Secondaries for family office buyers: why allocations are rising

Family offices are buying secondaries in greater numbers because the strategy offers funded, discounted exposure to private equity at a time when their primary fund commitments are returning cash slowly. Goldman Sachs' 2025 Family Office Investment Insights survey of 245 family offices found 72% invest in secondaries, up from 60% in 2023, citing access to more mature portfolios, shorter duration and greater transparency. Allocations remain small in absolute terms. J.P. Morgan Private Bank's 2026 Global Family Office Report, covering 333 families with an average net worth of $1.6bn, put secondaries at 1.1% of the average portfolio, within a 30.8% private markets allocation, according to the report's summary tables.

What the surveys show

The UBS figures come from the Global Family Office Report 2026 and show a reduction in private equity weighting rather than an increase. That is consistent with Goldman's finding that private equity allocations have fallen from 26% to 21% since 2023 even as more offices use secondaries. The two trends fit together: offices are moderating new blind-pool commitments and using secondaries to keep exposure while shortening duration.

The Coller Capital Barometer covers institutional investors rather than family offices specifically, but its 33% planning to raise secondaries targets, unchanged from 2025, shows the demand is broad.

Why family offices are buying

The appeal rests on three features that primary fund investing does not offer. The portfolio is already built, so the buyer can see the companies and their valuations before committing. The interest is usually bought at a discount: Jefferies' July 2026 review put the H1 2026 average for LP portfolios at 87% of NAV, with buyout at 91% and venture at 79%. Capital comes back sooner because the fund is further through its life, which softens the early negative cash flows described in mitigating the J-curve with secondaries.

J.P. Morgan's William Sinclair, quoted by Institutional Investor, described clients "buying LP stakes at discounts" to diversify by vintage year, and the same article reported 37% of families expect to raise private equity allocations within the next eighteen months. For an office that began investing in private equity recently, buying 2017 to 2021 vintage interests fills in years it missed.

The loss record supports the case. Goldman Sachs Asset Management's introduction to secondaries cites Preqin data to May 2026 showing 4.3% of secondaries funds from the 2000 to 2021 vintages below cost, against 7.0% for buyout and 18.6% for venture and growth.

Access routes

There are four ways in, and the right one depends on the size of the office and its appetite for process.

Dedicated secondaries funds are the simplest. The largest, Ardian's ASF IX, closed at $30bn with more than 465 investors, and Börsen-Zeitung reported that 22% of its capital came from private wealth, up from 11% in the predecessor fund. Fees are layered on top of underlying fund fees, and the office has no say in what is bought.

Evergreen or semi-liquid vehicles have grown fastest. Evercore's H1 2026 review estimated that semi-liquid vehicles hold about $500bn industry-wide, including more than $130bn managed by secondary firms, and that 53% of secondary buyers now operate one. Campbell Lutyens' 1H 2026 report found evergreen buyers paid 92.1% of NAV for LP portfolios against 86.7% for the market, so the convenience is paid for in price.

Direct purchases of LP interests suit offices with the staff to run diligence and the GP relationships to obtain consent. Lazard's interim 2026 report found 81% of secondary market respondents had less than $1.5bn of capital, which shows that smaller buyers are numerous, although the 6% with more than $5.5bn held 43% of deployable capital. Co-investment alongside a secondaries manager is the fourth route and is usually offered only to fund investors.

The trade-offs between pooled and direct routes are set out in secondaries funds versus buying interests directly.

What to watch

Competition has compressed discounts for the best buyout portfolios, and about a third of LP-led deals in Ropes & Gray's H1 2026 count involved deferred payments, which flatter headline prices. Family offices were only 5% of LP sellers in Jefferies' data, so an office buying is mostly transacting with pensions and sovereign funds that have advisers and process experience. The discipline that matters is the same as in any purchase: underwrite the underlying companies before pricing the discount.