StepStone appoints two MDs in Beijing

StepStone Group has hired a pair of managing directors for its Beijing office, the firm announced in a statement. 

Mu-Shin Kim, formerly head of private equity at the Asian Development Bank, will be responsible for investment and business development in Korea and Japan. Cathay Life Insurance Company’s former head of alternative investments Andy Tsai has been tasked with similar responsibilities for Taiwan and greater Asia, according to a release. 

At Asian Development Bank, Kim managed the bank’s private equity portfolio across Asian emerging markets, and also represented ADB on investment committees and LP advisory boards. 

Tsai was responsible for a $2 billion private equity and hedge fund portfolio at Cathay Life Insurance, where he had also worked as a derivatives portfolio manager. 

The appointments of Kim and Tsai are consistent with StepStone’s expansion in the region, where it has had a presence since 2007. StepStone opened its Beijing office in 2010.

China’s private equity market has shifted towards local managers in recent years, with a growing number of firms spinning out of global funds, StepStone chief executive officer Monte Brem said in an interview with Private Equity Asia last year. 

“It's a challenge in trying to determine who to back frankly, because there are so many spin-out groups,” he said.  

In his statement on Kim’s and Tsai’s appointments, Brem noted the pair’s experience as local investors as one reason for their hiring. 

“Global investors are increasingly seeking guidance in evaluating alternatives for deploying capital in Asia,” Brem said. “At the same time, Asian investors are expanding their focus on building global private equity exposure.”

StepStone oversees more than $50 billion of private equity allocations and has $10 billion of assets under management, according to a statement. The firm has offices in London, New York, San Diego and Beijing.