Valuation Infrastructure: Where People, Technology, Data and AI Converge

This shift has accelerated amid growing regulatory scrutiny, technological change and increasing structural complexity, dynamics explored at Kroll’s 2026 Alternatives and Asset Management Conference. Regulators globally—including the SEC, FCA, The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, and Central Bank of Ireland—are placing increased emphasis on valuation transparency and, critically, how investor interests, particularly those of retail participants, are being protected.

At the same time, the rapid growth of evergreen and semi-liquid structures is reshaping the valuation landscape. More frequent net asset value (NAV) cycles, including the emergence of daily valuations, are placing unprecedented demands on firms’ abilities to produce consistent, timely and defensible outputs.

The question is no longer “How do we value this asset?” but “Do we have an infrastructure that can produce defensible valuations consistently, at scale and under scrutiny?”

Increasingly, valuation breakdowns are not driven by flawed methods, but by operational weaknesses—critical information being missed, valuation marks becoming stale or governance failing to keep pace with complexity. These risks remain largely untested in a market now defined by semi-liquid product proliferation.

Technology as an Enabler—Not the Answer

As valuation volumes grow, technology has become essential, but it is frequently misunderstood.

Firms are increasingly investing in integrated valuation platforms and data environments to support workflow management, centralize investment data and enable consistent auditable valuations at scale, while maintaining a clear distinction between technology enablement and valuation judgment.

Modern valuation infrastructure should extend well beyond calculation of engines. At a minimum, it integrates:

• Workflow orchestration and clear task ownership
• Centralized data management across complex private assets
• Model governance and version control
• Permissions, segregation of duties and audit trails
• Exception handling and escalation
• Structured use of internal and external reference points

 

When implemented effectively, technology supports consistency, transparency and control. It creates an environment in which judgment can be exercised thoughtfully, challenged appropriately and documented rigorously.

Whether the work is performed by human analysts, AI or a combination, accountability cannot be delegated. CFOs, COOs, CROs, heads of valuation and conducting officers must ultimately make the final judgment and own the output.

Data and Benchmarking Are Moving Center Stage

If technology is the backbone of valuation infrastructure, data remains its most critical input. Private markets have long been challenged by data that is incomplete, lagged, fragmented or difficult to contextualize.

As access to more granular, deal-level information improves, particularly in private credit, firms are increasingly embedding data and benchmarking into their valuation processes to provide additional context, enable more structured challenge and strengthen governance.

This shift reflects growing demand for information that is timely, decision-relevant and rooted in observable market activity. Used effectively, data enhances portfolio monitoring, supports relative value analysis and improves the overall robustness of valuation processes.

However, not all benchmarks are created equally. Traditional benchmarks are often based on highly aggregated or lagged data, limiting their usefulness in fast-moving or less transparent markets.

More advanced solutions, such as Kroll’s Private Capital Markets platform, are differentiated by their use of contemporaneous origination data. By using transaction-level insights drawn directly from current deal flow, these benchmarks provide a more immediate and market-reflective view of pricing and risk.

This distinction is critical in today’s environment. Kroll Stepstone Benchmarks offer:

• Primary market pricing
• Transparent methodology and global coverage
• Timeliness aligned to current origination activity
• Appropriate context for interpretation, reflecting asset, structure and market nuances

 

Access to contemporaneous origination data is particularly important in private markets, where pricing inefficiencies and information asymmetry are more pronounced. It allows firms to anchor valuations in observable market behavior, strengthening both internal challenge processes and external defensibility.

Benchmarks enhance judgment, providing a more objective, evidence-based foundation for challenge and debate and, ultimately, more credible and defensible valuation of decisions.