The Rise of Secondary Investments: Why the Market Has Never Been Bigger

The private equity secondary market has entered a new era. According to Evercore, secondary transaction volume reached $226 billion in 2025, smashing prior records and vastly exceeding industry forecasts. What was once a niche corner of alternative assets has become a mainstream liquidity solution for institutional investors worldwide, and the momentum shows no signs of slowing in 2026.

What Is Driving the Surge?

Several structural forces are converging to fuel this growth. First, the denominator effect: as public equity markets have rallied, many LPs find themselves over-allocated to private markets and are using secondaries to rebalance their portfolios. Second, the maturation of the GP-led continuation vehicle market has created an entirely new category of transactions, allowing fund managers to hold their best assets longer while providing liquidity to LPs who want to exit.

Third, the broader private markets ecosystem has simply grown larger. With global private equity AUM now exceeding $8 trillion, the secondary market is scaling proportionally. Industry participants estimate that secondary volumes could reach $300 billion annually within the next three to five years.

GP-Led Transactions Take Center Stage

GP-led secondaries, including single-asset continuation funds and multi-asset portfolio restructurings, now represent roughly half of all secondary market volume. These transactions allow GPs to extend their hold period on top-performing assets, bring in fresh capital, and crystallize carry for existing investors. Firms like Ardian, Lexington Partners, and Coller Capital have raised dedicated funds exceeding $10 billion to capitalize on this opportunity.

The rise of GP-led deals has also created new talent demands. Firms need professionals who understand both the buy-side and sell-side of these complex transactions, combining traditional PE underwriting skills with secondary market structuring expertise.

Implications for the Industry

The growth of secondaries is reshaping the broader private equity landscape. It is providing LPs with liquidity options that did not exist a decade ago, enabling GPs to manage their portfolios more dynamically, and creating a new category of specialist investment firms focused exclusively on secondary strategies. For talent in the space, the opportunity set has never been wider.