and the gross amount of such repurchase may constitute a dividend to the Shareholder to the extent of such Shareholder's
pro rata
share of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits.
If the repurchase or transfer of a Shareholder's Shares qualifies for sale or exchange treatment, the Shareholder will recognize gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount received in exchange for the repurchased or transferred Shares and the adjusted tax basis of those Shares. Such gain or loss will be capital gain or loss if the repurchased or transferred Shares were held by the Shareholder as capital assets, and generally will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the repurchased or transferred Shares were held by the Shareholder for more than one year, or as short-term capital gain or loss if the repurchased or transferred Shares were held by the Shareholder for one year or less.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any capital loss realized by a Shareholder will be disallowed to the extent the Shares repurchased or transferred by the Fund are replaced (including through reinvestment of dividends) either with Shares or substantially identical securities within a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the repurchase or transfer of the Shares. If disallowed, the loss will be reflected in an upward adjustment to the basis of the Shares acquired. The deductibility of capital losses may be subject to statutory limitations.
If the repurchase or transfer of a Shareholder's Shares does not qualify for sale or exchange treatment, the Shareholder may be treated as having received, in whole or in part, a taxable dividend, a
tax-free
return of capital or taxable capital gain, depending on (i) whether the Fund has sufficient earnings and profits to support a dividend and (ii) the Shareholder's tax basis in the relevant Shares. The tax basis in the Shares repurchased or transferred by the Fund, to the extent remaining after any dividend and return of capital distribution with respect to those Shares, will be transferred to any remaining Shares held by the Shareholder.
The Fund generally will be required to report to the IRS and each Shareholder the cost basis and holding period for each respective Shareholder's Shares repurchased or transferred by the Fund. The Fund has elected the average cost method as the default cost basis method for purposes of this requirement. If a Shareholder wishes to accept the average cost method as its default cost basis calculation method in respect of Shares in its account, the Shareholder does not need to take any additional action. If, however, a Shareholder wishes to affirmatively elect an alternative cost basis calculation method in respect of its Shares, the Shareholder must contact the Fund's administrator to obtain and complete a cost basis election form. The cost basis method applicable to a particular Share repurchase or transfer may not be changed after the valuation date established by the Fund in respect of that repurchase or transfer. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors regarding their cost basis reporting options and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting rules apply to them.
A sale of Shares, other than in the context of a repurchase or transfer of Shares by the Fund, generally will have the same tax consequences as described above in respect of a Share repurchase that qualifies for "sale or exchange" treatment.
If a Shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to Shares in excess of certain prescribed thresholds (generally, $2,500,000 or more for an individual Shareholder or $10,000,000 or more for a corporate Shareholder), the
59
Shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on an IRS Form 8886. Direct investors of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but, under current guidance, equity owners of RICs are not excepted. The fact that a loss is reportable as just described does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer's treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of this reporting requirement in light of their particular circumstances.
Other Considerations
Unless and until the Fund is considered under the Code to be a "publicly offered regulated investment company," for purposes of computing the taxable income of U.S. Shareholders that are individuals, trusts or estates, (1) the Fund's earnings will be computed without taking into account such U.S. Shareholders' allocable shares of the Management Fees and certain other expenses, (2) each such U.S. Shareholder will be treated as having received or accrued a dividend from the Fund in the amount of such U.S. Shareholder's allocable share of these fees and expenses for such taxable year, (3) each such U.S. Shareholder will be treated as having paid or incurred such U.S. Shareholder's allocable share of these fees and expenses for the calendar year and (4) each such U.S. Shareholder's allocable share of these fees and expenses will be treated as miscellaneous itemized deductions by such U.S. stockholder. For taxable years beginning before 2026, miscellaneous itemized deductions generally are not deductible by a U.S. Shareholder that is an individual, trust or estate. For taxable years beginning in 2026 or later, miscellaneous itemized deductions generally are deductible by a U.S. Shareholder that is an individual, trust or estate only to the extent that the aggregate of such U.S. Shareholder's miscellaneous itemized deductions exceeds 2% of such U.S. stockholder's adjusted gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, are not deductible for purposes of the alternative minimum tax and are subject to the overall limitation on itemized deductions under Section 68 of the Code. In addition, if the Fund is not treated as a "publicly offered regulated investment company," the Fund will be subject to limitations on the deductibility of certain "preferential dividends" that are distributed to U.S. stockholders on a
non-pro-rata
basis. A "publicly offered regulated investment company" is a RIC whose equity interests are (i) continuously offered pursuant to a public offering, (ii) regularly traded on an established securities market, or (iii) held by at least 500 persons at all times during the RIC's taxable year.
Fund Investments
It is intended that the Fund invests a portion of its assets in Investment Funds, some of which may be classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. An entity that is properly classified as a partnership (and not an association or publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation) generally is not subject to an entity-level U.S. federal income tax. Instead, each partner of the partnership is required to take into account its distributive share of the partnership's net capital gain or loss, net short- term capital gain or loss, and its other items of ordinary income or loss (including all items of income, gain, loss and deduction allocable to that partnership from investments in other partnerships) for each taxable year of the partnership ending with or within the partner's taxable year. Each such item will have the same character to a partner and will generally have the same source (either United States or foreign), as though the partner realized the item directly. Partners of a partnership must report these items regardless of the extent to which, or whether, the partnership or the partners receive cash distributions for such taxable year. Accordingly, the Fund may be required to recognize items of taxable income and gain prior to the time that any corresponding cash distributions are made to or by the Fund and certain Investment Funds (including in circumstances where investments by the Investment Funds, such as investments in debt instrument with "original issue discount," generate income prior to a corresponding receipt of cash). In such case, the Fund may have to dispose of interests in Investment Funds that it would otherwise have continued to hold, or devise other methods of cure, to the extent certain Investment Funds earn income of a type that is not qualifying gross income for purposes of the gross income test or hold assets that could cause the Fund not to satisfy the RIC asset diversification test.
Some of the income that the Fund may earn directly or through an Investment Fund, such as income recognized from an equity investment in an operating partnership, may not satisfy the gross income test. To manage the risk that such income might jeopardize the Fund's tax status as a RIC resulting from a failure to satisfy the gross income test, one or more subsidiary entities treated as U.S. corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes may be employed to earn such income and (if applicable) hold the related investment. Such subsidiary entities generally will be required to incur entity-level income taxes on their earnings, which ultimately will reduce the return to Shareholders.
60
UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, REFERENCES IN THIS DISCUSSION TO THE FUND'S INVESTMENTS, ACTIVITIES, INCOME, GAIN AND LOSS, INCLUDE THE DIRECT INVESTMENTS OR
CO-INVESTMENTS,
ACTIVITIES, INCOME, GAIN AND LOSS OF BOTH THE FUND, AS WELL AS THOSE INDIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE FUND AS A RESULT OF THE FUND'S INVESTMENT IN ANY INVESTMENT FUND (OR OTHER ENTITY) THAT IS PROPERLY CLASSIFIED AS A PARTNERSHIP OR DISREGARDED ENTITY FOR U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX PURPOSES (AND NOT AN ASSOCIATION OR PUBLICLY TRADED PARTNERSHIP TAXABLE AS A CORPORATION).
Ordinarily, gains and losses realized from portfolio transactions will be characterized as capital gains and losses. However, because the functional currency of the Fund for U.S. federal income tax purposes is the U.S. dollar, a portion of the gain or loss realized from the disposition of foreign currencies (including foreign currency denominated bank deposits) and
non-U.S.
dollar denominated securities (including debt instruments, certain futures or forward contracts and options, and similar financial instruments) is generally characterized as ordinary income or loss under Section 988 of the Code. Section 988 of the Code similarly provides that gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates that occur between the time the Fund accrues interest or other receivables or accrues expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time such receivables are collected or the time that the liabilities are paid would be generally characterized as ordinary income or loss. In addition, all or a portion of any gains realized from the sale or other disposition of certain market discount bonds will be characterized as ordinary income. Finally, all or a portion of any gain realized from engaging in "conversion transactions" (as defined in the Code to generally include certain transactions designed to convert ordinary income into capital gain) may be characterized as ordinary income.
Hedging and Derivative Transactions
Gain or loss, if any, realized from certain financial futures or forward contracts and options transactions ("Section 1256 Contracts") generally is treated as 60% long-term capital gain or loss and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Gain or loss will arise upon exercise or lapse of Section 1256 Contracts. In addition, any Section 1256 Contracts remaining unexercised both at October 31 of each calendar year as well as at the end of the Fund's taxable year are treated as sold for their then fair market value, resulting in the recognition of gain or loss characterized in the manner described above.
The Fund may acquire certain foreign currency forward contracts, enter into certain foreign currency futures contracts, acquire put and call options on foreign currencies, or acquire or enter into similar foreign currency-related financial instruments. Generally, foreign currency regulated futures contracts and option contracts that qualify as Section 1256 Contracts will not be subject to ordinary income or loss treatment under Section 988 of the Code. However, if the Fund acquires or enters into any foreign currency futures contracts or options contracts that are not Section 1256 Contracts, or any foreign currency forward contracts or similar foreign currency-related financial instruments, any gain or loss realized by the Fund with respect to such contract or financial instruments generally will be characterized as ordinary gain or loss unless the contract or financial instrument in question is a capital asset in the hands of the Fund and is not part of a straddle transaction (as described below), and an election is made by the Fund (before the close of the day the transaction is entered into) to characterize the gain or loss attributable to such contract or financial instrument as capital gain or loss.
Offsetting positions held by the Fund, or the Investment Funds, involving certain financial futures or forward contracts or options transactions with respect to actively traded personal property may be considered, for tax purposes, to constitute "straddles." In addition, investments by the Fund in particular combinations of Investment Funds may also be treated as a "straddle." To the extent the straddle rules apply to positions established by the Fund, or the Investment Funds, losses realized by the Fund may be deferred to the extent of unrealized gain in the offsetting positions. Further, short-term capital loss on straddle positions may be recharacterized as long-term capital loss, and long-term capital gains on straddle positions may be treated as short-term capital gains or ordinary income. Certain of the straddle positions held by the Fund, or the Investment Funds, may constitute "mixed straddles." One or more elections may be made in respect of the U.S. federal income tax treatment of "mixed straddles," resulting in different tax consequences. In certain circumstances, the provisions governing the tax treatment of straddles override or modify certain of the provisions discussed above.
If the Fund, or possibly an Investment Fund, either (1) holds an appreciated financial position with respect to stock, certain debt obligations or partnership interests ("appreciated financial position"), and then enters into a short
61
sale, futures, forward, or offsetting notional principal contract (collectively, a "Contract") with respect to the same or substantially identical property, or (2) holds an appreciated financial position that is a Contract and then acquires property that is the same as, or substantially identical to, the underlying property, the Fund generally will be taxed as if the appreciated financial position were sold at its fair market value on the date the Fund, or such Investment Fund, enters into the financial position or acquires the property, respectively. The foregoing will not apply, however, to any transaction during any taxable year that otherwise would be treated as a constructive sale if the transaction is closed within 30 days after the end of that year and the appreciated financial position is held unhedged for 60 days after that closing (i.e., at no time during that
60-day
period is the risk of loss relating to the appreciated financial position reduced by reason of certain specified transactions with respect to substantially identical or related property, such as by reason of an option to sell, being contractually obligated to sell, making a short sale, or granting an option to buy substantially identical stock or securities).
If the Fund, or possibly an Investment Fund, enters into certain derivatives (including forward contracts, long positions under notional principal contracts, and related puts and calls) with respect to equity interests in certain pass-thru entities (including other RICs, REITs, partnerships, real estate mortgage investment conduits and certain trusts and foreign corporations), long-term capital gain with respect to the derivative may be recharacterized as ordinary income to the extent it exceeds the long-term capital gain that would have been realized had the interest in the pass-thru entity been held directly during the term of the derivative contract. Any gain recharacterized as ordinary income will be treated as accruing at a constant rate over the term of the derivative contract and may be subject to an interest charge. The U.S. Treasury Department (the "Treasury") and the IRS have the authority to issue regulations expanding the application of these rules to derivatives with respect to debt instruments and/or stock in corporations that are not pass-thru entities.
Passive Foreign Investment Companies and Controlled Foreign Corporations
The Fund may indirectly hold equity interests in
non-U.S.
Private Market Assets and/or
non-U.S.
portfolio companies that may be treated as "passive foreign investment companies" (each, a "PFIC") under the Code. A PFIC is generally defined as a
non-U.S.
entity which is classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and which earns at least 75% of its annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, rents, royalties or capital gain) or which holds at least 50% of its total assets in assets producing such passive income. The Fund may be subject to U.S. federal income tax, at ordinary income rates, on a portion of any "excess distribution" or gain from the disposition of such interests even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the Fund to its Shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the Fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains. If an election is made to treat the PFIC as a "qualified electing fund" under the Code (a "QEF"), then the Fund would be required, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, to include in its income each taxable year a portion of the QEF's ordinary earnings and net capital gain (at ordinary income and capital gains rates, respectively), even if not distributed to the Fund. If the QEF incurs losses for a taxable year, these losses will not pass through to the Fund and, accordingly, cannot offset other income and/or gains of the Fund. The QEF election may not be able to be made with respect to many PFICs because of certain requirements that the PFICs themselves would have to satisfy. Alternatively, in certain cases, an election can be made to
mark-to-market
the shares of a PFIC held by the Fund at the end of the Fund's taxable year (as well as on certain other dates prescribed in the Code). In this case, the Fund would recognize as ordinary income its share of any increase in the value of such PFIC shares, and as ordinary loss its share of any decrease in such value, to the extent such loss did not exceed its share of prior increases in income derived from such PFIC shares. Under either election, the Fund might be required to recognize income in excess of its distributions from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during the applicable taxable year and such income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement and would be taken into account under prescribed timing rules for purposes of the 4% excise tax (described above). Dividends paid by PFICs will not be treated as "qualified dividend income." In certain cases, the Fund will not be the party legally permitted to make the QEF election or the
mark-to-market
election in respect of indirectly held PFICs and, in such cases, will not have control over whether the party within the chain of ownership that is legally permitted to make the QEF or
mark-to-market
election will do so.
If the Fund holds 10% or more (by vote or value) of the interests treated as equity for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a foreign entity classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes and considered a controlled foreign corporation ("CFC") under the Code, the Fund may be treated as receiving a deemed distribution (
i.e
., characterized as ordinary income) each taxable year from such foreign corporation in an amount equal to its
pro
62
rata
share of such entity's income for such taxable year (including both ordinary earnings and capital gains), whether or not the entity makes an actual distribution during such taxable year. The Fund would be required to include the amount of a deemed distribution from a CFC when computing its investment company taxable income as well as in determining whether the Fund satisfies the distribution requirements applicable to RICs, even to the extent the amount of the Fund's income deemed recognized from the CFC exceeds the amount of any actual distributions from the CFC and the proceeds from any sales or other dispositions of CFC stock during the Fund's taxable year. In general, a foreign entity classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes will be considered a CFC if greater than 50% of the shares of the corporation, measured by reference to combined voting power or value, is owned (directly, indirectly or by attribution) by U.S. Shareholders. A "U.S. Shareholder," for this purpose, is any U.S. person that possesses (actually or constructively) 10% or more of the combined voting power or value of all classes of shares of a foreign entity classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Under applicable final Treasury regulations, certain income derived by the Fund from a CFC or a PFIC with respect to which the Fund has made a QEF election would generally constitute qualifying income under the gross income test for purposes of determining the Fund's ability to be subject to tax as a RIC only to the extent the CFC or the PFIC makes current distributions of that income to the Fund or the included income is derived with respect to the Fund's business of investing in stocks and securities. The Fund may be restricted in its ability to make QEF elections with respect to the Fund's holdings in Private Market Assets and other issuers that could be treated as PFICs or implement certain restrictions with the respect to any Private Market Assets or other issuers that could be treated as CFCs in order to limit the Fund's tax liability or maximize the Fund's
after-tax
return from these investments.
State and Local Taxes
In addition to the U.S. federal income tax consequences summarized above, Shareholders and prospective Shareholders should consider the potential state and local tax consequences associated with an investment in the Fund. The Fund may become subject to income and other taxes in states and localities based on the Fund's investments in entities that conduct business in those jurisdictions. Shareholders will generally be taxable in their state of residence with respect to their income or gains earned and distributed by the Fund as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or the amount of their investment in the Fund.
Foreign Taxes
The Fund's investment in
non-U.S.
stocks or securities may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by countries outside the United States. In that case, the Fund's yield on those stocks or securities would be decreased. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If more than 50% of the Fund's assets at
year-end
consists of the stock or securities of foreign corporations, the Fund may elect to permit its Shareholders to claim a credit or deduction on their income tax returns for their
pro rata
portion of qualified taxes paid or deemed paid by the Fund to foreign countries in respect of foreign stock or securities the Fund has held for at least the minimum period specified in the Code. In such a case, Shareholders of the Fund will include in gross income from foreign sources their
pro rata
shares of such taxes. The Fund does not expect to meet the requirements to make the election described above in respect of the treatment of foreign taxes.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Information returns will generally be filed with the IRS in connection with distributions made by the Fund to Shareholders unless Shareholders establish they are exempt from such information reporting (
e.g
., by properly establishing that they are classified as corporations for U.S. federal tax purposes). Additionally, the Fund may be required to withhold, for U.S. federal income taxes, a portion of all taxable dividends and repurchase proceeds payable to Shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification numbers, generally on an IRS
Form W-9,
or who otherwise fail to make required certifications, or if the Fund or the Shareholder has been notified by the IRS that such Shareholder is subject to backup withholding. Certain Shareholders specified in the Code and the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder are exempt from backup withholding but may be required to demonstrate their exempt status. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld will be allowed as a refund or a credit against the Shareholder's U.S. federal income tax liability if the appropriate information is provided to the IRS.
63
U.S. Federally
Tax-Exempt
Shareholders
Under current law, the Fund serves to "block" (that is, prevent the attribution to Shareholders of) unrelated business taxable income ("UBTI") from being realized by its U.S. federally
tax-exempt
Shareholders (including, among others, individual retirement accounts, 401(k) accounts, Keogh plans, pension plans and certain charitable entities). Notwithstanding the foregoing, a U.S. federally
tax-exempt
Shareholder could realize UBTI by virtue of its investment in Shares of the Fund if the U.S. federally
tax-exempt
Shareholder has engaged in a borrowing or other similar transaction to acquire its Shares. A U.S. federally
tax-exempt
Shareholder may also recognize UBTI if the Fund were to recognize "excess inclusion income" derived from direct or indirect investments in residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits or taxable mortgage pools. If a charitable remainder annuity trust or a charitable remainder unitrust (each as defined in Section 664 of the Code) has UBTI for a taxable year, a 100% excise tax on the UBTI is imposed on the trust.
Foreign Shareholders
U.S. taxation of a Shareholder who, as to the United States, is a nonresident alien individual, a foreign trust or estate, or a foreign corporation (each, a "Foreign Shareholder") as defined in the Code, depends on whether the income of the Fund is "effectively connected" with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the Foreign Shareholder.
Income Not Effectively Connected.
If the income from the Fund is not "effectively connected" with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the Foreign Shareholder, distributions of investment company taxable income will generally be subject to a U.S. tax of 30% (or lower treaty rate, except in the case of any "excess inclusion income" allocated to the Foreign Shareholder), which tax is generally withheld from such distributions. Capital gain dividends and any amounts retained by the Fund which are properly reported by the Fund as undistributed capital gains will not be subject to U.S. tax at the rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate), unless the Foreign Shareholder is a nonresident alien individual and is physically present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year and meets certain other requirements. In order to qualify for any reduction or exemption from U.S. withholding tax, a Foreign Shareholder must comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its
non-U.S.
status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS
Form W-8BEN, IRS
Form W-8BEN-E, IRS
Form W-8ECI, IRS
Form W-8IMY
or IRS
Form W-8EXP,
or an acceptable substitute or successor form).
Any capital gain that a Foreign Shareholder realizes upon a repurchase of Shares or otherwise upon a sale or exchange of Shares will ordinarily be exempt from U.S. tax unless, in the case of a Foreign Shareholder that is a nonresident alien individual, the gain is U.S. source income and such Foreign Shareholder is physically present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year and meets certain other requirements. However, this 30% tax on capital gains of nonresident alien individuals who are physically present in the United States for more than the 182 day period only applies in exceptional cases because any individual present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year is generally treated as a resident for U.S. income tax purposes; in that case, he or she would be subject to U.S. income tax on his or her worldwide income at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, rather than the 30% tax.
Income Effectively Connected.
If the income from the Fund is "effectively connected" with a U.S. trade or business carried on by a Foreign Shareholder, then distributions of investment company taxable income and capital gain dividends, any amounts retained by the Fund which are reported by the Fund as undistributed capital gains, and any gains realized upon the sale or exchange of Shares of the Fund will be subject to U.S. income tax at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, residents and domestic corporations.
Corporate Foreign Shareholders may also be subject to the branch profits tax imposed by the Code.
In the case of a Foreign Shareholder, the Fund may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax from distributions and repurchase proceeds that are otherwise exempt from withholding tax (or taxable at a reduced treaty rate), unless the Foreign Shareholder certifies his foreign status under penalties of perjury or otherwise establishes an exemption in the manner discussed above.
The tax consequences to a Foreign Shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable tax treaty may differ from those described herein. Foreign Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund.
64
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
The Fund is required under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA") provisions of the Code to withhold U.S. tax (at a 30% rate) on payments of amounts treated as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes made to certain
non-U.S.
entities (including financial intermediaries) that fail to comply (or be deemed compliant) with extensive reporting and withholding requirements designed to inform the Treasury of U.S.-owned foreign investment accounts unless various U.S. information reporting and diligence requirements (that are in addition to and significantly more onerous than, the requirement to deliver an applicable U.S. nonresident withholding tax certification form (
e.g
., IRS
Form W-8BEN))
and certain other requirements have been satisfied. The information required to be reported includes the identity and taxpayer identification number of each account holder and transaction activity within the holder's account. Persons located in jurisdictions that have entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. to implement FATCA may be subject to different rules. Shareholders may be requested to provide additional information to the Fund to enable the Fund to determine whether withholding is required.
Other Taxation
The foregoing represents a summary of the general tax rules and considerations affecting Shareholders and the Fund's operations, and neither purports to be a complete analysis of all relevant tax rules and considerations, nor does it purport to be a complete listing of all potential tax risks inherent in making an investment in the Fund. A Shareholder may be subject to other taxes, including but not limited to, other state, local, and foreign taxes, estate and inheritance taxes, or intangible property taxes, which may be imposed by various jurisdictions. The Fund also may be subject to additional state, local, or foreign taxes that could reduce the amounts distributable to Shareholders. It is the responsibility of each Shareholder to file all appropriate tax returns that may be required. Shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the state, local and foreign tax consequences of an investment in Shares and the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund. In addition to the particular matters set forth in this section,
tax-exempt
entities should carefully review those sections of this Prospectus and its related SAI regarding liquidity and other financial matters to ascertain whether the investment objectives of the Fund are consistent with their overall investment plans.
ERISA CONSIDERATIONS
Persons who are fiduciaries with respect to an employee benefit plan, individual retirement account ("IRA"), Keogh plan, or other arrangement subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"), or the Code (an "ERISA Plan") should consider, among other things, the matters described below before determining whether to invest in the Fund. ERISA imposes certain general and specific responsibilities on persons who are fiduciaries with respect to an ERISA Plan, including prudence, diversification, prohibited transactions, and other standards.
The Board of Trustees may require an ERISA Plan proposing to invest in the Fund to represent that it, and any fiduciaries responsible for the ERISA Plan's investments, are aware of and understand the Fund's investment objective, policies, and strategies; that the decision to invest plan assets in the Fund was made with appropriate consideration of relevant investment factors with regard to the ERISA Plan; and that the decision to invest plan assets in the Fund is consistent with the duties and responsibilities imposed upon fiduciaries with regard to their investment decisions under ERISA and the Code, as applicable.
Certain prospective ERISA Plan investors may currently maintain relationships with the Advisers or one or more Investment Managers in which the Fund invests, or with other entities that are affiliated with the Advisers or such Investment Managers. Each of such persons may be deemed to be a party in interest to or a fiduciary of any ERISA Plan to which it provides investment management, investment advisory, or other services. ERISA prohibits (and the Code penalizes) the use of ERISA Plan assets for the benefit of a party in interest, and also prohibits (and penalizes) an ERISA Plan fiduciary from using its position to cause such ERISA Plan to make an investment from which it or certain third parties in which such fiduciary has an interest would receive a fee or other consideration. ERISA Plan Shareholders should consult with legal counsel to determine if participation in the Fund is a transaction that is prohibited by ERISA or the Code. Fiduciaries of ERISA Plan Shareholders may be required to represent that the decision to invest in the Fund was made by them as fiduciaries that are independent of such affiliated persons, that are duly authorized to make such investment decisions, and that have not relied on any individualized advice of such affiliated persons, as a basis for the decision to invest in the Fund.
65
Employee benefit plans that are not subject to ERISA or the related provisions of the Code may be subject to other rules governing such plans, and such plans are not addressed above; fiduciaries of employee benefit plans that are not subject to ERISA, whether or not subject to the Code, should consult with their own counsel and other advisors regarding such matters.
The provisions of ERISA and the Code are subject to extensive and continuing administrative and judicial interpretation and review. The discussion of ERISA and the Code contained herein is, of necessity, general and may be affected by future publication of regulations and rulings. Potential investors should consult with their legal advisers regarding the consequences under ERISA and the Code of the acquisition and ownership of Shares.
THE FUND'S SALE OF SHARES TO ERISA PLANS IS IN NO RESPECT A REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY BY THE FUND, THE ADVISERS, OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, OR BY ANY OTHER PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH THE SALE OF THE SHARES, THAT SUCH INVESTMENT BY ANY ERISA PLAN MEETS ALL RELEVANT LEGAL REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO ERISA PLANS GENERALLY OR TO ANY PARTICULAR ERISA PLAN, OR THAT SUCH INVESTMENT IS OTHERWISE APPROPRIATE FOR ERISA PLANS GENERALLY OR FOR ANY PARTICULAR ERISA PLAN.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND
Each Share represents a proportional interest in the assets of the Fund. Each Share has one vote at Shareholder meetings, with fractional Shares voting proportionally, on matters submitted to the vote of Shareholders. There are no cumulative voting rights. Shares do not have
pre-emptive
or conversion or redemption provisions.
INQUIRIES
Inquiries concerning the Fund and Shares (including information concerning subscription and repurchase procedures) should be directed to:
StepStone Group Private Wealth LLC
128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600
Charlotte, NC 28202
All dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus.
66
STEPSTONE GROUP PRIVATE WEALTH LLC PRIVACY POLICY
Data privacy is a primary concern for each of StepStone Group LP ("SSG"), StepStone Group Real Assets LP ("SIRA"), StepStone Group Real Estate LP ("SRE"), and StepStone Group Private Wealth LLC ("StepStone Private Wealth" or "SPW" and together with SSG, SIRA, and SRE, collectively, "StepStone"). This data privacy notice (the "Notice") details StepStone's practices for collecting and disclosing the personal information of clients and others, to both affiliates of SSG, SIRA, SRE, and SPW, and, as applicable, nonaffiliated third parties. Recipients of this Notice include, among others, current clients and investors, prospective clients, former clients, employees of managers with whom StepStone has conducted business, and employees of StepStone or any of StepStone's affiliates (each a "Notice Recipient"). For purposes of this Notice, an affiliate is an entity that (i) controls SSG, SIRA, SRE, or SPW, (ii) is controlled by SSG, SIRA, SRE, or SPW, or (iii) is under common control with SSG, SIRA, SRE, or SPW. Nonaffiliated third parties are parties who are not affiliates of any of SSG, SIRA, SRE, or SPW.
Confidentiality of Personal Information
StepStone maintains the confidentiality of nonpublic personal information that a Notice Recipient provides to it. StepStone maintains physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to guard a Notice Recipient's nonpublic personal information. All third parties that handle information must agree to follow the standards for confidentiality that StepStone has established. In addition, all people who work for StepStone are trained to handle a Notice Recipient's information properly in order to maintain its security, and only employees who need to know nonpublic personal information about a Notice Recipient to provide services to such Notice Recipient have access to such information.
Categories of Nonpublic Personal Information that StepStone Collects
StepStone collects nonpublic personal information about Notice Recipients from the following sources: (i) information it receives from Notice Recipients on applications or other forms; and (ii) information about Notice Recipients' transactions with StepStone, its affiliates, or others.
StepStone is a data controller within the meaning of data protection legislation in force in the European Economic Area ("EEA") and undertakes to hold any nonpublic personal information provided in accordance with EEA data protection legislation.
Nonpublic personal information will be used by StepStone for the following purposes:
to manage and administer holdings in StepStone managed or advised funds, separately managed accounts, advisory engagements and any related business relationships (and, in each case, the investments made pursuant thereto) on an ongoing basis in accordance with the terms agreed between a Notice Recipient and SSG, SIRA, SRE or SPW, as applicable;
to carry out statistical analysis and market research; and
to comply with legal and regulatory obligations applicable to the Notice Recipient, StepStone or its managed or advised funds, separately managed accounts, advisory engagements or any related business relationship with the Notice Recipient from time to time, including applicable anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing legislation, investor qualification legislation and tax legislation.
The nonpublic personal information will only be used in connection with StepStone's legitimate business interests and accordingly Notice Recipients' specific consent is not required.
Disclosure of Nonpublic Personal Information to Affiliates
StepStone generally may share all of a Notice Recipient's nonpublic personal information with StepStone's affiliates; provided that such affiliates will be obligated to keep such nonpublic personal information confidential to the same extent as StepStone. StepStone shares information with its affiliates in order to serve its Notice Recipients better. If a Notice Recipient prefers that StepStone not disclose nonpublic personal information about such Notice Recipient to its affiliates, such Notice Recipient may opt out of those general disclosures; that is, such Notice Recipient may direct StepStone not to make such disclosures (other than disclosures permitted or required by applicable law or otherwise permitted by StepStone's privacy policy). However, notwithstanding any such
opt-out,
StepStone will be permitted to disclose personal information to its affiliates to the extent necessary or appropriate for such affiliates to perform services for the benefit of the Notice Recipient.
67
Disclosure of Nonpublic Personal Information to
Non-Affiliates
StepStone does not sell or market a Notice Recipient's personal information to nonaffiliated third parties. StepStone's intent is to respect the Notice Recipients' expectations that their personal information will be kept confidential. However, in order to serve the Notice Recipients better, StepStone will disclose personal information to nonaffiliated third parties (including service providers to StepStone), but only to the extent necessary or appropriate for such third parties to perform services for the benefit of the Notice Recipient and only if StepStone believes that such personal information will be kept confidential by such third parties after such disclosure.
Additional Information About Categories of Nonpublic Personal Information that StepStone Discloses
Except as required by applicable law and described in this privacy notice, StepStone will not share any other nonpublic personal information about a Notice Recipient with its affiliates or nonaffiliated third parties.
Nonpublic Personal Information of Former Investors and Prospective Clients
This Notice and StepStone's policy regarding treatment of nonpublic personal information of Notice Recipients also apply to former clients, business prospects, potential clients and current and former employees.
Disclosure of Nonpublic Personal Information outside the EEA
Nonpublic personal information may be transferred to countries which may not have the same or equivalent data protection laws as that required under EEA data protection legislation. Any such transfer will be made in compliance with applicable data protection legislation, and appropriate measures are in place to ensure this, such as entering into Model Contractual Clauses (as published by the European Commission). For more information on the means of transfer of data or a copy of the relevant safeguards, please contact us at .
Pursuant to EEA data protection legislation, investors have the right to object to processing of nonpublic personal information and a number of other rights which may be exercised in certain circumstances,
i.e.
:
the right of access to nonpublic personal information held;
the right to amend and rectify any inaccuracies in nonpublic personal information held;
the right to erase nonpublic personal information held;
the right to data portability of nonpublic personal information held; and
the right to request restriction of the processing of nonpublic personal information
These rights will be exercisable, subject to limitations as provided for in EEA data protection legislation. Any Notice Recipient may make a request to StepStone to exercise these rights by contacting us at .
Please note that nonpublic personal information may be retained by StepStone for the duration of a Notice Recipient's investment or engagement with StepStone, and afterwards in accordance with StepStone's legal and regulatory obligations, including but not limited to StepStone's record retention policy.
For queries, requests or comments in respect of this Notice, or the way in which StepStone uses nonpublic personal information, please contact us at . Note that Notice Recipients have the right to lodge a complaint with the appropriate regulator.
Changes to Privacy Policy
StepStone may modify its privacy policy at any time.
68

STEPSTONE PRIVATE MARKETS

Class T Shares (until January 16, 2025)

Class S Shares

Class D Shares

Class I Shares

October 30, 2024, as supplemented December 16, 2024

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600

Charlotte, NC 28202

(704) 215-4300

This Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") is not a prospectus. This SAI relates to and should be read in conjunction with the prospectus ("Prospectus") of StepStone Private Markets (the "Fund") (formerly known as Conversus StepStone Private Markets) dated October 30, 2024, as may be supplemented from time to time. A copy of the Prospectus may be obtained by contacting the Fund at the telephone number or address set forth above.

Capitalized terms used but not defined in this SAI have the meanings ascribed to them in the Prospectus.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INVESTMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES

1

REPURCHASES AND TRANSFERS OF SHARES

8

MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND

9

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

20

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

20

TAX ASPECTS

23

ERISA AND CERTAIN OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

33

ADMINISTRATOR

34

CUSTODIAN AND TRANSFER AGENT

34

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

34

DISTRIBUTOR

34

LEGAL COUNSEL

34

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES

34

REPORTS TO SHAREHOLDERS

35

FISCAL YEAR

35

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

35

ANNEX A STEPSTONE GROUP PRIVATE WEALTH LLC

36

INVESTMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES

The Fund is a diversified, closed-endmanagement investment company. The Fund was organized as a Delaware statutory trust on September 6, 2019. The Fund currently offers four separate classes of shares of beneficial interest ("Shares") designated as Class T ("Class T Shares"), Class S ("Class S Shares"), Class D ("Class D Shares"), and Class I ("Class I Shares") only to Eligible Investors (as defined in the Prospectus). Effective January 17, 2025, Class T Shares will be converted into Class S Shares and Class T Shares will no longer be offered. Class T Shares, Class S Shares, Class D Shares, and Class I Shares are subject to different fees and expenses. Our investments will take the form of: (i) primary and secondary investments in private funds (separately "Primary Investment Funds" or "primaries" and "Secondary Investment Funds" or "secondaries," together with Primary Investment Funds, "Investment Funds") managed by third-party managers ("Investment Managers") and (ii) direct investments in the equity and/or debt of operating companies, projects or properties, typically through co-investingalongside Investment Managers ("Co-Investments"or "direct investments"). Together, these investment structures or vehicles are broadly referred to as "Private Market Assets." The Fund invests and/or makes capital commitments of at least 80% of its assets in Private Market Assets.

StepStone Group Private Wealth LLC (formerly known as StepStone Conversus LLC) serves as the Fund's investment adviser ("StepStone Private Wealth", "SPW" or the "Adviser"), and StepStone Group LP serves as the Fund's investment sub-adviser("StepStone" or the "Sub-Adviser,"and together with the Adviser, the "Advisers"). The investment objective and principal investment strategies of the Fund, as well as the principal risks associated with the Fund's investment strategies, are set forth in the Prospectus. Certain additional investment information is set forth below.

Fundamental Policies

The Fund's stated fundamental policies, which may only be changed by the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, are listed below. As defined by the 1940 Act, as amended (the "1940 Act"), the vote of a "majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund" means the vote, at an annual or special meeting of the Fund's Shareholders duly called, (a) of 66-2/3% or more of the voting securities present at such meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund are present or represented by proxy; or (b) of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, whichever is less. The Fund may not:

(1) invest 25% or more of the value of its total assets in the securities, other than U.S. Government securities, of issuers engaged in any single industry (for purposes of this restriction, the Fund's investments in Private Market Assets are not deemed to be investments in a single industry);

(2) borrow money, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act (which currently limits borrowing to no more than 33-1/3% of the value of the Fund's total assets);

(3) issue senior securities, except to the extent permitted by Section 18 of the 1940 Act (which currently limits the issuance of a class of senior securities that is indebtedness to no more than 33-1/3%of the value of the Fund's total assets or, if the class of senior security is stock, to no more than 50% of the value of the Fund's total assets);

(4) underwrite securities of other issuers, except insofar as the Fund may be deemed an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in connection with the disposition of its portfolio securities;

(5) make loans of money or securities to other persons, item except through purchasing fixed income securities, lending portfolio securities or entering into repurchase agreements; or

(6) purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts, except that it may purchase and sell non-U.S.currency, options, futures and forward contracts, including those related to indices, swaps and options on indices, and may invest in commodity pools and other entities that purchase and sell commodities and commodity contracts.

Other Fundamental Policies

The Fund may invest in real estate or interests in real estate, securities that are secured by or represent interests in real estate (e.g., mortgage loans evidenced by notes or other writings defined to be a type of security), mortgage-related securities or investing in companies engages in the real estate business or that has a significant portion of their assets in real estate (including real estate investment trusts).

With respect to these investment restrictions and other policies described in this SAI or the Prospectus (except the Fund's policy on borrowings set forth above), if a percentage restriction is adhered to at the time of an investment or transaction, a later change in percentage resulting from a change in the values of investments or the value of the Fund's total assets, unless otherwise stated, will not constitute a violation of such restriction or policy. The Fund's investment policies and restrictions do not apply to the activities and transactions of Private Market Assets in which assets of the Fund are invested.

Other Risks

The following disclosure supplements the disclosure set forth under the caption "Types of Investments and Related Risks" in the Prospectus and does not, by itself, present a complete or accurate explanation of the matters disclosed. Prospective investors must refer also to "Types of Investments and Related Risks" in the Prospectus for a complete presentation of the matters disclosed below.

Substantial Fees and Expenses. The Fund allocates to multiple Investment Funds. A Shareholder in the Fund that meets the eligibility conditions imposed by one or more Investment Funds, including minimum initial investment requirements that may be substantially higher than those imposed by the Fund, could potentially invest directly in primaries of such Investment Funds. By investing in the Investment Funds through the Fund, a Shareholder in the Fund bears a portion of the Management Fee and other expenses of the Fund. A Shareholder in the Fund will also indirectly bear a portion of the asset-based management fees, carried interests or incentive allocations (which are a share of an Investment Fund's returns which are paid to the Investment Manager) and fees and expenses borne by the Fund as an investor in the Investment Funds. In addition, to the extent that the Fund invests in an Investment Fund that is itself a "fund of funds," the Fund will bear a third layer of fees. These layered fees may result in higher Fund fees and expenses than if the Fund invested in other types of securities. Each Investment Manager receives any incentive-based allocations to which it is entitled irrespective of the performance of the other Investment Funds and the Fund generally. As a result, an Investment Fund with positive performance may receive compensation from the Fund, even if the Fund's overall returns are negative.

Incentive Allocation Arrangements. Investment Managers of an Investment Fund may receive a performance fee, carried interest or incentive allocation generally equal to 20% of the net profits earned by the Investment Fund that it manages, typically subject to a preferred return. These performance incentives may create an incentive for the Investment Managers to make investments that are riskier or more speculative than those that might have been made in the absence of the performance fee, carried interest, or incentive allocation.

Control Positions. Private Market Assets may take control positions in companies. The exercise of control over a company imposes additional risks of liability for environmental damage, product defects, failure to supervise and other types of liability related to business operations. In addition, the act of taking a control position, or seeking to take such a position, may itself subject the Private Market Assets to litigation by parties interested in blocking it from taking that position. If those liabilities were to arise, or such litigation were to be resolved adversely to the Private Market Asset, the Fund likely would suffer losses on its investments.

Inadequate Return. No assurance can be given that the returns on the Fund's investments will be commensurate with the risk of investment in the Fund. Shareholders should not commit money to the Fund unless they have the resources to sustain the loss of their entire investment in the Fund.

Inside Information. From time to time, the Fund or its affiliates may come into possession of material, non-publicinformation concerning an entity in which the Fund has invested or proposes to invest. Possession of that information may limit the ability of the Fund to buy or sell securities of the entity.

Recourse to the Fund's Assets. The Fund's assets, including any investments made by the Fund and any interest in the Private Market Assets held by the Fund, are available to satisfy all liabilities and other obligations of the Fund. If the Fund becomes subject to a liability, parties seeking to have the liability satisfied may have recourse to the Fund's assets generally and not be limited to any particular asset, such as the asset representing the investment giving rise to the liability.

Possible Exclusion of a Shareholder Based on Certain Detrimental Effects. The Fund may repurchase Shares held by a Shareholder or other person acquiring Shares from or through a Shareholder, if:

the Shares have been transferred or have vested in any person other than by operation of law as the result of the death, dissolution, bankruptcy, insolvency or adjudicated incompetence of the Shareholder or with the consent of the Fund;

ownership of the Shares by the Shareholder or other person likely will cause the Fund to be in violation of, require registration of any Shares under, or subject the Fund to additional registration or regulation under, the securities, commodities or other laws of the United States or any other relevant jurisdiction;

continued ownership of the Shares by the Shareholder or other person may be harmful or injurious to the business or reputation of the Fund, the Board of Trustees, the Advisers or any of their affiliates, or may subject the Fund or any Shareholder to an undue risk of adverse tax or other fiscal or regulatory consequences;

any of the representations and warranties made by the Shareholder or other person in connection with the acquisition of the Shares was not true when made or has ceased to be true;

the Shareholder is subject to special regulatory or compliance requirements, such as those imposed by the U.S. Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, certain Federal Communications Commission regulations, or ERISA (as hereinafter defined) (collectively, "Special Laws or Regulations"), and the Fund determines that the Shareholder is likely to be subject to additional regulatory or compliance requirements under these Special Laws or Regulations by virtue of continuing to hold the Shares; or

the Fund, the Adviser or the Board of Trustees determine that the repurchase of the Shares would be in the best interest of the Fund.

The effect of these provisions may be to deprive an investor in the Fund of an opportunity for a return even though other investors in the Fund might enjoy such a return.

Limitations on Transfer; Shares Not Listed; No Market for Class T, Class S, Class D, or Class I Shares. The transferability of Shares is subject to certain restrictions contained in the Fund's Agreement and Declaration of Trust and is affected by restrictions imposed under applicable securities laws. Shares are not traded on any national securities exchange or other market. No market currently exists for Class T, Class S, Class D, or Class I Shares, and the Fund contemplates that one will not develop. The Shares are, therefore, not readily marketable. The Advisers intend to recommend to the Board of Trustees that the Fund offer to repurchase Shares from Shareholders quarterly, with such repurchases to typically occur on March 15, June 15, September 15 and December 15 of each year. Although the Adviser and the Fund expect to recommend to the Board of Trustees that the Fund offer to repurchase Shares quarterly, no assurances can be given that the Fund will do so. Consequently, Class T, Class S, Class D, and Class I Shares should only be acquired by investors able to commit their funds for an indefinite period of time.

Closed-endFund; Liquidity Risks. The Fund is a diversified closed-endmanagement investment company designed primarily for long-term investors and is not intended to be a trading vehicle. An investor should not invest in the Fund if the investor needs a liquid investment. Closed-endfunds differ from open-endmanagement investment companies (commonly known as mutual funds) in that investors in a closed-endfund do not have the right to redeem their shares on a daily basis at a price based on NAV.

Repurchase Procedures Risks. If modification of the Fund's repurchase procedures as described in the Prospectus is deemed necessary to comply with regulatory requirements, the Board will adopt revised procedures

reasonably designed to provide Shareholders substantially the same liquidity for Shares as would be available under the procedures described in the Prospectus. The Fund's investments in Investment Funds are subject to lengthy lock-upperiods where the Fund will not be able to dispose of such investments except through secondary transactions with third parties, which may occur at a significant discount to NAV and which may not be available at any given time. There is no assurance that third parties will engage in such secondary transactions, and the Fund may require and be unable to obtain any Investment Manager's consent to effect such transactions. The Fund may need to suspend or postpone repurchase offers if it is not able to dispose of its interests in Private Market Assets in a timely manner.

Shareholders who require minimum annual distributions from a retirement account through which they hold Shares should consider the Fund's schedule for repurchase offers and submit repurchase requests accordingly. In addition, the Fund's investments in Private Market Assets are subject to lengthy lock-upperiods where the Fund will not be able to dispose of such investments except through secondary transactions with third parties, which may occur at a significant discount to NAV and which may not be available at any given time. There is no assurance that third parties will engage in such secondary transactions, and the Fund may require and be unable to obtain the Investment Fund's consent to effect such transactions. The Fund may need to suspend or postpone repurchase offers if it is not able to dispose of its interests in Private Market Assets in a timely manner. See "Repurchases and Transfers of Shares."

Substantial Repurchases. Substantial requests for the Fund to repurchase Shares could require the Fund to liquidate certain of its investments more rapidly than otherwise desirable in order to raise cash to fund the repurchases and achieve a market position appropriately reflecting a smaller asset base. This could have a material adverse effect on the value of the Shares.

To the extent the Fund obtains repurchase proceeds by disposing of its interest in certain Private Market Assets, the Fund will thereafter hold a larger proportion of its assets in the remaining Private Market Assets, some of whose interests at times may be less liquid or illiquid. This could adversely affect the ability of the Fund to fund subsequent repurchase requests of Shareholders or to conduct future repurchases at all. In addition, after giving effect to such dispositions, the remaining Private Market Assets may not reflect the Advisers' ideal judgments as to the desired portfolio composition of the Fund's Private Market Assets, in that the Fund's performance may be tied to the performance of fewer Private Market Assets and/or may not reflect the Advisers' judgment as to the Fund's optimal exposure to particular asset classes or investment strategies. These consequences may be particularly applicable if the Fund received requests to repurchase substantial amounts of Shares and may have a material adverse effect on the Fund's ability to achieve its investment objective and the value of the Shares. In addition, substantial repurchases of Shares could result in a sizeable decrease in the Fund's net assets, resulting in an increase in the Fund's total annual operating expense ratio.

Special Tax Risks. Special tax risks are associated with an investment in the Fund. The Fund intends to satisfy the requirements each taxable year necessary to qualify as a "regulated investment company" or "RIC" under Subchapter M of the Code. As such, the Fund must satisfy, among other requirements, certain ongoing asset diversification, source-of-incomeand annual distribution requirements. Each of these ongoing requirements for qualification for the favorable tax treatment available to RICs requires that the Fund obtain information from the Investment Funds in which the Fund is invested. However, Investment Funds generally are not obligated to disclose the contents of their portfolios. This lack of transparency may make it difficult for the Adviser to monitor the sources of the Fund's income and the diversification of its assets, and otherwise comply with Subchapter M of the Code, and ultimately may limit the universe of Investment Funds in which the Fund can invest. Furthermore, although the Fund expects to receive information from each Investment Manager regarding its investment performance on a regular basis, in most cases there is little or no means of independently verifying this information.

If before the end of any quarter of its taxable year, the Fund believes that it may fail any of the asset diversification requirements, the Fund may seek to take certain actions to avert such a failure. However, certain actions typically taken by RICs to avert such a failure (e.g., the disposition of assets causing the diversification discrepancy) may be difficult for the Fund to pursue because the Fund may be unable to liquidate its interest in a Private Market Asset promptly. While the Code ordinarily affords the Fund a 30-dayperiod after the end of the relevant quarter in which to cure a diversification failure by disposing of non-diversifiedassets, the constraints on the Fund's ability to liquidate a specific asset may limit utilization of this cure period.

If the Fund fails to satisfy the asset diversification or other RIC requirements, it may lose its status as a RIC under the Code. In that case, all of its taxable income would be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to Shareholders. In addition, all distributions (including distributions of net capital gain) to Shareholders would be characterized as dividend income to the extent of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits. Accordingly, disqualification as a RIC would have a material adverse effect on the value of the Fund's Shares and the amount of the Fund's distributions.

Additional Tax Considerations; Distributions to Shareholders and Potential Fund-Level Tax Liabilities. The Fund expects to distribute substantially all of its investment company taxable income and net capital gains to Shareholders. These distributions are respectively characterized as ordinary dividend income or long-term capital gain when distributed as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to Shareholders. The Fund will inform Shareholders of the amount and character of its distributions to Shareholders. See "Tax Aspects" below for more information. If the Fund distributes (or is deemed to have distributed) in respect of any calendar year less than an amount at least equal to the sum of 98% of its calendar year ordinary income (taking into account certain deferrals and elections), 98.2% of its capital gain net income (determined on the basis of a one-yearperiod ended on October 31 of such calendar year, and adjusted for certain ordinary losses), plus any such amounts that were not distributed in previous calendar years, then the Fund will generally be subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax with respect to the Fund's undistributed amounts. The Fund will not be subject to this excise tax on any amount which the Fund incurred an entity-level U.S. federal income tax.

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the Fund is required to recognize taxable income (such as deferred interest that is accrued as original issue discount) in some circumstances in which the Fund does not receive a corresponding payment in cash and to make distributions with respect to such income to maintain its qualification as a RIC. Under such circumstances, the Fund may have difficulty meeting the annual distribution requirement necessary to maintain its qualification as a RIC. As a result, the Fund may have to sell some of its investments at times and/or at prices that the Advisers would not consider advantageous, raise additional debt or equity capital, or forgo new investment opportunities. If the Fund is not able to obtain cash from other sources, the Fund may fail to qualify as a RIC and thus become subject to corporate-level income tax.

In addition, the Fund may invest in Investment Funds located outside of the U.S. or other non-U.S.portfolio company or entities which may be considered passive foreign investment companies ("PFICs") or controlled foreign corporations ("CFCs") for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, the Fund may, in a particular taxable year, be required to make ordinary income distributions in excess of the net economic income from such investments with respect to such taxable year. Under applicable final Treasury regulations, certain income derived by the Fund from a CFC or a PFIC with respect to which the Fund has made a qualified electing fund ("QEF") election would generally constitute qualifying income for purposes of determining the Fund's ability to be subject to tax as a RIC to the extent the CFC or the PFIC makes distributions of that income to the Fund or the included income is derived with respect to the Fund's business of investing in stocks and securities. As such, the Fund may be restricted in its ability to make QEF elections with respect to the Fund's holdings in Investment Funds and other issuers that could be treated as PFICs or implement certain restrictions with the respect to any Investment Funds or other issuers that could be treated as CFCs in order to limit the Fund's tax liability or maximize the Fund's after-taxreturn from these investments. Moreover, income or gain from such Investment Funds or other entities may be subject to non-U.S.withholding or other taxes. Any such withholding or other taxes would reduce the return on the Fund's investment in such Investment Funds and thus on the Shareholders' investment in the Fund. See "Tax Aspects."

Lack of Financial Reporting Related to Non-U.S.Investments; Adverse Non-U.S.Taxes. The Fund may invest indirectly through Investment Funds in non-U.S.entities. Because non-U.S.entities are not subject to uniform reporting standards, practices and disclosure comparable with those applicable to U.S. companies, there may be different types of, and lower quality, information available about non-U.S.companies. In particular, the assets and profits appearing on the financial statements of a company may not reflect its financial position or results of operation in the way they would be reflected had such financial statements been prepared in accordance with the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. This limitation may be particularly true for private equity investments, where there may be little or no publicly available information about private companies. In addition, financial data related to non-U.S.investments may be affected by both inflation and local accounting standards and may not accurately reflect the real condition of companies and securities markets. Moreover, the Fund and its Shareholders may be subject to tax, reporting and other filing obligations in non-U.S.jurisdictions in which non-U.S.companies reside or operate.

Regulatory Change. Legal and regulatory changes could occur during the term of the Fund, which may materially adversely affect the Fund. The regulation of the U.S. and non-U.S.securities, derivatives and futures markets and investment funds such as the Fund has undergone substantial change in recent years and such change may continue. In particular, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as amended (the "Dodd-Frank Act") was signed into law in July 2010. The Dodd-Frank Act contains changes to the existing regulatory structure in the United States and is intended to establish rigorous oversight standards to protect the U.S. economy and American consumers, investors and businesses. The Dodd-Frank Act requires additional regulation of private equity fund managers, including requirements for such managers to register as investment advisers under the Advisers Act, and to disclose various information to regulators about the positions, counterparties and other exposures of the private equity funds managed by such managers.

The Dodd-Frank Act significantly alters the regulation of commodity interests and comprehensively regulates the OTC derivatives markets for the first time in the U.S. Provisions in the new law include: new registration requirements with the SEC and/or the CFTC, recordkeeping, capital, and margin requirements for "swap dealers" and "major swap participants" as determined by the new law and applicable regulations, and the requirement that certain standardized OTC derivatives, such as interest rate swaps, be executed in regulated markets and submitted for clearing through regulated clearinghouses. OTC derivatives transactions traded through clearinghouses will be subject to margin requirements set by clearinghouses and possibly to additional requirements set by the SEC and/or the CFTC. Regulators also have discretion to set margin requirements for OTC derivative transactions that do not take place through clearinghouses. OTC derivatives dealers will be required to post margin to the clearinghouses through which they clear their customer trades instead of using such margin in their operations as they are currently permitted to do. This will increase the dealers' costs and may be passed through to other market participants, such as an Investment Fund, in the form of higher fees or spreads and less favorable dealer valuations.

The CFTC, along with the SEC and other U.S. federal regulators, has been tasked with developing the rules and regulations enacting the provisions noted above. The Dodd-Frank Act and the rules already promulgated or to be promulgated thereunder may negatively impact the ability of an Investment Fund and, in turn, the Fund, to meet its investment objective either through limits or requirements imposed on it or upon its counterparties. In particular, new position limits imposed on an Investment Fund or its counterparties may impact an Investment Fund's ability to invest in a manner that most efficiently meets its investment objective, and new requirements, including capital and mandatory clearing, may increase the cost of the Investment Fund's investments and doing business.

The effect of the Dodd-Frank Act or other regulatory change on the Fund and/or Investment Funds, while impossible to predict, could be substantial and adverse. In addition, the practice of short selling has been the subject of numerous temporary restrictions, and similar restrictions may be promulgated at any time. Such restrictions may adversely affect the returns of Investment Funds that utilize short selling. Certain tax risks associated with an investment in the Fund are discussed in "Tax Aspects."

The Fund has an exemption from the definition of the term "commodity pool operator" ("CPO") under the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended ("CEA"). Therefore, neither the Fund nor the Adviser (with respect to the Fund) is subject to registration or regulation as a commodity pool or CPO, respectively, under the CEA. If the exemption no longer applies, to the extent the Fund is not otherwise eligible to claim an exclusion from regulation by the CFTC, the Fund will operate subject to CFTC regulation. If the Adviser and the Fund become subject to CFTC regulation, as well as related National Futures Association rules, the Fund may incur additional compliance and other expenses.

The impact of changes in legislation, if any, on shareholders, the Fund, and the entities through which the Fund invests is uncertain. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding an investment in the Fund.

Under Rule 18f-4,the Fund is required to trade derivatives and other transactions that potentially create senior securities (except reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions) subject to a value-at-risk("VaR") leverage limit, certain other testing and derivatives risk management program requirements and requirements related to board reporting. These requirements apply unless the Fund qualifies as a "limited derivatives user," as defined in Rule 18f-4.Reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions continue to be subject to the asset coverage requirements, and a fund trading reverse repurchase agreements needs to aggregate the amount of indebtedness associated with the reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions with the aggregate

amount of any other senior securities representing indebtedness when calculating the fund's asset coverage ratio (unless the fund treats such agreements and transactions as derivatives for all purposes under the rule). Reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions will not be included in the calculation of whether the Fund is a limited derivatives user (unless the Fund determines to treat such agreements and transactions as "derivative transactions" for all purposes under the rule), but if the Fund is subject to the VaR testing, reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions will be included for purposes of such testing. In addition, under Rule 18f-4,the Fund is permitted to invest in a security on a when-issued or forward-settling basis, or with a nonstandard settlement cycle, and the transaction will be deemed not to involve a "senior security," provided that (i) the Fund intends to physically settle the transaction and (ii) the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date). The Fund may otherwise engage in such transactions that do not meet these conditions so long as the Fund treats any such transaction as a "derivatives transaction" for purposes of compliance with Rule 18f-4.Furthermore, under Rule 18f-4,the Fund will be permitted to enter into an unfunded commitment agreement, and such unfunded commitment agreement will not be subject to the limits on borrowings as described in the "Investment Program-Leverage" section above, if the Fund reasonably believes, at the time it enters into such agreement, that it will have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to meet its obligations with respect to all such agreements as they come due. The SEC also provided guidance in connection with the rule regarding the use of securities lending collateral that may limit the Fund's securities lending activities. These requirements may limit the Fund's ability to use derivatives and reverse repurchase agreements and similar financing transactions as part of the Fund's investment strategies.

Indemnification of Investment Funds, Investment Managers and Others. The Fund may agree to indemnify certain of the Private Market Assets and their respective managers, officers, directors, and affiliates from any liability, damage, cost, or expense arising out of, among other things, acts or omissions undertaken in connection with the management of Private Market Assets. If the Fund were required to make payments (or return distributions) in respect of any such indemnity, the Fund could be materially adversely affected. Indemnification of sellers of secondaries may be required as a condition to purchasing such securities.

Other Investment Companies. The Fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies to the extent that such investments are consistent with the Fund's investment objective and permissible under the 1940 Act. Under one provision of the 1940 Act, the Fund may not acquire the securities of other investment companies if, as a result, (i) more than 10% of the Fund's total assets would be invested in securities of other investment companies, (ii) such purchase would result in more than 3% of the total outstanding voting securities of any one registered investment company being held by the Fund or more than 5% of the Fund's total assets would be invested in any one registered investment company. In some instances, the Fund may invest in an investment company in excess of these limits. For example, the Fund may invest in other registered investment companies, such as mutual funds, closed-endfunds and exchange-traded funds, and in business development companies in excess of the statutory limits imposed by the 1940 Act in reliance on Rule 12d1-4under the 1940 Act. These investments would be subject to the applicable conditions of Rule 12d1-4,which in part would affect or otherwise impose certain limits on the investments and operations of the underlying fund. Accordingly, if the Fund serves as an "underlying fund" to another investment company, the Fund's ability to invest in other investment companies, private funds and other investment vehicles may be limited and, under these circumstances, the Fund's investments in other investment companies, private funds and other investment vehicles will be consistent with applicable law and/or exemptive relief obtained from the SEC. The Fund, as a holder of the securities of other investment companies, will bear its pro rata portion of the other investment companies' expenses, including advisory fees. These expenses will be in addition to the direct expenses incurred by the Fund.

Limited Operating History of Fund Investments. Many of the Investment Funds may have limited operating histories, and the information the Fund will obtain about such investments may be limited. As such, the ability of the Advisers to evaluate past performance or to validate the investment strategies of such Investment Funds will be limited.

Limitations on Performance Information.Performance of Private Market Assets are difficult to measure and therefore such measurements may not be as reliable as performance information for other investment products because, among other things: (i) there is often no market for underlying investments, (ii) Private Market Assets take years to achieve a realization event and are difficult to value before realization, (iii) Private Market Assets are made over time as capital is drawn down from investments, (iv) the performance record of Fund Investments are not established until the final distributions are made, which may be 10-12years or longer after the initial closing and (v) industry performance information for Fund Investments may be skewed upwards due to survivor bias lack of reporting by underperforming managers.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements. Reverse repurchase agreements involve a sale of a security by an Investment Fund to a bank or securities dealer and the Investment Fund's simultaneous agreement to repurchase the security for a fixed price (reflecting a market rate of interest) on a specific date. These transactions involve a risk that the other party to a reverse repurchase agreement will be unable or unwilling to complete the transaction as scheduled, which may result in losses to the Investment Fund. Reverse repurchase transactions are a form of leverage that may also increase the volatility of an Investment Fund's investment portfolio.

Dilution. The Fund may accept additional subscriptions for Shares as determined by the Board, in its sole discretion. Additional purchases will dilute the indirect interests of existing Shareholders in the Fund's investments prior to such purchases, which could have an adverse impact on the existing Shareholders' interests in the Fund if subsequent investments underperform the prior investments.

REPURCHASES AND TRANSFERS OF SHARES

Repurchase of Shares

As discussed in the Prospectus, the Advisers intend to seek the approval of the Fund's Board of Trustees (the "Board of Trustees" or the "Board") to offer a quarterly share repurchase program where the total amount of aggregate repurchases of Shares will be up to 5% of the Fund's outstanding shares per quarter. In determining whether the Fund should repurchase Shares from Shareholders of the Fund pursuant to written tenders, the Fund's Board of Trustees will consider the recommendation of the Adviser. The Board also will consider various factors, including, but not limited to, those listed in the Prospectus, in making its determinations.

The Fund's Board will cause the Fund to make offers to repurchase Shares from Shareholders pursuant to written tenders only on terms it determines to be fair to the Fund and to all Shareholders of the Fund. When the Fund's Board determines that the Fund will repurchase Shares, notice will be provided to each Shareholder of the Fund describing the terms thereof and containing information Shareholders should consider in deciding whether and how to participate in such repurchase opportunity. Shareholders who are deciding whether to tender their Shares during the period that a repurchase offer is open may ascertain an estimated net asset value of their Shares from UMB Fund Services, Inc., the sub-administratorfor the Fund (the "Sub-Administrator"),during such period. If a repurchase offer is oversubscribed by Shareholders, the Fund may repurchase only a pro rata portion of the Shares tendered by each Shareholder, extend the repurchase offer, or take any other action with respect to the repurchase offer permitted by applicable law.

Upon its acceptance of tendered Shares for repurchase, the Fund will maintain daily on its books a segregated account consisting of (i) cash, (ii) liquid securities or (iii) interests in Private Market Assets that the Fund has requested be withdrawn or liquidated (or any combination of the foregoing), in an amount equal to the aggregate estimated unpaid dollar amount of any outstanding repurchase offer.

Payment for repurchased Shares may require the Fund to liquidate portfolio holdings earlier than the Adviser would otherwise liquidate these holdings, potentially resulting in losses, and may increase the Fund's portfolio turnover. The Adviser intends to take measures (subject to such policies as may be established by the Fund's Board) to attempt to avoid or minimize potential losses and turnover resulting from the repurchase of Shares.

Mandatory Redemptions

As noted in the Prospectus, the Fund has the right to redeem Shares of a Shareholder or any person acquiring Shares from or through a Shareholder under certain circumstances. Such mandatory redemptions may be made if:

Shares have been transferred or vested in any person other than by operation of law as the result of the death, dissolution, bankruptcy or incompetency of a Shareholder or with the consent of the Fund;

ownership of Shares by a Shareholder or other person will cause the Fund to be in violation of, or subject the Fund to additional registration or regulation under, the securities, commodities or other laws of the U.S. or any other relevant jurisdiction;

continued ownership of such Shares may be harmful or injurious to the business or reputation of the Fund or the Adviser, or may subject the Fund or any Shareholder to an undue risk of adverse tax or other fiscal consequences;

any of the representations and warranties made by a Shareholder in connection with the acquisition of Shares was not true when made or has ceased to be true;

the Shareholder is subject to special regulatory or compliance requirements, such as those imposed by the U.S. Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, certain Federal Communications Commission regulations, or ERISA (as hereinafter defined) (collectively, "Special Laws or Regulations"), and the Fund determines that the Shareholder is likely to be subject to additional regulatory or compliance requirements under these Special Laws or Regulations by virtue of continuing to hold the Shares; or

it would be in the best interests of the Fund to redeem Shares.

Transfers of Shares

Shares are subject to restrictions on transferability. No transfer of Shares will be permitted by the Fund unless the transferee is an "Eligible Investor" (as defined in the Prospectus), and, after the transfer, the value of the Shares beneficially owned by each of the transferor and the transferee is at least equal to the Fund's minimum investment requirement.

The Fund's organizational documents provide that each Shareholder has agreed to indemnify and hold harmless the Fund, the Board, the Adviser, each other Shareholder and any affiliate of the foregoing against all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses, including legal or other expenses incurred in investigating or defending against any such losses, claims, damages, liabilities, costs and expenses or any judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement, joint or several, to which such persons may become subject by reason of or arising from any transfer made by such Shareholder in violation of these provisions or any misrepresentation made by such Shareholder in connection with any such transfer.

MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND

The Trustees supervise the Fund's affairs under the laws governing statutory trusts in the State of Delaware. The Trustees have approved the contracts under which certain companies provide essential management, administrative and shareholder services to the Fund.

Trustees and Officers

The Board of the Fund consists of five Trustees. Three Trustees have no affiliation or business connection with the Advisers or any of their affiliated persons and do not own any stock or other securities issued by the Advisers. These are the "non-interested"or "Independent Trustees." The other two Trustees (the "Interested Trustees") are affiliated with the Advisers. The biographies of each Trustee are described below.

Board Structure and Oversight Function

The Board's leadership structure features a "Chairperson" and the "Board Committees" described below. The Chairperson participates in the preparation of the agenda for meetings of the Board and the preparation of information to be presented to the Board with respect to matters to be acted upon by the Board. The Chairperson also presides at all meetings of the Board and is involved in discussions regarding matters pertaining to the oversight of the management of the Fund between meetings.

The Board of Trustees operates using a system of committees to facilitate the timely and efficient consideration of all matters of importance to the Trustees, the Fund and Shareholders, and to facilitate compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and oversight of the Fund's activities and associated risks. The Board of

Trustees has established three standing committees: the "Audit Committee," the "Nominating and Governance Committee" and the "Independent Trustees Committee." The Audit Committee, the Nominating and Governance Committee, and the Independent Trustees Committee are comprised exclusively of Independent Trustees. Each committee charter governs the scope of the committee's responsibilities with respect to the oversight of the Fund. The responsibilities of each committee, including their oversight responsibilities, are described further under "Independent Trustees and the Committees."

The Fund is subject to a number of risks, including investment, compliance, operational and valuation risk, among others. The Board of Trustees oversees these risks as part of its broader oversight of the Fund's affairs through various Board and committee activities. The Board has adopted, and periodically reviews, policies and procedures designed to address various risks to the Fund. In addition, appropriate personnel, including but not limited to the Fund's Chief Compliance Officer, members of the Fund's administration and accounting teams, representatives from the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm, the Fund's Treasurer and portfolio management personnel and independent valuation and brokerage evaluation service providers, make regular reports regarding the Fund's activities and related risks to the Board of Trustees and the committees, as appropriate. These reports include, among others, quarterly performance reports and risk reports and discussions with members of the risk teams relating to each asset class. The Board's committee structure allows separate committees to focus on different aspects of risk and the potential impact of these risks on the Fund and then report back to the full Board. In between regular meetings, Fund officers also communicate with the Trustees regarding material exceptions and items relevant to the Board's risk oversight function.

The Board recognizes that it is not possible to identify all of the risks that may affect the Fund, and that it is not possible to develop processes and controls to eliminate all of the risks that may affect the Fund. Moreover, the Board recognizes that it may be necessary for the Fund to bear certain risks (such as investment risks) to achieve its investment objective.

As needed between meetings of the Board, the Board, or a specific committee, receives and reviews reports relating to the Fund and engages in discussions with appropriate parties relating to the Fund's operations and related risks.

Independent Trustees

The Fund seeks as Trustees individuals of distinction and experience in business and finance, government service or academia. In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. Based on a review of the experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of each Trustee, including those enumerated in the table below, the Board has determined that each of the Trustees is qualified to serve as a Trustee of the Fund. In addition, the Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes and skills that allow the Board to operate effectively in governing the Fund and protecting the interests of Shareholders. Information about the Fund's committees is provided below under "Independent Trustees and the Committees."

The Trustees of the Fund, their birth years, addresses, positions held, lengths of time served, their principal business occupations during the past five years, the number of portfolios in the "Fund Complex" (defined below) currently overseen by each Independent Trustee and other directorships, if any, held by the Trustees, are shown below. The Fund Complex includes all open-endand closed-endfunds (including all of their portfolios) advised by the Advisers and any registered funds that have an adviser that is an affiliate of the Advisers.

Name, Address and Birth Year

Position(s) Held

with Registrant

Length of

Time Served*

Principal

Occupation(s)

During Past

5 Years

Number of
Portfolios
Overseen in
Fund
Complex

Other

Trusteeships/

Directorships

Held Outside the

Fund Complex**

Independent Trustees

Terry Prather

c/o StepStone Group Private

Wealth LLC

128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600

Charlotte, NC 28202

Birth Year: 1955

Trustee Indefinite Length- Since May 2024 Chief Operating Officer, LIFT Orlando (community development organization) (2016 - 2023) 4 None

Tracy Schmidt

c/o StepStone Group Private

Wealth LLC
128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600

Charlotte, NC 28202

Birth Year: 1957

Trustee Indefinite Length - Since Inception Founder, Morning Star Advisory, LLC (consulting and advisory services) (since 2018), Enterprise Chief Financial Officer, Group President of Alternative Investments and Chief Operating Officer, CNL Financial Group (2004 - 2018) 4 None

Ron Sturzenegger

c/o StepStone Group Private

Wealth LLC
128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600

Charlotte, NC 28202

Birth Year: 1960

Trustee Indefinite Length - Since Inception

Enterprise Business & Community Engagement

Executive, Bank of America (2014 - 2018); Legacy Asset Servicing (LAS) Executive, Bank of America (2011-2015)

4 Director of KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II, Inc. (since 2019), and KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III, Inc. (since 2019)
*

Each Trustee serves an indefinite term, until his or her successor is elected.

**

This includes any directorships at public companies and registered investment companies held by the Trustee over the past five years.

The Trustees who are affiliated with the Advisers or affiliates of the Advisers (as set forth below) and their age, address, positions held, length of time served, principal business occupations during the past five years, the number of portfolios in the Fund Complex overseen by each Interested Trustee and the other directorships, if any, held by each Interested Trustees, are shown below.

Name, Age and Address

Position(s) Held

with Registrant

Length of

Time Served*

Principal

Occupation(s)

During Past

5 Years

Number of
Portfolios
Overseen in
Fund
Complex

Other

Trusteeships/

Directorships

Held Outside the

Fund Complex**

Interested Trustees

Tom Sittema

c/o StepStone Group Private

Wealth LLC
128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600

Charlotte, NC 28202

Birth Year: 1958

Chairperson of the Board of Trustees Indefinite Length - Since Inception Executive Chairman, StepStone Group Private Wealth LLC (Since 2020); Managing Director, RiverBridge Capital (Since 2018) 4 None

Bob Long

c/o StepStone Group Private

Wealth LLC
128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600

Charlotte, NC 28202

Birth Year: 1962

Trustee Indefinite Length - Since Inception CEO, StepStone Group Private Wealth LLC (Since 2019); Vice Chairman/ President, Star Mountain Capital (2016-2018) 4 None
*

Each Trustee serves an indefinite term, until his or her successor is elected.

**

This includes any directorships at public companies and registered investment companies held by the Trustee over the past five years.

The executive officers of the Fund, their birth years, addresses, positions held, lengths of time served and their principal business occupations during the past five years are shown below.

Name, Age and

Address

Position(s) Held

with Registrant

Length of

Time Served*

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

Executive Officers

Bob Long

c/o StepStone Group Private

Wealth LLC
128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600

Charlotte, NC 28202

Birth Year: 1962

President and Principal

Executive Officer

Indefinite Length - Since Inception See above

Kimberly Zeitvogel

c/o StepStone Group Private

Wealth LLC
128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600

Charlotte, NC 28202

Birth Year: 1971

Treasurer and Principal

Financial Officer

Indefinite Length - Since January 2023 Managing Director of Finance, StepStone Group Private Wealth LLC (Since 2020); Vice President of Finance, Millennium Advisors, LLC (2018-2020)

Tim Smith

c/o StepStone Group Private

Wealth LLC

128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600

Charlotte, NC 28202

Birth Year: 1968

Vice President

Indefinite Length -Since

November 2023

CFO and COO of StepStone Group Private Wealth LLC (Since 2019); President of Carolon Capital (Since 2013)

Dean Caruvana

c/o StepStone Group Private

Wealth LLC

128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600

Charlotte, NC 28202

Birth Year: 1988

Secretary and Chief

Compliance Officer

Indefinite Length - Since

August 2023

General Counsel, StepStone Group Private Wealth LLC (Since 2023); Principal, Blue Owl Capital (2022-2023); Vice President, Blackrock (2018-2022)
*

Each officer serves an indefinite term, until his or her successor is elected.

For each Trustee, the dollar range of equity securities beneficially owned by the Trustee in the Fund and in the Family of Investment Companies (Family of Investment Companies includes all of the registered investment companies advised by the Advisers) as of March 31, 2024, is set forth in the table below.

Name of Trustee

Dollar Range of
Equity Securities in the Fund(1), (2)

Aggregate Dollar Range of

Equity Securities in All

Registered Investment

Companies Overseen by Trustee

in Family of Investment

Companies(1), (2), (3)

Independent:

Terry Prather

None

None

Tracy Schmidt

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

Ron Sturzenegger

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

Name of Trustee

Dollar Range of
Equity Securities in the Fund(1), (2)

Aggregate Dollar Range of

Equity Securities in All

Registered Investment

Companies Overseen by Trustee

in Family of Investment

Companies (1), (2), (3)

Interested:

Tom Sittema

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

Bob Long

Over $100,000

Over $100,000

(1)

Dollar ranges are as follows: None, $1 - $10,000, $10,001 - $50,000, $50,001 - $100,000 or Over $100,000.

(2)

Beneficial ownership determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2)under the Exchange Act.

(3)

The Family of Investment Companies is defined as any two or more registered investment companies that (a) share the same investment adviser or principal underwriter; and (b) hold themselves out to investors as related companies for purposes of investment and investor services.

As to each Independent Trustee and his or her immediate family members, no person owned beneficially or of record securities of an investment adviser or principal underwriter of the Fund, or a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with an investment adviser or principal underwriter of the Fund. 

As of October 25, 2024 all Trustees and Officers of the Fund, as a group, owned 0.18% of the outstanding Shares of the Fund.

Independent Trustees and the Committees

Law and regulation establish both general guidelines and specific duties for the Independent Trustees. The Board has three committees: the Audit Committee, the Nominating and Governance Committee, and the Independent Trustees Committee.

The Independent Trustees are charged with recommending to the full Board approval of management, advisory and administration contracts, and distribution and underwriting agreements; continually reviewing fund performance; overseeing on the pricing of portfolio securities, brokerage commissions, transfer agent costs and performance and trading among funds in the same complex; and approving fidelity bond and related insurance coverage and allocations, as well as other matters that arise from time to time.

The Board of Trustees has a separately-designated standing Audit Committee. The Audit Committee is charged with recommending to the full Board the engagement or discharge of the Fund's independent registered public accounting firm; directing investigations into matters within the scope of the independent registered public accounting firm's duties, including the power to retain outside specialists; reviewing with the independent registered public accounting firm the audit plan and results of the auditing engagement; approving professional services provided by the independent registered public accounting firm and other accounting firms prior to the performance of the services; reviewing the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm; considering the range of audit and non-auditfees; reviewing the adequacy of the Fund's system of internal controls; and reviewing the valuation process. The Fund has adopted a formal, written Audit Committee Charter.

The members of the Audit Committee of the Fund are Terry Prather, Tracy Schmidt and Ron Sturzenegger. None of the members of the Fund's Audit Committee is an "interested person," as defined under the 1940 Act, of the Fund (with such disinterested Trustees being "Independent Trustees" or individually, "Independent Trustee"). Each Independent Trustee is also "independent" from the Fund under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. ("NYSE"). The Chairperson of the Audit Committee of the Fund is Tracy Schmidt. The Audit Committee met five times during the year ended March 31, 2024.

The Board also has a Nominating and Governance Committee. The members of the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Fund are Terry Prather, Tracy Schmidt and Ron Sturzenegger, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. The Chairperson of the Nominating and Governance Committee is Ron Sturzenegger. The Nominating and Governance Committee identifies individuals qualified to serve as Independent Trustees on the Board and on committees of the Board and recommends such qualified individuals for nomination by the Fund's Independent Trustees as candidates for election as Independent Trustees, advises the Board with respect to Board composition, procedures and committees, develops and recommends to the Board a set of corporate governance principles applicable to the Fund, monitors and makes recommendations on corporate governance matters and policies and procedures of the Board and any Board committees and oversees periodic evaluations of the Board and its committees.

The Fund's Nominating and Governance Committee recommends qualified candidates for nominations as Independent Trustees. Persons recommended by the Fund's Nominating and Governance Committee as candidates for nomination as Independent Trustees shall possess such experience, qualifications, attributes, skills and diversity so as to enhance the Board's ability to manage and direct the affairs and business of the Fund, including, when applicable, to enhance the ability of committees of the Board to fulfill their duties and/or to satisfy any independence requirements imposed by law or regulation. While the Nominating and Governance Committee expects to be able to continue to identify from their own resources an ample number of qualified candidates for the Fund's Board as they deem appropriate, they will consider nominations from Shareholders to the Board. Nominations from Shareholders should be in writing and sent to the Nominating and Governance Committee as described below under "Shareholder Communications." The Nominating and Governance Committee met one time during the year ended March 31, 2024.

The Board also has an Independent Trustees Committee. The members of the Independent Trustees Committee of the Fund are Terry Prather, Tracy Schmidt and Ron Sturzenegger, each of whom is an Independent Trustee. The Chairperson of the Independent Trustees Committee is Ron Sturzenegger. The Independent Trustees Committee will review and approve, to the extent required, co-investmenttransactions entered into by the Fund and affiliated funds in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Fund's co-investmentexemptive relief. The Independent Trustees Committee is responsible for assessing the flow of information between our management and the Board and overseeing the annual approval process of the Investment Management Agreement and the Administration Agreement. The Independent Trustees Committee met one time during the year ended March 31, 2024.

Experience, Qualifications and Attributes

The Board has concluded, based on each Trustee's experience, qualifications and attributes that each Board member should serve as a Trustee. Following is a brief summary of the information that led to and/or supports this conclusion.

Biographies

Terry Prather

Terry Prather is a Trustee of StepStone Private Credit Income Fund. Mr. Prather is an experienced executive with focuses in hospitality & tourism industry, community organizations, and community development.

Prior to serving on various boards, Mr. Prather was the Chief Operating Officer of LIFT Orlando, a place-based community development organization that strengthens neighborhoods. Prior to LIFT Orlando, Mr. Prather served as President of SeaWorld Orlando and retired from SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment in 2015. Mr. Prather's SeaWorld career started in maintenance and water quality for SeaWorld San Antonio in 1988 and served as Vice President of Operations at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010. Earlier in his career, Mr. Prather served as President of Six Flags America in Bowie, Maryland.

Mr. Prather graduated from Morehouse College. Mr. Prather currently serves on various boards including Visit Orlando (Chair), Dr. Phillips Charities (Chair), LIFT Orlando (Advisor), and the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC.

Tracy Schmidt

Tracy Schmidt is a Trustee of StepStone Private Markets. Mr. Schmidt is a seasoned executive with over 40-years'experience in investment management, logistics, finance, operations and administration. Mr. Schmidt is the founder of Morning Star Advisory, LLC where he provides advisory and consulting services to multi-generational families and companies primarily in the logistics and supply chain space. Mr. Schmidt is also co-founderand managing partner of Steward CW Holdings, LLC whose focus is to develop and operate a network of automated express car washes.

Prior to founding his current advisory business, Mr. Schmidt served as CNL Financial Group's Enterprise Chief Financial Officer, Group President of Alternative Investments and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing and providing strategic leadership for the organization's financial affairs and the alternative investments platform. Before joining CNL Financial Group, Mr. Schmidt served in various roles at FedEx Express including Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Early in his career, Mr. Schmidt served as a staff auditor at Ernst & Whinney.

Mr. Schmidt graduated from Christian Brothers University. Mr. Schmidt is an advisor, director and chair of the audit committee and member of the risk and executive committees of Gordon Food Service Holdings, Inc., a director of Pinnacle Realty Services, Inc. and a former director of the United States Chamber of Commerce. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to The Over-Haul Group, Inc. Mr. Schmidt is Chair Emeritus and founding chair of the Central Florida Regional Commission on Homelessness.

Ron Sturzenegger

Ron Sturzenegger is a Trustee of StepStone Private Markets. Mr. Sturzenegger is a financial services executive, primarily focused on real estate related businesses. Most recently, Mr. Sturzenegger held concurrent executive positions overseeing Enterprise Business and Community Engagement and Legacy Asset Servicing at Bank of America. Mr. Sturzenegger also held roles within Bank of America (and legacy firms) as Global Head of Real Estate, Gaming and Lodging Investment Banking and Head of Real Estate Mergers and Acquisitions. Prior to joining Bank of America, Mr. Sturzenegger served in various roles at Morgan Stanley and Bain & Company.

Mr. Sturzenegger graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Business School. Mr. Sturzenegger is an independent director and member of the audit committee and conflicts committee of KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II, Inc. and KBS Real Estate Investment Trust III, Inc. He is a member of the advisory board of the Stanford Professionals in Real Estate.

Shareholder Communications

Shareholders may send communications to the Fund's Board of Trustees. Shareholders should send communications intended for the Fund's Board by addressing the communications directly to that Board (or individual Board members) and/or otherwise clearly indicating in the salutation that the communication is for the Board (or individual Board members) and by sending the communication to either the Fund's office or directly to such Board member(s) at the address specified for each Trustee previously noted. Other Shareholder communications received by the Fund not directly addressed and sent to the Board of Trustees will be reviewed and generally responded to by management, and they will be forwarded to the Board only at management's discretion based on the matters contained therein.

Compensation

The Independent Trustees are paid an annual retainer of $60,000. The Chairperson of the Audit Committee is also paid an additional annual fee of $10,000. All Trustees are reimbursed for their reasonable out-of-pocketexpenses. The Trustees do not receive any pension or retirement benefits from the Fund.

The following table shows information regarding the compensation received by the Trustees, none of whom is an employee of the Fund, for services as a Trustee for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024. The Trustees who are "interested persons," as defined in the 1940 Act, of the Fund and the Fund's officers do not receive compensation from the Fund.

Name of Trustee

Aggregate Compensation
from the Fund
Total Compensation from
the Fund Complex
Payable to Trustees

Independent:

Terry Prather

$ 65,000 $ 215,000

Tracy Schmidt

$ 75,000 $ 255,000

Ron Sturzenegger

$ 65,000 $ 215,000

Name of Trustee

Interested:

Bob Long

None

Tom Sittema

None

Code of Ethics

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1under the 1940 Act, the Board of Trustees has adopted a "Code of Ethics" for the Fund and approved Codes of Ethics adopted by the Adviser and the Sub-Adviser(collectively the "Codes"). The Codes are intended to ensure that the interests of Shareholders and other clients are placed ahead of any personal interest, that no undue personal benefit is obtained from the person's employment activities and that actual and potential conflicts of interest are avoided.

The Codes apply to the personal investing activities of Trustees and officers of the Fund, the Adviser, and the Sub-Adviser("Access Persons"). Rule 17j-1under the 1940 Act and the Codes are designed to prevent unlawful practices in connection with the purchase or sale of securities by Access Persons, including with respect to securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund (which may only be purchased by Access Persons so long as the requirements set forth in the Codes are complied with). Under the Codes, Access Persons are permitted to engage in

personal securities transactions, but are required to report their personal securities transactions for monitoring purposes. In addition, certain Access Persons are required to obtain approval before investing in initial public offerings or private placements. The Codes are on file with the SEC and are available to the public.

Investment Advisory, Sub-Advisoryand Distribution Agreements

StepStone Private Wealth is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the "Advisers Act"). The Adviser was established in 2019. SPW is a wholly owned business of StepStone Group LP (the "Sub-Adviser"or "StepStone"). The Adviser is an investment platform designed to expand access to the private markets for high net worth and accredited investors. The Adviser intends to create innovative solutions for investors by focusing on convenience, efficiency and transparency. SPW's mission is to convert the private market advantages enjoyed by institutional investors into opportunities for individual investors. Please see SPW's website at www.stepstonepw.com for the most up-to-dateinformation.

The Adviser serves as investment adviser to the Fund pursuant to an investment advisory agreement entered into between the Fund and the Adviser (the "Advisory Agreement"). The Adviser is responsible for the overall management of the Fund's activities. The Adviser is responsible for formulating and updating (as needed) the overall investment strategy of the Fund. The Adviser is also responsible for the structuring and distribution functions for the Fund. In addition, the Adviser is responsible for the operational and governance aspects of the Fund, including the selection and management of the Fund's service providers and the management of the Fund's tender offers and distributions and dividend reinvestment plan. The Adviser is also responsible for the Fund's SEC and other regulatory reporting obligations. The Adviser is subject to the ultimate supervision of, and any policies established by, the Board of Trustees.

StepStone is a global private markets investment firm focused on providing customized investment solutions and advisory and data services to its clients. 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. StepStone partners with its clients to develop and build portfolios designed to meet their specific objectives across all forms of Private Market Assets. As of March 31, 2024, StepStone oversaw $659 billion of private markets allocations, including $149 billion of assets under management.

StepStone Group Inc. is listed and trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol STEP. StepStone Group Inc. is the sole managing member of StepStone Group Holdings LLC, which in turn is the general partner of StepStone. Please see StepStone's website at www.stepstonegroup.com for the most up-to-dateinformation.

The Sub-Adviserhas entered into a sub-advisoryagreement ("Sub-AdvisoryAgreement") with the Adviser and is responsible for the day-to-daymanagement of the Fund's assets. The Sub-Adviserprovides ongoing research, recommendations, and portfolio management regarding the Fund's investment portfolio subject to the overall supervision of the Adviser and the Fund's officers and Board of Trustees.

The offices of the Adviser are located at 128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600, Charlotte NC 28202, and its telephone number is (704) 215-4300.The Adviser or its designee maintains the Fund's accounts, books and other documents required to be maintained under the 1940 Act at 128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600, Charlotte, NC 28202.

Approval of the Advisory Agreement

The Advisory Agreement will continue in effect from year to year so long as such continuance is approved annually by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund; provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Independent Trustees by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. The Advisory Agreement is terminable by the Fund without penalty, on 60 days' prior written notice: by the Board; by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund; or by the Adviser. The Advisory Agreement also provides that it will terminate automatically in the event of its "assignment," as defined by the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder.

In consideration of the management and other services provided by the Adviser to the Fund, the Fund pays, out of the Fund's assets, the Adviser a monthly Management Fee equal to 1.40% on an annualized basis of the Fund's daily net assets, provided that the Management Fee shall in no instance be greater than a Management Fee computed based on the value of the net assets of the Fund as of the close of business on the last business day of the relevant month (including any assets in respect of Shares that would be repurchased by the Fund on such date). The Management Fee is paid monthly.

The Advisory Agreement provides that in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence in the performance of its duties or reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is not liable for any loss the Fund sustains for any investment, adoption of any investment policy, or the purchase, sale or retention of any security.

A discussion of the factors considered by the Fund's Board of Trustees in approving the Advisory Agreement is available in the Fund's annual report on Form N-CSRfor the period ended March 31, 2024.

Approval of the Sub-AdvisoryAgreement

The Adviser has entered into a Sub-AdvisoryAgreement with StepStone Group LP. The Sub-Adviserprovides the Fund with non-discretionaryinvestment advisory services subject to the overall supervision of the Adviser and the Fund's officers and Board of Trustees. The Adviser pays the Sub-Adviser50% of the Management Fee proceeds each month.

A description of the factors considered by the Fund's Board of Trustees in approving the Sub-AdvisoryAgreement is available in the Fund's annual report on Form N-CSRfor the period ended March 31, 2024.

Distributor

Distribution Services, LLC serves as the Fund's Distributor pursuant to a distribution agreement ("Distribution Agreement"). The principal office of the Distributor is located at 235 West Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212. Under the Distribution Agreement, the Distributor, as agent of the Fund, agrees to distribute the Fund's Shares at an offering price equal to the Fund's then current NAV per Share, plus the applicable sales load. The Distribution Agreement continues in effect so long as such continuance is approved at least annually by the Fund's Board, including a majority of those Trustees who are not parties to such Distribution Agreement nor interested persons of any such party.

Purchases In-Kind

Securities received by the Fund in connection with an in-kindpurchase will be valued in accordance with the Fund's valuation procedures as of the time of the next-determined NAV per Share of the Fund following receipt in good form of the order. In situations where the purchase is made by an affiliate of the Fund with securities received by the affiliate through a redemption in-kindfrom another fund, the redemption in-kindand purchase in-kindmust be effected simultaneously, the Fund and the redeeming fund must have the same procedures for determining their NAVs, and the Fund and the redeeming fund must ascribe the same value to the securities. Please call (704) 215-4300before attempting to purchase Shares in-kind.The Fund reserves the right to amend or terminate this practice at any time.

Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Managers

Because the portfolio managers may manage assets for other investment companies, pooled investment vehicles, and/or other accounts (including institutional clients, pension plans and certain high net worth individuals), there may be an incentive to favor one client over another resulting in conflicts of interest. For instance, the Advisers may receive fees from certain accounts that are higher than the fee it receives from the Fund, or it may receive a performance-based fee on certain accounts. In those instances, the portfolio managers may have an incentive to favor the higher and/or performance-based fee accounts over the Fund. In addition, a conflict of interest could exist to the extent the Advisers have proprietary investments in certain accounts, where portfolio managers have personal investments in certain accounts or when certain accounts are investment options in the Advisers' employee benefits and/or deferred compensation plans. The portfolio manager may have an incentive to favor these accounts over others. If the Advisers manage accounts that engage in short sales of securities of the type in which the Fund invests, the

Advisers could be seen as harming the performance of the Fund for the benefit of the accounts engaging in short sales if the short sales cause the market value of the securities to fall. The Advisers have adopted allocation and other policies and procedures that it believes are reasonably designed to address these and other conflicts of interest.

The following table shows information regarding accounts (other than the Fund) managed by each named portfolio manager as of March 31, 2024:

Thomas Keck

Number of Accounts(1) Total Assets in Accounts
($ billion)

Registered Investment Companies

-  - 

Other Pooled Investment Vehicles

22 $ 61.4

Other Accounts

-  - 
(1)

StepStone receives performance-based fees from 22 accounts with approximately $61.4 billion of total assets.

Michael Elio

Number of Accounts (2) Total Assets in Accounts
($ billion)

Registered Investment Companies

-  - 

Other Pooled Investment Vehicles

12 $ 2.8

Other Accounts

10 $ 42.6
(2)

StepStone receives performance-based fees from twelve accounts with approximately $2.8 billion of total assets.

Securities Ownership of Portfolio Managers

As of March 31, 2024, the dollar range of securities beneficially owned by each portfolio manager in the Fund is shown below:

Name

Aggregate

Dollar Range of Equity

Securities in the

Fund(1)

Thomas Keck

None

Michael Elio

None
(1)

Dollar ranges are as follows: None, $1-$10,000, $10,001-$50,000, $50,001-$100,000, $100,001-$500,000, $500,001-$1,000,000 or Over $1,000,000.

Portfolio Manager Compensation Structure

The Sub-Adviser'sphilosophy on compensation is to provide senior professionals' incentives that are tied to both short-term and long-term performance of the firm. All investment professionals are salaried. Further, all investment professionals are eligible for a short-term incentive bonus each year that is discretionary and based upon the professional's performance, as well as the performance of the business.

For their service as portfolio co-managersto the Fund, Thomas Keck and Michael Elio receive a salary, a discretionary bonus, and certain retirement benefits from the Sub-Adviser.Additionally, each of Messrs. Keck and Elio have equity interests in the Sub-Adviserand indirectly benefit from the success of the Fund based on their ownership interest.

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures and Proxy Voting Record

Co-Investmentsand investments in the Investment Funds do not typically convey traditional voting rights, and the occurrence of corporate governance or other consent or voting matters for this type of investment is substantially less than that encountered in connection with registered equity securities. On occasion, however, the

Fund may receive notices or proposals seeking the consent of or voting by holders ("proxies"). The Fund has delegated any voting of proxies in respect of portfolio holdings to the Adviser to vote the proxies in accordance with the Adviser's proxy voting guidelines and procedures. In general, the Adviser believes that voting proxies in accordance with the policies described below will be in the best interests of the Fund. The Adviser has further delegated the voting of proxies to the Sub-Adviser.

The Adviser will generally vote to support management recommendations relating to routine matters, such as the election of board members (where no corporate governance issues are implicated) or the selection of independent auditors. The Adviser will generally vote in favor of management or investor proposals that the Adviser believes will maintain or strengthen the shared interests of investors and management, increase value for investors and maintain or increase the rights of investors. On non-routinematters, the Adviser will generally vote in favor of management proposals for mergers or reorganizations and investor rights plans, so long as it believes such proposals are in the best economic interests of the Fund. In exercising its voting discretion, the Adviser will seek to avoid any direct or indirect conflict of interest presented by the voting decision. If any substantive aspect or foreseeable result of the matter to be voted on presents an actual or potential conflict of interest involving the Adviser, the Adviser will make written disclosure of the conflict to the Independent Trustees indicating how the Adviser proposes to vote on the matter and its reasons for doing so.

Under certain circumstances, the Fund may hold its interests in the Investment Funds in non-votingform. In such cases where only voting securities are available for purchase by the Fund, in all, or substantially all, instances, the Fund will seek to create by contract the same result as owning a non-votingsecurity by entering into a contract, typically before the initial purchase, to relinquish the right to vote in respect of its investment.

Third Parties

To assist in its responsibility for voting proxies, the Adviser may from time to time retain experts in the proxy voting and corporate governance area as proxy research providers ("Research Providers"). The services provided to the Adviser by the Research Providers would include in depth research, global issuer analysis, and voting recommendations. While the Adviser may review and utilize recommendations made by the Research Providers in making proxy voting decisions, it is in no way obligated to follow any such recommendations. In addition to research, the Research Providers could provide vote execution, reporting and recordkeeping. The Board would carefully monitor and supervise the services provided by any Research Providers.

Further Information

For a copy of the Proxy Voting Policy, see Annex A to this SAI. A copy of the Proxy Voting Policy is also available in the SAI on our website at www.stepstonepw.com and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. The Fund shall file an annual report of each proxy voted with respect to portfolio securities of the Fund during the twelve-month period ended June 30 on Form N-PX notlater than August 31 of each year.

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Since the Fund generally acquires and disposes of its investments in privately negotiated transactions, it infrequently uses brokers in the normal course of business.

Subject to policies established by the Fund's Board, the Advisers are primarily responsible for the execution of any traded securities in the Fund's portfolio and the Fund's allocation of brokerage commissions. The Advisers do not execute transactions through any particular broker or dealer but seek to obtain the best net results for the Fund, taking into account such factors as price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of order, difficulty of execution, operations facilities of the firm, and the firm's risk and skill in positioning blocks of securities.

While the Advisers generally seek reasonably competitive trade execution costs, the Fund will not necessarily pay the lowest spread or commission available. Subject to applicable legal requirements, the Advisers may select a broker based partly upon brokerage or research services provided to the Advisers and the Fund and any other clients. In return for such services, the Fund may pay a higher commission than other brokers would charge if the Advisers determine in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the services provided.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, the Fund paid $0 in brokerage commissions.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The Advisers

The Advisers or their affiliates provide or may provide investment advisory and other services to various entities. The Advisers and certain of their investment professionals and other principals, may also carry on substantial investment activities for their own accounts, for the accounts of family members and for other accounts (collectively, with the other accounts advised by the Advisers and their affiliates, "Other Accounts"). The Fund has no interest in these activities. The Adviser and its affiliates may receive payments from Investment Managers in connection with such activities. As a result of the foregoing, the Advisers and the investment professionals who, on behalf of the Advisers, will manage the Fund's investment portfolio will be engaged in substantial activities other than on behalf of the Fund, may have differing economic interests in respect of such activities, and may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and activity between the Fund and Other Accounts. Such persons will devote only so much of their time as in their judgment is necessary and appropriate.

There also may be circumstances under which the Advisers will cause one or more Other Accounts to commit a larger percentage of its assets to an investment opportunity than to which the Advisers will commit the Fund's assets. There also may be circumstances under which the Advisers will consider participation by Other Accounts in investment opportunities in which the Advisers do not intend to invest on behalf of the Fund, or vice versa.

Allocation decisions may arise when there is more demand from the Fund and other StepStone clients for a particular investment opportunity, such as the capacity in a fund, than supply. StepStone employs an allocation policy designed to ensure that all of its clients will be treated equitably over time.

With respect to primary fund investments, StepStone uses its best efforts to defer the allocation decision to the relevant Investment Manager, mitigating the potential conflict, mitigating the potential conflict. In secondary investments, StepStone typically manages the allocation of the transaction across its clients. Under the StepStone allocation policy, if clients are similarly situated, considering all relevant facts and circumstances, allocations will be made pro rata based on the annual investment budget specified in each client's annual portfolio plan for secondaries. Allocation of Co-Investmentsis a hybrid of StepStone's approach on primary fund investments and secondaries; in certain cases, Co-Investmentsare allocated by the general partner leading the transaction, while in others StepStone has the ability to allocate the transaction across its clients, in which case the allocation method outlined with respect to secondaries is used. Due to these processes, StepStone does not believe there is a material risk of a conflict arising in the area of allocations that would disadvantage the Fund relative to another StepStone client.

Importantly, StepStone's portfolio managers and investment professionals are not involved in these allocation decisions, as the process is managed independently by StepStone's Finance team and ratified by StepStone's Legal and Compliance department.

The 1940 Act imposes significant limits on co-investmentswith affiliates of the Fund. The Advisers and the Fund have obtained an exemptive order from the SEC that permits the Fund to co-investalongside its affiliates in privately negotiated investments. However, the SEC exemptive order contains certain conditions that limit or restrict the Fund's ability to participate in such Private Market Assets, including, without limitation, in the event that the available capacity with respect to a Private Market Asset is less than the aggregate recommended allocations to the Fund. In such cases, the Fund may participate in an investment to a lesser extent or, under certain circumstances, may not participate in the investment.

The Adviser also intends to compensate, from its own resources, third-party securities dealers, other industry professionals and any affiliates thereof ("financial intermediaries") in connection with the distribution of Shares in the Fund or for their ongoing servicing of Shares acquired by their clients. Such compensation may take various forms, including a fixed fee, a fee determined by a formula that takes into account the amount of client assets invested in the Fund, the timing of investment or the overall net asset value of the Fund, or a fee determined in some other method by negotiation between the Adviser and such financial intermediaries. Financial intermediaries may also charge investors, at the financial intermediaries' discretion, a placement fee based on the purchase price of Shares purchased by the investor. As a result of the various payments that financial intermediaries may receive from investors and the

Adviser, the amount of compensation that a financial intermediary may receive in connection with the sale of Shares in the Fund may be greater than the compensation it may receive for the distribution of other investment products. This difference in compensation may create an incentive for a financial intermediary to recommend the Fund over another investment product.

Financial intermediaries may be subject to certain conflicts of interest with respect to the Fund. For example, the Fund, the Advisers, Investment Funds or portfolio companies or investment vehicles managed or sponsored by the Advisers or Investment Managers may (i) purchase securities or other assets directly or indirectly from, (ii) enter into financial or other transactions with or (iii) otherwise convey benefits through commercial activities to a financial intermediary. As such, certain conflicts of interest may exist between such persons and a financial intermediary. Such transactions may occur in the future and generally there is no limit to the amount of such transactions that may occur.

Financial intermediaries may perform investment advisory and other services for other investment entities with investment objectives and policies similar to those of the Fund or an Investment Fund. Such entities may compete with the Fund or an Investment Fund for investment opportunities and may invest directly in such investment opportunities. Financial intermediaries that invest in an Investment Fund or a portfolio company may do so on terms that are more favorable than those of the Fund.

Financial intermediaries that act as selling agents for the Fund also may act as distributor for an Investment Fund in which the Fund invests and may receive compensation in connection with such activities. Such compensation would be in addition to the placement fees described above. Financial intermediaries may pay all or a portion of the fees paid to it to certain of their affiliates, including, without limitation, financial advisors whose clients purchase Shares of the Fund. Such fee arrangements may create an incentive for a financial intermediary to encourage investment in the Fund, independent of a prospective Shareholder's objectives.

A financial intermediary may provide financing, investment banking services or other services to third parties or the Adviser or Sub-Adviserand receive fees therefore in connection with transactions in which such third parties have interests which may conflict with those of the Fund or an Investment Fund. A financial intermediary may give advice or provide financing to such third parties that may cause them to take actions adverse to the Fund, an Investment Fund or a portfolio company. A financial intermediary may directly or indirectly provide services to, or serve in other roles for compensation for, the Fund, an Investment Fund or a portfolio company. These services and roles may include (either currently or in the future) managing trustee, managing member, general partner, investment manager or advisor, investment sub-advisor,distributor, broker, dealer, selling agent and investor servicer, custodian, transfer agent, fund administrator, prime broker, recordkeeper, shareholder servicer, interfund lending servicer, Fund accountant, transaction (e.g., a swap) counterparty and/or lender. A financial intermediary is expected to provide certain such services to the Fund in connection with the Fund obtaining a credit facility, if any.

In addition, issuers of securities held by the Fund or an Investment Fund may have publicly or privately traded securities in which a financial intermediary is an investor or makes a market. The trading activities of financial intermediaries generally will be carried out without reference to positions held by the Fund or an Investment Fund and may have an effect on the value of the positions so held, or may result in a financial intermediary having an interest in the issuer adverse to the Fund or an Investment Fund. No financial intermediary is prohibited from purchasing or selling the securities of, otherwise investing in or financing, issuers in which the Fund or an Investment Fund has an interest.

A financial intermediary may sponsor, organize, promote or otherwise become involved with other opportunities to invest directly or indirectly in the Fund or an Investment Fund. Such opportunities may be subject to different terms than those applicable to an investment in the Fund or an Investment Fund, including with respect to fees and the right to receive information.

Set out below are practices that the Advisers may follow. Although the Advisers anticipate that the Investment Managers will follow practices similar to those described below, no guarantee or assurances can be made that similar practices will be followed or that an Investment Manager will abide by, and comply with, its stated practices. An Investment Manager may provide investment advisory and other services, directly or through affiliates, to various entities and accounts other than the Investment Funds.

Participation in Investment Activities

Directors, principals, officers, employees and affiliates of the Advisers may buy and sell securities or other investments for their own accounts and may have actual or potential conflicts of interest with respect to investments made on behalf of the Fund or an Investment Fund in which the Fund invests. As a result of differing trading and investment strategies or constraints, positions may be taken by directors, principals, officers, employees and affiliates of the Advisers, or by the Advisers for the Other Accounts, or any of their respective affiliates on behalf of their own other accounts ("Investment Manager Accounts") that are the same as, different from or made at a different time than, positions taken for the Fund or an Investment Fund.

Other Matters

An Investment Manager may, from time to time, cause an Investment Fund to effect certain principal transactions in securities with one or more Investment Manager Accounts, subject to certain conditions. Future investment activities of the Investment Managers, or their affiliates, and the principals, partners, directors, officers or employees of the foregoing, may give rise to additional conflicts of interest.

The Advisers and their affiliates will not purchase securities or other property from, or sell securities or other property to the Fund, except that the Fund may in accordance with rules under the 1940 Act engage in transactions with accounts that are affiliated with the Fund as a result of common officers, directors, advisers, members or managing general partners. These transactions would be effected in circumstances in which the Advisers determined that it would be appropriate for the Fund to purchase and another client to sell, or the Fund to sell and another client to purchase, the same security or instrument on the same day.

Future investment activities of the Advisers and their affiliates and their principals, partners, members, directors, officers or employees may give rise to conflicts of interest other than those described above.

TAX ASPECTS

The following is a summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations relevant to the acquisition, holding and disposition of Shares. This discussion offers only a brief outline of the U.S. federal income tax consequences of investing in the Fund and is based upon present provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), the regulations promulgated thereunder, and judicial and administrative ruling authorities, all of which are subject to change, which change may be retroactive. The discussion is limited to persons who hold their Shares as capital assets (generally, property held for investment) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This summary does not address all of the U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be relevant to a particular Shareholder or to Shareholders who may be subject to special treatment under federal income tax laws, such as U.S. financial institutions, insurance companies, broker-dealers, traders in securities that have made an election for U.S. federal income tax purposes to mark-to-markettheir securities holdings, tax-exemptorganizations, partnerships, Shareholders who are not "United States Persons" (as defined in the Code), Shareholders liable for the alternative minimum tax, persons holding Shares through partnerships or other pass-through entities, or persons that have a functional currency (as defined in Section 985 of the Code) other than the U.S. dollar. No ruling has been or will be obtained from the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") regarding any matter relating to the Fund or the Shares. No assurance can be given that the IRS would not assert a position contrary to any of the tax aspects described below. The discussion set forth herein does not constitute tax advice. Prospective Shareholders and Shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisors as to the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, holding and disposition of Shares of the Fund, as well as the effects of state, local and non-U.S.tax laws.

UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, REFERENCES IN THIS DISCUSSION TO THE FUND'S INVESTMENTS, ACTIVITIES, INCOME, GAIN AND LOSS, INCLUDE THE DIRECT INVESTMENTS OR CO-INVESTMENTS,ACTIVITIES, INCOME, GAIN AND LOSS OF THE FUND, AS WELL AS THOSE INDIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE FUND AS A RESULT OF THE FUND'S INVESTMENT IN ANY INVESTMENT FUND (OR OTHER ENTITY) THAT IS PROPERLY CLASSIFIED AS A PARTNERSHIP OR DISREGARDED ENTITY FOR U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX PURPOSES (AND NOT AN ASSOCIATION OR PUBLICLY TRADED PARTNERSHIP TAXABLE AS A CORPORATION).

Qualification as a Regulated Investment Company; Tax Treatment

It is expected that the Fund will qualify for treatment as a regulated investment company ("RIC") under the Code. If the Fund so qualifies and distributes (or is deemed to have distributed) each taxable year to Shareholders dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes of an amount at least equal to the sum of 90% of its investment company taxable income (which includes, among other items, dividends, interest and net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses, but determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) plus 90% of any net tax-exemptincome for the Fund's taxable year, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal corporate income taxes on any amounts it distributes as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes, including distributions (if any) derived from the Fund's net capital gain (i.e., the excess of the net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses) to Shareholders. The Fund intends to distribute to its Shareholders, at least annually, substantially all of its investment company taxable income, net tax-exemptincome, and net capital gains.

In addition, amounts not distributed on a timely basis in accordance with a separate calendar year distribution requirement are subject to a nondeductible 4% excise tax. To prevent imposition of the excise tax, the Fund generally must be considered to have distributed dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes in respect of each calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98% of its ordinary income (not taking into account any capital gains or losses), determined on a calendar year basis, (2) 98.2% of its capital gain net income, determined under prescribed rules for this purpose (which is generally determined on the basis of the one-yearperiod ending on October 31st of such calendar year, and adjusted for certain ordinary losses), and (3) any ordinary income and capital gain net income from previous years that was not distributed during those years and on which the Fund incurred no U.S. federal income tax. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, dividends declared by the Fund in October, November or December to Shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month and paid during January of the following calendar year are taxable to such Shareholders, and deductible by the Fund, as if paid on December 31 of the calendar year declared. The Fund generally intends to make distributions sufficient to avoid imposition of the excise tax, although there can be no assurance that it will be able to do so.

In order to qualify as a RIC, the Fund must, among other things: (a) derive in each taxable year (the "gross income test") at least 90% of its gross income from (i) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities loans, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stocks, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including but not limited to gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stocks, securities or currencies, and (ii) net income from interests in "qualified publicly traded partnerships" (as defined in the Code) (all such income items, "qualifying gross income"); and (b) diversify its holdings (the "asset diversification test") so that, at the end of each quarter of the taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the value of the Fund's total assets is represented by cash and cash items (including receivables), U.S. Government securities, the securities of other RICs and other securities, with such other securities of any one issuer limited for the purposes of this calculation to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the Fund's total assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. Government securities or the securities of other RICs) of a single issuer, two or more issuers that the Fund controls and that are engaged in the same, similar or related trades or businesses or one or more "qualified publicly traded partnerships" (as defined in the Code).

For the purpose of determining whether the Fund satisfies the gross income test, the character of the Fund's distributive share of items of income, gain and loss derived through any Investment Funds that are properly treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes (other than certain publicly traded partnerships) generally will be determined as if the Fund realized such tax items in the same manner as realized by those Investment Funds. Similarly, for the purpose of the asset diversification test, the Fund, in appropriate circumstances, will "look through" to the assets held by such Investment Funds.

A RIC that fails the gross income test for a taxable year shall nevertheless be considered to have satisfied the test for such year if (i) the RIC satisfies certain procedural requirements, and (ii) the RIC's failure to satisfy the gross income test is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. However, in such case, a tax is imposed on the RIC for the taxable year in which, absent the application of the above cure provision, it would have failed the gross income test equal to the amount by which the RIC's non-qualifyinggross income exceeds one-ninthof the RIC's qualifying gross income, each as determined for purposes of applying the gross income test for such taxable year.

Additionally, a RIC that fails the asset diversification test as of the end of a quarter of a taxable year shall nevertheless be considered to have satisfied the test as of the end of such quarter in the following circumstances. If the RIC's failure to satisfy the asset diversification test at the end of the quarter is due to the ownership of assets the total value of which does not exceed the lesser of (i) one percent of the total value of the RIC's assets at the end of such quarter and (ii) $10 million (a "de minimis failure"), the RIC shall be considered to have satisfied the asset diversification test as of the end of such quarter if, within six months of the last day of the quarter in which the RIC identifies that it failed the asset diversification test (or such other prescribed time period), the RIC either disposes of assets in order to satisfy the asset diversification test, or otherwise satisfies the asset diversification test.

In the case of a failure to satisfy the asset diversification test at the end of a quarter of a taxable year under circumstances that do not constitute a de minimis failure, a RIC shall nevertheless be considered to have satisfied the asset diversification test as of the end of such quarter if (i) the RIC satisfies certain procedural requirements; (ii) the RIC's failure to satisfy the asset diversification test is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect; and (iii) within six months of the last day of the quarter in which the RIC identifies that it failed the asset diversification test (or such other prescribed time period), the RIC either disposes of the assets that caused the asset diversification failure in order to satisfy the asset diversification test, or otherwise satisfies the asset diversification test. However, in such case, a tax is imposed on the RIC, at the highest stated corporate income tax rate, on the net income generated by the assets that caused the RIC to fail the asset diversification test during the period for which the asset diversification test was not met. In all events, however, such tax will not be less than $50,000.

If before the end of any taxable quarter of the Fund's taxable year, the Fund believes that it may fail the asset diversification test, the Fund may seek to take certain actions to avert such a failure. However, the action typically taken by RICs to avert such a failure (e.g., the disposition of assets causing the asset diversification discrepancy) may be difficult for the Fund to pursue because of the limited liquidity of the interests in the Private Market Assets. While the Code generally affords the Fund a 30-dayperiod after the end of the relevant quarter in which to cure a diversification failure by disposing of non-diversifiedassets, the constraints on the Fund's ability to do so may limit utilization of this statutory 30-daycure period and, possibly, the extended cure period provided by the Code as discussed above.

If the Fund does not qualify as a RIC, it will be treated for tax purposes as an ordinary corporation. In that case, all of its taxable income would be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions made to Shareholders. In addition, all distributions (including distributions of net capital gain) made to Shareholders generally would be characterized as dividend income to the extent of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits.

Distributions

The Fund will ordinarily declare and pay distributions from its net investment income and distribute net realized capital gains, if any, at least once a year. The Fund, however, may make distributions on a more frequent basis to comply with the distribution requirements of the Code, in all events in a manner consistent with the provisions of the 1940 Act. After the end of each calendar year, Shareholders will be provided a Form 1099, containing information regarding the amount and character of distributions received from the Fund during the calendar year.

Shareholders normally will be subject to U.S. federal income taxes, and any state and/or local income taxes, on any dividends or other distributions that they receive from the Fund. Distributions from net investment income and net short-term capital gain generally will be characterized as ordinary income (which generally cannot be offset with capital losses from other sources), and, to the extent attributable to dividends from U.S. corporations, may be eligible for a dividends-received deduction for Shareholders that are corporations. Further, to the extent the dividends are attributable to dividends from U.S. corporations and certain foreign corporations, such dividends may, in certain cases, be eligible for treatment as "qualified dividend income," which is generally subject to tax at rates equivalent to long-term capital gain tax rates, by Shareholders that are individuals. Distributions from net capital gain (typically referred to as a "capital gain dividend") will be characterized as long-term capital gain, regardless of how long Shares have been held by the Shareholder and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction or treatment as "qualified dividend income." However, if the Shareholder received any long-term capital gain distributions in respect of the repurchased Shares (including, for this purpose, amounts credited as undistributed capital gains in respect of those Shares) and held the repurchased Shares for six months or less, any loss realized by the Shareholder upon the repurchase will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent that it offsets the long-term capital gain distributions.

Distributions by the Fund that are or are considered to be in excess of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits for the relevant period will be treated as a tax-freereturn of capital to the extent of (and in reduction of) a Shareholder's tax basis in its Shares and any such amount in excess of such tax basis will be treated as gain from the sale of Shares, as discussed below. Similarly, as discussed below at "Income from Repurchases and Transfers of Shares," if a repurchase or transfer of a Shareholder's Shares does not qualify for sale or exchange treatment, the Shareholder may, in connection with such repurchase or transfer, be treated as having received, in whole or in part, a taxable dividend, a tax-freereturn of capital or taxable capital gain, depending on (i) whether the Fund has sufficient earnings and profits to support a dividend and (ii) the Shareholder's tax basis in the relevant Shares repurchased or transferred. In such case, the tax basis in the Shares repurchased or transferred by the Fund, to the extent remaining after any dividend and return of capital distribution with respect to those Shares, will be added to the tax basis of any remaining Shares held by the Shareholder.

The tax treatment of the Fund's distributions from net investment income and capital gains generally will be the same whether the Shareholder takes such distributions in cash or reinvests them to buy additional Shares.

The Fund may elect to retain its net capital gain or a portion thereof for investment and be subject to tax at corporate rates on the amount retained. In such case, the Fund may report the retained amount as undistributed capital gains to its Shareholders, who will be treated as if each Shareholder received a distribution of his or her pro rata share of such gain, with the result that each Shareholder will (i) be required to report his or her pro rata share of such gain on his or her tax return as long-term capital gain, (ii) receive a refundable tax credit for his or her pro rata share of tax paid by the Fund on the gain, and (iii) increase the tax basis for his or her Shares by an amount equal to the deemed distribution less the tax credit.

For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2026, individuals (and certain other non-corporateentities) are generally eligible for a 20% deduction with respect to taxable ordinary real estate investment trust ("REIT") dividends. Applicable Treasury regulations allow RICs to pass through to shareholders such taxable ordinary REIT dividends. Accordingly, individual (and certain other non-corporate)Shareholders of the Fund that have received such taxable ordinary REIT dividends may be able to take advantage of this 20% deduction with respect to any such amounts passed through.

Certain distributions reported by the Fund as section 163(j) interest dividends may be treated as interest income by Shareholders for purposes of the tax rules applicable to interest expense limitations under Section 163(j) of the Code. Such treatment by the Shareholder is generally subject to holding period requirements and other potential limitations, although the holding period requirements are generally not applicable to dividends declared by money market funds and certain other funds that declare dividends daily and pay such dividends on a monthly or more frequent basis. The amount that the Fund is eligible to report as a Section 163(j) dividend for a tax year is generally limited to the excess of the Fund's business interest income over the sum of the Fund's (i) business interest expense and (ii) other deductions properly allocable to the Fund's business interest income.

An additional 3.8% tax will be imposed in respect of the net investment income of certain individuals and on the undistributed net investment income of certain estates and trusts to the extent such person's "modified adjusted gross income" (in the case of an individual) or "adjusted gross income" (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds certain threshold amounts. For these purposes, "net investment income" will generally include, among other things, dividends (including dividends paid with respect to the Shares to the extent paid out of the Fund's current or accumulated earnings and profits as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles) and net gain attributable to the disposition of property not held in a trade or business (which could include net gain from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of Shares), but will be reduced by any deductions properly allocable to such income or net gain. Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisors regarding the additional taxation of net investment income.

Income from Repurchases and Transfers of Shares

A repurchase or transfer of Shares by the Fund generally will be treated as a taxable transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes, either as a "sale or exchange," or, under certain circumstances, as a "dividend." In general, the transaction should be treated as a sale or exchange of the Shares if the receipt of cash results in a meaningful reduction in the Shareholder's proportionate interest in the Fund or results in a "complete redemption" of the Shareholder's Shares, in each case applying certain constructive ownership rules in the Code. Alternatively, if a

Shareholder does not tender all of his or her Shares, such repurchase or transfer may not be treated as a sale or exchange for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and the gross amount of such repurchase or transfer may constitute a dividend to the Shareholder to the extent of such Shareholder's pro rata share of the Fund's current and accumulated earnings and profits.

If the repurchase or transfer of a Shareholder's Shares qualifies for sale or exchange treatment, the Shareholder will recognize gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount received in exchange for the repurchased or transferred Shares and the adjusted tax basis of those Shares. Such gain or loss will be capital gain or loss if the repurchased or transferred Shares were held by the Shareholder as capital assets, and generally will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the repurchased or transferred Shares were held by the Shareholder for more than one year, or as short-term capital gain or loss if the repurchased or transferred Shares were held by the Shareholder for one year or less.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, any capital loss realized by a Shareholder will be disallowed to the extent the Shares repurchased or transferred by the Fund are replaced (including through reinvestment of dividends) either with Shares or substantially identical securities within a period of 61 days beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the repurchase of the Shares. If disallowed, the loss will be reflected as an upward adjustment to the basis of the Shares acquired. The deductibility of capital losses may be subject to statutory limitations.

If the repurchase or transfer of a Shareholder's Shares does not qualify for sale or exchange treatment, the Shareholder may be treated as having received, in whole or in part, a taxable dividend, a tax-freereturn of capital or taxable capital gain, depending on (i) whether the Fund has sufficient earnings and profits to support a dividend and (ii) the Shareholder's tax basis in the relevant Shares.

The tax basis in the Shares repurchased or transferred by the Fund, to the extent remaining after any dividend and return of capital distribution with respect to those Shares, will be added to the tax basis of any remaining Shares held by the Shareholder.

The Fund generally will be required to report to the IRS and each Shareholder the cost basis and holding period for each respective Shareholder's Shares repurchased or transferred by the Fund. The Fund has elected the average cost method as the default cost basis method for purposes of this requirement. If a Shareholder wishes to accept the average cost method as its default cost basis calculation method in respect of Shares in its account, the Shareholder does not need to take any additional action. If, however, a Shareholder wishes to affirmatively elect an alternative cost basis calculation method in respect of its Shares, the Shareholder must contact the Fund's administrator to obtain and complete a cost basis election form. The cost basis method applicable to a particular Share repurchase may not be changed after the valuation date established by the Fund in respect of that repurchase or Share transfer. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors regarding their cost basis reporting options and to obtain more information about how the cost basis reporting rules apply to them.

A sale of Shares, other than in the context of a repurchase or transfer of Shares by the Fund, generally will have the same tax consequences as described above in respect of a Share repurchase or transfer that qualifies for "sale or exchange" treatment.

If a Shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to Shares in excess of certain prescribed thresholds (generally, $2,500,000 or more for an individual Shareholder or $10,000,000 or more for a corporate Shareholder), the Shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on an IRS Form 8886. Direct investors of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but, under current guidance, equity owners of RICs are not excepted. The fact that a loss is reportable as just described does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer's treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of this reporting requirement in light of their particular circumstances.

Other Considerations

Unless and until the Fund is considered under the Code to be a "publicly offered regulated investment company," for purposes of computing the taxable income of U.S. Shareholders that are individuals, trusts or estates, (1) the Fund's earnings will be computed without taking into account such U.S. Shareholders' allocable shares of the Management Fees and certain other expenses, (2) each such U.S. Shareholder will be treated as having received or

accrued a dividend from the Fund in the amount of such U.S. Shareholder's allocable share of these fees and expenses for such taxable year, (3) each such U.S. Shareholder will be treated as having paid or incurred such U.S. Shareholder's allocable share of these fees and expenses for the calendar year and (4) each such U.S. Shareholder's allocable share of these fees and expenses will be treated as miscellaneous itemized deductions by such U.S. stockholder. For taxable years beginning before 2026, miscellaneous itemized deductions generally are not deductible by a U.S. Shareholder that is an individual, trust or estate. For taxable years beginning in 2026 or later, miscellaneous itemized deductions generally are deductible by a U.S. Shareholder that is an individual, trust or estate only to the extent that the aggregate of such U.S. Shareholder's miscellaneous itemized deductions exceeds 2% of such U.S. stockholder's adjusted gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, are not deductible for purposes of the alternative minimum tax and are subject to the overall limitation on itemized deductions under Section 68 of the Code. In addition, if the Fund is not treated as a "publicly offered regulated investment company," the Fund will be subject to limitations on the deductibility of certain "preferential dividends" that are distributed to U.S. stockholders on a non-pro-ratabasis. A "publicly offered regulated investment company" is a RIC whose equity interests are (i) continuously offered pursuant to a public offering, (ii) regularly traded on an established securities market, or (iii) held by at least 500 persons at all times during the taxable year.

Fund Investments

The Fund invests a portion of its assets in Investment Funds, some of which may be classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. An entity that is properly classified as a partnership (and not an association or publicly traded partnership taxable as a corporation) generally is not subject to an entity-level U.S. federal income tax. Instead, each partner of the partnership is required to take into account its distributive share of the partnership's net capital gain or loss, net short-term capital gain or loss, and its other items of ordinary income or loss (including all items of income, gain, loss and deduction allocable to that partnership from investments in other partnerships) for each taxable year of the partnership ending with or within the partner's taxable year. Each such item will have the same character to a partner and will generally have the same source (either United States or foreign), as though the partner realized the item directly. Partners of a partnership must report these items regardless of the extent to which, or whether, the partnership or the partners receive cash distributions for such taxable year. Accordingly, the Fund may be required to recognize items of taxable income and gain prior to the time that any corresponding cash distributions are made to or by the Fund and certain Investment Funds (including in circumstances where investments by the Investment Funds, such as investments in debt instrument with "original issue discount," generate income prior to a corresponding receipt of cash). In such case, the Fund may have to dispose of interests in Investment Funds that it would otherwise have continued to hold, or devise other methods of cure, to the extent certain Investment Funds earn income of a type that is not qualifying gross income for purposes of the gross income test or hold assets that could cause the Fund not to satisfy the RIC asset diversification test.

Some of the income that the Fund may earn directly or through an Investment Fund, such as income recognized from an equity investment in an operating partnership, may not satisfy the gross income test. To manage the risk that such income might jeopardize the Fund's tax status as a RIC resulting from a failure to satisfy the gross income test, one or more subsidiary entities treated as U.S. corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes may be employed to earn such income and (if applicable) hold the related investment. Such subsidiary entities generally will be required to incur entity-level income taxes on their earnings, which ultimately will reduce the return to Shareholders.

UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, REFERENCES IN THIS DISCUSSION TO THE FUND'S INVESTMENTS, ACTIVITIES, INCOME, GAIN AND LOSS, INCLUDE THE DIRECT INVESTMENTS OR CO-INVESTMENTS,ACTIVITIES, INCOME, GAIN AND LOSS OF BOTH THE FUND, AS WELL AS THOSE INDIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE FUND AS A RESULT OF THE FUND'S INVESTMENT IN ANY INVESTMENT FUND (OR OTHER ENTITY) THAT IS PROPERLY CLASSIFIED AS A PARTNERSHIP OR DISREGARDED ENTITY FOR U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX PURPOSES (AND NOT AN ASSOCIATION OR PUBLICLY TRADED PARTNERSHIP TAXABLE AS A CORPORATION).

Ordinarily, gains and losses realized from portfolio transactions will be characterized as capital gains and losses. However, because the functional currency of the Fund for U.S. federal income tax purposes is the U.S. dollar, a portion of the gain or loss realized from the disposition of foreign currencies (including foreign currency denominated bank deposits) and non-U.S.dollar denominated securities (including debt instruments, certain futures or forward contracts and options, and similar financial instruments) is generally characterized as ordinary income or

loss in accordance with Section 988 of the Code. Section 988 of the Code similarly provides that gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates that occur between the time the Fund accrues interest or other receivables or accrues expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time such receivables are collected or the time that the liabilities are paid would be generally characterized as ordinary income or loss. In addition, all or a portion of any gains realized from the sale or other disposition of certain market discount bonds will be characterized as ordinary income. Finally, all or a portion of any gain realized from engaging in "conversion transactions" (as defined in the Code to generally include certain transactions designed to convert ordinary income into capital gain) may be characterized as ordinary income.

Hedging and Derivative Transactions

Gain or loss, if any, realized from certain financial futures or forward contracts and options transactions ("Section 1256 Contracts") generally is treated as 60% long-term capital gain or loss and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Gain or loss will arise upon exercise or lapse of Section 1256 Contracts. In addition, any Section 1256 Contracts remaining unexercised both at October 31 of each calendar year as well as at the end of the Fund's taxable year are treated as sold for their then fair market value, resulting in the recognition of gain or loss characterized in the manner described above.

The Fund may acquire certain foreign currency forward contracts, enter into certain foreign currency futures contracts, acquire put and call options on foreign currencies, or acquire or enter into similar foreign currency-related financial instruments. Generally, foreign currency regulated futures contracts and option contracts that qualify as Section 1256 Contracts will not be subject to ordinary income or loss treatment under Section 988 of the Code. However, if the Fund acquires or enters into any foreign currency futures contracts or options contracts that are not Section 1256 Contracts, or any foreign currency forward contracts or similar foreign currency-related financial instruments, any gain or loss realized by the Fund with respect to such contract or financial instruments generally will be characterized as ordinary gain or loss unless the contract or financial instrument in question is a capital asset in the hands of the Fund and is not part of a straddle transaction (as described below), and an election is made by the Fund (before the close of the day the transaction is entered into) to characterize the gain or loss attributable to such contract or financial instrument as capital gain or loss.

Offsetting positions held by the Fund, or the Investment Funds, involving certain financial futures or forward contracts or options transactions with respect to actively traded personal property may be considered, for tax purposes, to constitute "straddles." In addition, investments by the Fund in particular combinations of Investment Funds may also be treated as a "straddle." To the extent the straddle rules apply to positions established by the Fund, or the Investment Funds, losses realized by the Fund may be deferred to the extent of unrealized gain in the offsetting positions. Further, short-term capital loss on straddle positions may be recharacterized as long-term capital loss, and long-term capital gains on straddle positions may be treated as short-term capital gains or ordinary income. Certain of the straddle positions held by the Fund, or the Investment Funds, may constitute "mixed straddles." One or more elections may be made in respect of the U.S. federal income tax treatment of "mixed straddles," resulting in different tax consequences. In certain circumstances, the provisions governing the tax treatment of straddles override or modify certain of the provisions discussed above.

If the Fund, or possibly an Investment Fund, either (1) holds an appreciated financial position with respect to stock, certain debt obligations or partnership interests ("appreciated financial position"), and then enters into a short sale, futures, forward, or offsetting notional principal contract (collectively, a "Contract") with respect to the same or substantially identical property, or (2) holds an appreciated financial position that is a Contract and then acquires property that is the same as, or substantially identical to, the underlying property, the Fund generally will be taxed as if the appreciated financial position were sold at its fair market value on the date the Fund, or such Investment Fund, enters into the financial position or acquires the property, respectively. The foregoing will not apply, however, to any transaction during any taxable year that otherwise would be treated as a constructive sale if the transaction is closed within 30 days after the end of that year and the appreciated financial position is held unhedged for 60 days after that closing (i.e., at no time during that 60-dayperiod is the risk of loss relating to the appreciated financial position reduced by reason of certain specified transactions with respect to substantially identical or related property, such as by reason of an option to sell, being contractually obligated to sell, making a short sale, or granting an option to buy substantially identical stock or securities).

If the Fund, or possibly an Investment Fund, enters into certain derivatives (including forward contracts, long positions under notional principal contracts, and related puts and calls) with respect to equity interests in certain pass-thru entities (including other RICs, REITs, partnerships, real estate mortgage investment conduits and certain trusts and foreign corporations), long-term capital gain with respect to the derivative may be recharacterized as ordinary income to the extent it exceeds the long-term capital gain that would have been realized had the interest in the pass-thru entity been held directly during the term of the derivative contract. Any gain recharacterized as ordinary income will be treated as accruing at a constant rate over the term of the derivative contract and may be subject to an interest charge. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the "Treasury") and the IRS have the authority to issue regulations expanding the application of these rules to derivatives with respect to debt instruments and/or stock in corporations that are not pass-thru entities.

Passive Foreign Investment Companies and Controlled Foreign Corporations

The Fund may indirectly hold equity interests in non-U.S.Investment Funds and/or non-U.S.portfolio companies that may be treated as "passive foreign investment companies" (each, a "PFIC") under the Code. A PFIC is generally defined as a non-U.S.entity which is classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and which earns at least 75% of its annual gross income from passive sources (such as interest, dividends, rents, royalties or capital gain) or which holds at least 50% of its total assets in assets producing such passive income. The Fund may be subject to U.S. federal income tax, at ordinary income rates, on a portion of any "excess distribution" or gain from the disposition of such interests even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the Fund to its Shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the Fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains. If an election is made to treat the PFIC as a "qualified electing fund" under the Code (a "QEF"), then the Fund would be required, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, to include in income each year a portion of the QEF's ordinary earnings and net capital gain (at ordinary income and capital gains rates, respectively), even if not distributed to the Fund. If the QEF incurs losses for a taxable year, these losses will not pass through to the Fund and, accordingly, cannot offset other income and/or gains of the Fund. The QEF election may not be able to be made with respect to many PFICs because of certain requirements that the PFICs themselves would have to satisfy. Alternatively, in certain cases, an election can be made to mark-to-marketthe shares of a PFIC held by the Fund at the end of the Fund's taxable year (as well as on certain other dates prescribed in the Code). In this case, the Fund would recognize as ordinary income its share of any increase in the value of such PFIC shares, and as ordinary loss its share of any decrease in such value, to the extent such did not exceed its share of prior increases in income derived from such PFIC shares. Under either election, the Fund might be required to recognize income in excess of its distributions from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during the applicable taxable year and such income would nevertheless be subject to the distribution requirement and would be taken into account under prescribed timing rules for purposes of the 4% excise tax (described above).

Dividends paid by PFICs will not be treated as "qualified dividend income." In certain cases, the Fund will not be the party legally permitted to make the QEF election or the mark-to-marketelection in respect of indirectly held PFICs and, in such cases, will not have control over whether the party within the chain of ownership that is legally permitted to make the QEF or mark-to-marketelection will do so.

If the Fund holds 10% or more (by vote or value) of the interests treated as equity for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a foreign entity classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes and considered a controlled foreign corporation ("CFC") under the Code, the Fund may be treated as receiving a deemed distribution (i.e., characterized as ordinary income) each taxable year from such foreign corporation in an amount equal to its pro rata share of such entity's income for such taxable year (including both ordinary earnings and capital gains), whether or not the entity makes an actual distribution during such taxable year. The Fund would be required to include the amount of a deemed distribution from a CFC when computing its investment company taxable income as well as in determining whether the Fund satisfies the distribution requirements applicable to RICs, even to the extent the amount of the Fund's income deemed recognized from the CFC exceeds the amount of any actual distributions from the CFC and the proceeds from any sales or other dispositions of CFC stock during the Fund's taxable year. In general, a foreign entity classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes will be considered a CFC if greater than 50% of the shares of the corporation, measured by reference to combined voting power or value, is owned (directly, indirectly or by attribution) by U.S. Shareholders. A "U.S. Shareholder," for this purpose, is any U.S. person that possesses (actually or constructively) 10% or more of the combined voting power or value of all classes of shares of a foreign entity classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Under applicable final Treasury regulations, certain income derived by the Fund from a CFC or a PFIC with respect to which the Fund has made a QEF election would generally constitute qualifying income under the gross income test for purposes of determining the Fund's ability to be subject to tax as a RIC only to the extent the CFC or the PFIC makes current distributions of that income to the Fund or the included income is derived with respect to the Fund's business of investing in stocks and securities. The Fund may be restricted in its ability to make QEF elections with respect to the Fund's holdings in Investment Funds and other issuers that could be treated as PFICs or implement certain restrictions with the respect to any Investment Funds or other issuers that could be treated as CFCs in order to limit the Fund's tax liability or maximize the Fund's after-taxreturn from these investments.

State and Local Taxes

In addition to the U.S. federal income tax consequences summarized above, Shareholders and prospective Shareholders should consider the potential state and local tax consequences associated with an investment in the Fund. The Fund may become subject to income and other taxes in states and localities based on the Fund's investments in entities that conduct business in those jurisdictions. Shareholders will generally be taxable in their state of residence with respect to their income or gains earned and distributed by the Fund as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or the amount of their investment in the Fund.

Foreign Taxes

The Fund's investment in non-U.S.stocks or securities may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by countries outside the United States. In that case, the Fund's yield on those stocks or securities would be decreased. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes. If more than 50% of the Fund's assets at year-endconsists of the stock or securities of foreign corporations, the Fund may elect to permit its Shareholders to claim a credit or deduction on their income tax returns for their pro rata portion of qualified taxes paid or deemed paid by the Fund to foreign countries in respect of foreign stock or securities the Fund has held for at least the minimum period specified in the Code. In such a case, Shareholders of the Fund will include in gross income from foreign sources their pro rata shares of such taxes. The Fund does not expect to meet the requirements to make the election described above in respect of the treatment of foreign taxes.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

Information returns will generally be filed with the IRS in connection with distributions made by the Fund to Shareholders unless Shareholders establish they are exempt from such information reporting (e.g., by properly establishing that they are classified as corporations for U.S. federal tax purposes). Additionally, the Fund may be required to withhold, for U.S. federal income taxes, a portion of all taxable dividends and repurchase proceeds payable to Shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification numbers, generally on an IRS Form W-9,or who otherwise fail to make required certifications, or if the Fund or the Shareholder has been notified by the IRS that such Shareholder is subject to backup withholding. Certain Shareholders specified in the Code and the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder are exempt from backup withholding, but they may be required to demonstrate their exempt status. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld will be allowed as a refund or a credit against the Shareholder's federal income tax liability if the appropriate information is provided to the IRS.

U.S. Federally Tax-ExemptShareholders

Under current law, the Fund serves to "block" (that is, prevent the attribution to Shareholders of) unrelated business taxable income ("UBTI") from being realized by its U.S. federally tax-exemptShareholders (including, among others, individual retirement accounts ("IRAs"), 401(k) accounts, Keogh plans, pension plans and certain charitable entities). Notwithstanding the foregoing, a U.S. federally tax-exemptShareholder could realize UBTI by virtue of its investment in Shares of the Fund if the US, federally tax-exemptShareholder has engaged in a borrowing or other similar transaction to acquire its Shares. A tax-exemptShareholder may also recognize UBTI if the Fund were to recognize "excess inclusion income" derived from direct or indirect investments in residual interests in real estate mortgage investment conduits or taxable mortgage pools. If a charitable remainder annuity trust or a charitable remainder unitrust (each as defined in Section 664 of the Code) has UBTI for a taxable year, a 100% excise tax on the UBTI is imposed on the trust.

Foreign Shareholders

U.S. taxation of a Shareholder who, as to the United States, is a nonresident alien individual, a foreign trust or estate, or a foreign corporation ("Foreign Shareholder") as defined in the Code, depends on whether the income of the Fund is "effectively connected" with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the Foreign Shareholder.

Income Not Effectively Connected. If the income from the Fund is not "effectively connected" with a U.S. trade or business carried on by the Foreign Shareholder, distributions of investment company taxable income will generally be subject to a U.S. tax of 30% (or lower treaty rate, except in the case of any "excess inclusion income" allocated to the Foreign Shareholder), which tax is generally withheld from such distributions. Capital gain dividends and any amounts retained by the Fund which are properly reported by the Fund as undistributed capital gains will not be subject to U.S. tax at the rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate), unless the Foreign Shareholder is a nonresident alien individual and is physically present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year and meets certain other requirements. In order to qualify for any reduction or exemption from U.S. withholding tax, a Foreign Shareholder must comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S.status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN, IRS Form W-8BEN-E, IRS Form W-8ECI, IRS Form W-8IMYor IRS Form W-8EXP,or an acceptable substitute or successor form). However, this 30% tax on capital gains of nonresident alien individuals who are physically present in the United States for more than the 182 day period only applies in exceptional cases because any individual present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year is generally treated as a resident for U.S. income tax purposes; in that case, he or she would be subject to U.S. income tax on his or her worldwide income at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, rather than the 30% tax.

Any capital gain that a Foreign Shareholder realizes upon a repurchase of Shares or otherwise upon a sale or exchange of Shares will ordinarily be exempt from U.S. tax unless, in the case of a Foreign Shareholder that is a nonresident alien individual, the gain is U.S. source income and such Foreign Shareholder is physically present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year and meets certain other requirements. However, this 30% tax on capital gains of nonresident alien individuals who are physically present in the United States for more than the 182 day period only applies in exceptional cases because any individual present in the United States for more than 182 days during the taxable year is generally treated as a resident for U.S. income tax purposes; in that case, he or she would be subject to U.S. income tax on his or her worldwide income at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, rather than the 30% tax.

Income Effectively Connected. If the income from the Fund is "effectively connected" with a U.S. trade or business carried on by a Foreign Shareholder, then distributions of investment company taxable income and capital gain dividends, any amounts retained by the Fund which are reported by the Fund as undistributed capital gains, and any gains realized upon the sale or exchange of Shares of the Fund will be subject to U.S. income tax at the graduated rates applicable to U.S. citizens, residents and domestic corporations. Corporate Foreign Shareholders may also be subject to the branch profits tax imposed by the Code.

In the case of a Foreign Shareholder, the Fund may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax from distributions and repurchase proceeds that are otherwise exempt from withholding tax (or taxable at a reduced treaty rate), unless the Foreign Shareholder certifies his foreign status under penalties of perjury or otherwise establishes an exemption in the manner discussed above.

The tax consequences to a Foreign Shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable tax treaty may differ from those described herein. Foreign Shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisors with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

The Fund is required under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA") provisions of the Code to withhold U.S. tax (at a 30% rate) on payments of amounts treated as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes made to certain non-U.S.entities (including financial intermediaries) that fail to comply (or be deemed compliant) with extensive reporting and withholding requirements designed to inform the Treasury of U.S.- owned foreign investment accounts unless various U.S. information reporting and diligence requirements (that are in addition to and significantly more onerous than, the requirement to deliver an applicable U.S. nonresident withholding tax certification form (e.g., IRS Form W-8BEN))and certain other requirements have been satisfied. The information

required to be reported includes the identity and taxpayer identification number of each account holder and transaction activity within the holder's account. Persons located in jurisdictions that have entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. to implement FATCA may be subject to different rules. Shareholders may be requested to provide additional information to the Fund to enable the Fund to determine whether withholding is required.

Other Taxation

The foregoing represents a summary of the general tax rules and considerations affecting Shareholders and the Fund's operations, and neither purports to be a complete analysis of all relevant tax rules and considerations, nor does it purport to be a complete listing of all potential tax risks inherent in making an investment in the Fund. A Shareholder may be subject to other taxes, including but not limited to, other state, local, and foreign taxes, estate and inheritance taxes, or intangible property taxes, that may be imposed by various jurisdictions. The Fund also may be subject to additional state, local, or foreign taxes that could reduce the amounts distributable to Shareholders. It is the responsibility of each Shareholder to file all appropriate tax returns that may be required. Shareholders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the state, local and foreign tax consequences of an investment in Shares and the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund. In addition to the particular matters set forth in this section, tax-exemptentities should carefully review those section of the Prospectus and this SAI regarding liquidity and other financial matters to ascertain whether the investment objectives of the Fund are consistent with their overall investment plans.

ERISA AND CERTAIN OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Persons who are fiduciaries with respect to an employee benefit plan, IRA, Keogh plan, or other arrangement subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ("ERISA"), or the Code (an "ERISA Plan") should consider, among other things, the matters described below before determining whether to invest in the Fund. ERISA imposes certain general and specific responsibilities on persons who are fiduciaries with respect to an ERISA Plan, including prudence, diversification, an obligation not to engage in a prohibited transaction and other standards.

An ERISA Plan that proposes to invest in the Fund may be required to represent to the Board of Trustees that it, and any fiduciaries responsible for such ERISA Plan's investments, are aware of and understand the Fund's investment objective; policies and strategies; that the decision to invest plan assets in the Fund was made with appropriate consideration of relevant investment factors with regard to the ERISA Plan; and that the decision to invest plan assets in the Fund is consistent with the duties and responsibilities imposed upon fiduciaries with regard to their investment decisions under ERISA and the Code, as applicable.

Certain prospective Benefit Plan Shareholders may currently maintain relationships with the Advisers or their affiliates. Each of such persons may be deemed to be a fiduciary of or other party in interest or disqualified person of any Benefit Plan to which it provides investment management, investment advisory or other services. ERISA prohibits (and the Code penalizes) the use of ERISA Plan assets for the benefit of a party in interest, and also prohibits (or penalizes) an ERISA Plan fiduciary from using its position to cause such ERISA Plan to make an investment from which it or certain third-parties in which such fiduciary has an interest would receive a fee or other consideration. ERISA Plan Shareholders should consult with their own counsel and other advisors to determine if participation in the Fund is a transaction that is prohibited by ERISA or the Code or is otherwise inappropriate. Fiduciaries of ERISA Plan Shareholders may be required to represent that the decision to invest in the Fund was made by them as fiduciaries that are independent of such affiliated persons, that such fiduciaries are duly authorized to make such investment decision and that they have not relied on any individualized advice of such affiliated persons as a basis for the decision to invest in the Fund.

Employee benefit plans or similar arrangements which are not subject to either ERISA or the related provisions of the Code may be subject to other rules governing such plans, and such plans are not addressed above; fiduciaries of employee benefit plans or similar arrangements which are not subject to ERISA, whether or not subject to the Code, should consult with their own counsel and other advisors regarding such matters.

The provisions of ERISA and the Code are subject to extensive and continuing administrative and judicial interpretation and review. The discussion of ERISA and the Code contained herein is, of necessity, general and may be affected by future publication of regulations and rulings. Potential investors should consult their legal advisers regarding the consequences under ERISA and the Code of the acquisition and ownership of Shares.

THE FUND'S SALE OF SHARES TO ERISA PLANS IS IN NO RESPECT A REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY BY THE FUND, THE ADVISERS, OR ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES, OR BY ANY OTHER PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH THE SALE OF THE SHARES, THAT SUCH INVESTMENT BY ANY ERISA PLAN MEETS ALL RELEVANT LEGAL REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO ERISA PLANS GENERALLY OR TO ANY PARTICULAR ERISA PLAN, OR THAT SUCH INVESTMENT IS OTHERWISE APPROPRIATE FOR ERISA PLANS GENERALLY OR FOR ANY PARTICULAR ERISA PLAN.

ADMINISTRATOR AND SUB-ADMINISTRATOR

The Administrator, when providing services under the administration agreement, serves as the Fund's administrator and will provide certain administrative and fund accounting services to the Fund. Under the terms of an administration agreement between the Fund and the Administrator (the "Administration Agreement"), the Administrator is responsible for, among other things, certain administration, accounting and investor services for the Fund. In consideration for these services, the Fund pays the Administrator the Administration Fee in an amount up to 0.12% on an annualized basis of the Fund's net assets. The Administration Fee is calculated based on the Fund's month-endnet asset value and payable monthly in arrears. The Administration Fee is an expense paid out of the Fund's net assets. The Administrator's principal business address is 128 S Tryon St., Suite 1600, Charlotte, NC 28202.

The Administration Agreement provides that, in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the responsibilities, obligations or duties thereunder, neither the Administrator nor its shareholders, officers, directors, employees, agents or control persons shall be liable for any act or omission in connection with or arising out of any services rendered under the Administration Agreement.

UMB Fund Services, Inc. serves as the Fund's sub-administrator(the "Sub-Administrator")and performs certain sub-administrationand sub-accountingservices for the Fund. In consideration of the sub-administrativeservices and sub-accountingservices provided by the Sub-Administratorto the Fund, the Administrator pays the Sub-Administratorfrom the proceeds of the Administration Fee a sub-administrationfee (the "Sub-AdministrationFee") in an amount up to 0.08% on an annualized basis of the Fund's net assets, subject to a minimum annual fee. The Sub-AdministrationFee is calculated based on the Fund's month-endnet asset value and payable monthly in arrears. The Sub-Administrator'sprincipal business address is 235 West Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212.

CUSTODIAN AND TRANSFER AGENT

UMB Bank, N.A. (the "Custodian") serves as the custodian of the Fund's assets and may maintain custody of the Fund's assets with domestic and foreign sub-custodians(which may be banks, trust companies, securities depositories and clearing agencies) approved by the Trustees. Assets of the Fund are not held by the Advisers or commingled with the assets of other accounts other than to the extent that securities are held in the name of a custodian in a securities depository, clearing agency or omnibus customer account of such custodian. The Custodian's principal business address is 928 Grand Blvd., 5th Floor, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.

UMB Fund Services, Inc. serves as Transfer Agent with respect to maintaining the registry of the Fund's Shareholders and processing matters relating to subscriptions for, and repurchases of, Shares. The Transfer Agent's principal business address is 235 West Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212.

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

Ernst & Young LLP serves as the independent registered public accounting firm of the Fund. Its principal business address is One Manhattan West, New York, NY 10001.

DISTRIBUTOR

Distribution Services, LLC acts as the distributor of the Fund's Shares. The Distributor's principal business address is 235 West Galena Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212.

LEGAL COUNSEL

Dechert LLP, New York, New York, acts as legal counsel to the Fund. Its principal business address is 1095 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036.

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF SECURITIES

To the knowledge of the Fund, as of October 25, 2024, the following persons owned of record or beneficially 5% or more of the outstanding Shares of a class. As of October 25, 2024, to the knowledge of the Fund, the officers and trustees of the Fund as a group beneficially owned 0.18% of the Fund.

Class

Name & Address

Percentage of Class

T

LPL Financial LLC

4707 Executive Drive

San Diego, CA 92121

70.1%
I

StepStone Private Markets Feeder Ltd - Class A

PO Box 309 Ugland House

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands 037 KY1-1

12.8%

As of the date of this Prospectus, there were no Shareholders that held greater than 25% of the voting securities of the Fund. A control person generally is a person who beneficially owns more than 25% of the voting securities of a company or has the power to exercise control over the management or policies of such company. Control persons could have the ability to vote a majority of the shares of a fund on any matter requiring the approval of shareholders of such fund.

REPORTS TO SHAREHOLDERS

By January 31 of the following year, Shareholders will be provided a Form 1099, containing information regarding the amount and character of distributions received from the Fund during the preceding calendar year. The Fund will prepare and transmit to its Shareholders, a semi-annual and an audited annual report within 60 days after the close of the period for which it is being made, or as otherwise required by the 1940 Act. Quarterly reports from the Adviser regarding the Fund's operations during such period also will be made available to the Fund's Shareholders.

FISCAL YEAR

For accounting purposes, the fiscal year of the Fund is the 12-monthperiod ending on March 31. The 12-monthperiod ending September 30 of each year will be the taxable year of the Fund unless otherwise determined by the Fund.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited consolidated financial statements and related report of Ernst & Young LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm, are herein incorporated by reference from the Fund's annual reportfor the period ended March 31, 2024. The Fund's annual report and semi-annual reports are available upon request, without charge, by calling (704) 215-4300,by visiting the Fund's website at www.stepstonepw.com or on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

ANNEX A STEPSTONE GROUP PRIVATE WEALTH LLC

PROXY VOTING POLICY

Pursuant to Rule 206(4)-6and Rule 204-2under the Advisers Act, it is a fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative act, practice or course of business, within the meaning of Section 206(4) of the Advisers Act, for an investment adviser to exercise voting authority with respect to client securities, unless (A) the adviser has adopted and implemented written policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that the adviser votes proxies in the best interests of its clients, (B) the adviser describes its proxy voting procedures to its clients and provides copies on request, and (C) the adviser discloses to clients how they may obtain information on how the adviser voted their proxies.

VOTING PROXIES

The Sub-Adviseris responsible for voting proxies on behalf of the Fund. The Sub-Advisermust vote proxies in a way that is consistent with the Sub-Adviser'sfiduciary duty to the Fund, and any investment policy of the Fund and maintain records of proxies voted, together with a brief explanation why votes were cast in a particular way.

The Sub-Adviser,as a matter of policy and as a fiduciary to the Fund, has responsibility for voting proxies for portfolio securities consistent with the best economic interest of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser'spolicy and practice includes the responsibility to monitor corporate actions, receive and vote client proxies and disclose any potential conflicts of interest as well as make information available to clients about the voting of proxies for their portfolio securities and maintaining relevant and required records.

The Sub-Adviserhas adopted the following procedures to implement StepStone's firm policy in regard to the Fund.

Voting Procedures

All investment professionals will forward any proxy materials received on behalf of the Fund to the Sub-Adviser'sChief Compliance Officer, as applicable.

The Sub-Adviser'sChief Compliance Officer, as applicable, will verify the Fund holds the security to which the proxy relates.

Absent material conflicts, the investment professionals responsible for the investment to which the proxy materials relate, in consultation with Sub-Adviser'sChief Compliance Officer will determine how the Sub-Advisershould vote the proxy in accordance with applicable voting guidelines, complete the proxy, and vote the proxy in a timely and appropriate manner.

Voting Guidelines

The Sub-Adviserwill vote proxies in the best interests of the Fund. The Sub-Adviser'spolicy is to vote all proxies from a specific issuer the same way for each client absent qualifying restrictions from a client or as documented in the file by Sub-Adviser'sChief Compliance Officer, as applicable. Clients of the Sub-Adviser,outside of the Fund, are permitted to place reasonable restrictions on the Sub-Adviser'svoting authority in the same manner that they may place such restrictions on the actual selection of account securities.

The Sub-Adviserwill generally vote in favor of routine corporate housekeeping proposals such as to change capitalization (e.g., increase the authorized number of common or preferred shares of stock (to the extent there are not disproportionate voting rights per preferred share)), the election of directors, setting the time and place of the annual meeting, change of fiscal year, change of name, and selection of auditors absent conflicts of interest raised by an auditor's non-auditservices.

In the case of non-routinematters, voting decisions will generally be made in support of management, unless it is believed that such recommendation is not in the best interests of the Fund. On a case by case basis, the Sub-Adviserwill decide non-routinematters, taking into account the opinion of management and the effect on management, and the effect on shareholder value and the issuer's business practices. These matters include, but are

not limited to, change of domicile, change in preemptive rights or cumulative voting rights, compensation plans, investment restrictions for social policy goals, precatory proposals, classification of the board of directors, poison pill proposals or amendments, recapitalizations, and super-majority voting.

The Sub-Adviserwill abstain from voting if it is determined to be in the best interests of the Fund. In making such a determination, various factors will be considered, including, but not limited to, the costs associated with exercising the proxy (e.g., travel or translation costs) and any legal restrictions on trading resulting from the exercise of the proxy. In consultation with the Sub-Adviser'sChief Compliance Officer, as applicable, the Sub-Advisermay also consider any special regulatory implications applicable to the client or the Sub-Adviserresulting from the exercise of the proxy.

Conflicts of Interest

The Sub-Adviserwill identify any conflicts that exist between the interests of the Sub-Adviserand the client by reviewing the relationship of the Sub-Adviserwith the issuer of each security to determine if the Sub-Adviseror any of its employees has any financial, business or personal relationship with the issuer.

If a material conflict of interest exists, the Sub-Adviser'sChief Compliance Officer, as applicable, will determine whether it is appropriate to disclose the conflict to the affected clients, to give the clients an opportunity to vote the proxies themselves, or to address the voting issue through other objective means such as voting in a manner consistent with a predetermined voting policy or receiving an independent third party voting recommendation.

The Sub-Adviserwill maintain a record of the resolution of any conflict of interest.

Recordkeeping

The Sub-Adviser'sChief Compliance Officer, as applicable, shall retain the following proxy records in accordance with the SEC's five-year retention requirement.

These policies and procedures and any amendments.

Each proxy statement that the Sub-Adviserreceives.

A record of each vote that the Sub-Advisercasts.

Any document the Sub-Advisercreated that was material to making a decision how to vote proxies, or that memorializes that decision including periodic reports to the Sub-Adviser'sChief Compliance Officer or proxy committee, if applicable.

A copy of each written request from the Board for information on how the Sub-Adviservoted the Fund's proxies, and a copy of any written response.

Private Markets Investments

Investments in private markets are often subject to contractual agreements among the investors in the fund or company. If the Sub-Adviserhas the authority to vote with respect to the interests, it will exercise its rights in accord with its contractual obligations and, if its vote is not constrained by contract, the Sub-Adviserwill determine how to vote based on the principles described above. Records relating to the vote will be kept for the five-year retention period.