Partner, Head of Research and Portfolio Management & Director, Stepstone
Search every verified Thomas Keck interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a September 2021 distinguished speaker series at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Tom Keck, a partner and head of research and portfolio management at StepStone Group, discussed the firm's approach to responsible investing and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) practices. Keck described ESG as a framework for analyzing risks and opportunities in any business, noting that the U.S. lags behind Europe and Australia in ESG adoption. He acknowledged that "greenwashing" is a significant problem and said that measurement, transparency, and disclosure are aimed at addressing that issue. Keck also discussed StepStone's efforts to lower entry barriers for smaller investors accessing private funds, describing a new product that uses data and techniques to intermediate small investors and create liquidity. Keck commented on market trends, stating that SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies) are "interesting" but that he is "not a big SPAC investor," noting that while SPAC economics are "amazing for sponsors," terms remain "egregious" for investors. He observed that margins in investment management have been declining, particularly in public markets due to passive strategies, while private markets have held margins better due to inefficiencies. Regarding hiring, Keck said StepStone has broadened its funnel to seek candidates with harder-to-teach skills like dealing with ambiguity, and that the firm teaches easier technical skills internally. He also identified industries where information technology has not yet taken hold, such as agriculture, as areas of opportunity.
Partners Tom Keck and Lisa Larsson offer valuable insights on how investors are navigating tight liquidity and low distributions. They also highlight growing optimism, driven in part by innovation in AI and its impact across private markets.
Meet StepStone Group, a private markets solutions provider with $723 billion in total capital responsibility (as of June 30, 2025). In June 2025, FTSE Russell announced a partnership with StepStone to leverage their extensive private markets database in the creation of new indices—designed to help investors better understand these strategies and potentially broaden access to the asset class. We sat down with Tom Keck, StepStone’s Co-founder and Partner, to explore the hidden value these next-generation private markets benchmarks are poised to unlock. The FTSE Russell Convenes series brings…
In the 9th episode of RPM—Reflections on Private Markets, head of research and portfolio management Tom Keck summarizes current market conditions (00:30), explains how StepStone is positioned with respect to inflation and interest rate risk (02:08), discusses where the risks and opportunities post-Covid may lie (04:18), and explores what effect higher input prices and interest rates would have on private markets (07:35). See omnystudio.com/listener (https://omnystudio.com/listener) for privacy information.
Tom is co-founder and head of research and portfolio management at StepStone, which manages over $150B and focuses on private markets. Tom shares an overview and insights about the various segments within private markets: equity, credit, real estate, infrastructure and secondaries. - This podcast/webcast is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal, tax, investment, or business advice. It is not a solicitation, recommendation, or endorsement. All opinions expressed by participants are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Evoke Advisors D…
In this event, Dean Rajan spoke with Tom Keck, '97, partner and head of research and portfolio management at StepStone Group ...
Sign in to search the full transcript archive, filter by topic, and access every quote from Thomas Keck.
The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →
Pro unlocks every transcript in full, plus unlimited search across every executive and company we cover.
50% off appliedPulling data at scale? The Data API gives you 30,000 transcripts a month over REST, MCP and JSON.
Compare all plans