StepStone opens office in São Paulo

StepStone Group has opened an office in São Paulo, Brazil, the firm’s first in Latin America, according to a statement.

The office will be led by StepStone partner Duncan Littlejohn and vice president Bruna Riotta, both of whom previously worked at Paul Capital and are joining StepStone on 1 May. They will focus on reviewing primary, secondaries and co-investment opportunities and will handle client development in Brazil and across Latin America.

Littlejohn previously led Paul Capital’s Latin American efforts, having joined the firm in 2007. He has also been a partner at BPE Investimentos and its predecessor Brazilian fund manager Brasilpar, which he joined in 1995.

Riotto joined Paul Capital in 2010 after working as a financial analyst on the M&A team at São Paulo private equity firm Grupo Stratus.

“As our clients increase the capital they deploy there and Latin American clients look at global opportunities in alternative investments, we are pleased to be able to offer a full-service local presence,” StepStone chief executive officer Monte Brem said in the statement.

StepStone expects to invest at least $500 million in Latin America in 2014, according to a spokesperson. The firm has plans to add more employees to the São Paulo office, but declined to comment on when additional hires will be made.

StepStone oversees more than $60 billion of private capital allocations and has about $11 billion of assets under management. The firm makes investments in primary, secondary, mezzanine and co-investment funds.