Secondaries
Buying and selling private fund interests: market volume, pricing by strategy, GP-led continuation funds, the DPI problem and how a sale compares with other routes to cash.
Four adviser reports put first-half 2026 secondary volume at $118bn to $124bn, a record, with GP-led deals about half and LP portfolios pricing near 87% of NAV.
Selling an LP interest runs from data room to GP consent over one to two quarters, priced off a reference-date NAV and closed under a purchase agreement.
H1 2026 secondary pricing ranged from 91% of NAV for buyout and infrastructure to 68% for real estate, with venture at 79% and credit at 89%, per Jefferies.
A continuation fund moves assets from an ageing fund into a new GP-controlled vehicle. Existing LPs choose to sell at the offered price or roll on new terms.
Goldman Sachs found 72% of family offices invested in secondaries in 2025, up from 60% in 2023, drawn by discounts, funded portfolios and shorter duration.
Private equity distributions have stayed below 15% of NAV for four years, per Bain. A secondary sale converts unrealised NAV into cash and lifts DPI at once.
Buying funded fund interests shortens the J-curve because capital goes into existing companies at a discount and distributions begin sooner than in a new fund.
Secondaries funds offer diversification and process for a second layer of fees; direct purchases cut fees but need staff, GP access and concentration tolerance.
LP sales are gated by GP consent, rights of first refusal and US publicly traded partnership limits, with withholding and capital gains points in the US and UK.
A secondary sale gives certain cash at a discount and ends exposure; a loan against the portfolio keeps the upside but adds interest, covenants and repayment.