Secondaries Investor’s Second Thoughts

Within private markets asset classes, there is certainly further room for improvement when it comes to diversity of talent – and one secondaries professional is taking matters into his own hands. Diversity in Secondaries Initiative (DISI) is a non-profit organisation focused on creating a more collective environment within the secondaries market for people of colour. Primarily, it seeks to find more opportunities to mentor, train and ultimately fill junior-level roles in the market with students that are in undergraduate programmes. In this episode, Peter Wright – a director advising on NAV lending and GP financing at Hark Capital, Secondaries Investor Next Gen leader alumni and founder of DISI – speaks with editor Madeleine Farman about the the driving purpose behind the non-profit organisation. "There's a lot of wealth to be created within our families, within our communities," Wright explained. "It's important for us all to make sure that we are acknowledging the ladders that have been let down for us to climb up, while also making sure we're turning back around and lowering those ladders for the next generation to come up forward." In this discussion, Wright also discusses his own personal motivations for starting the organisation, DISI’s key achievements to date, and constructive feedback for the secondaries market when it comes to hiring a diverse range of talent.

At a recent conference, industry leaders discussed the surge in the secondaries market, projecting a volume of $200 billion. A key debate emerged over whether limited partners should take a more proactive approach, especially regarding continuation funds. Insights reveal a divide: while some advocate for active management, others prefer the safety of inaction. The rising sophistication of limited partners is also highlighted, particularly their evolving strategies in this dynamic landscape.

This episode is sponsored by Evercore, Davis Polk and Dawson Partners The secondaries market sits at a crossroads. Never before have LPs been presented with such an array of different liquidity offerings to back. There are specialised secondaries funds focusing on healthcare, on impact investing, on real assets in Asia or on acquiring direct minority equity stakes in companies in India. There are funds focusing on writing large cheques to multi-billion-dollar single-asset continuation funds; and there are funds focusing on making late primary commitments to buyout funds that are still in their fundraising mode. In short, if you’re an LP looking to back a secondaries fund, you’re spoiled for choice. In this special episode, we sit down with Nigel Dawn, global head of Evercore's Private Capital Advisory group; Leor Landa, head of the investment management practice at Davis Polk; and Yann Robard, managing partner at Dawson Partners. We discuss why the performance of continuation funds is key to the further growth and branching out of this part of the market, and why the market is undergoing the fastest pace of innovation it has ever seen.

How does your compensation this year compare with that of your peers? In this episode, Secondaries Investor editor Madeleine Farman sits down with Kylie Hart, co-founder and Partner at global executive search firm Norgay Partners. From her vantage point as an expert in private equity secondaries recruitment, Hart gives an overview of market compensation on both the buy-side and the sell-side following a record year for secondaries activity in 2024. The pair also discuss the differences in pay between secondaries and private equity strategies, the outlook for people moves following a flurry of activity to kickstart the year, appetite from private markets firms to launch secondaries strategies, how to approach career growth through mid-level and senior-level ranks, and much more.

The secondaries market saw another record year for deal volume, with advisory reports pinning the overall figures somewhere between $152 billion and $165 billion. In this episode, Secondaries Investor editor Madeleine Farman, senior reporter Hannah Zhang and reporter Silas Sloan dig into advisory reports. They walk through key themes that emerged, including the rising impact of evergreen capital and its effects on deal activity to date, the increasing scale of GP-led deals, the increasing scale of the buyer universe, right through to predictions on LP-led and GP-led activity for the year ahead. Read more at Secondaries Investor: Single-asset deals skyrocketed in 2024 – Campbell Lutyens Secondaries volume hits record high of $160bn – Evercore LP-led pricing for credit secondaries reaches all-time high – Jefferies Majority of GPs plan to use secondaries market over coming two-year period – PJT Share of commitments for GP-led deals to grow in 2025 – Lazard

Australian superannuation fund Aware Super is heading towards its private markets allocation targets after a period of build-up and growth. The fund, which manages around $110 billion on behalf of nurses and teachers, launched its first office outside of Australia in 2023, putting boots on the ground in London. Damien Webb, the superfund’s deputy chief investment officer and head of international, sat down with PEI senior editor Adam Le. In a wide-ranging interview, the pair discuss how GP-leds are complementary with the skills Aware Super has built out around co-investment, Webb’s views on LP-led secondaries as its alternatives portfolio becomes more mature, and his views on pricing and discounts in the market. Le and Webb also discuss Aware Super’s views for further international expansion and whether the team has been making any private markets asset allocation shifts over time where opportunities arise.

The secondaries market is gearing up for a record-breaking year in 2025, with North America leading in dealmaking. Europe presents exciting opportunities for portfolio diversification, while Asia-Pacific is seeing a rise in GP-led deals. The potential impact of Donald Trump’s presidency looms over North American dealings, creating a mix of optimism and caution. Evergreen funds are changing the game, prompting investors to adapt their strategies as they navigate the complex landscape ahead.

It's common to peel back the onion on key events and trends seen across financial markets. As the secondaries market heads for what is predicted to be a record-setting year for volume, we decided to practice the phrase quite literally. Madeleine Farman, senior reporter and host of the Second Thoughts, and senior editor Adam Le are joined by Carlo Pirzio-Biroli, head of CVC Secondary Partners, and Ted Cardos, co-head of Kirkland & Ellis's European liquidity solutions team, with the group letting a basket of onions decide the talking points. Pirzio-Biroli and Cardos discuss key wins, disappointments and developments over the course of 2024 and what the next 12 months could bring for the secondaries market.

The opportunity set for the tail-end secondaries market has grown from $198 billion 10 years ago to $916 billion today, according to estimates from legacy specialist Hollyport Capital. In this episode, John Carter, managing partner and chief executive of Hollyport, and Etienne Deshormes, managing partner and CEO of private markets adviser Elm Capital, join senior reporter Madeleine Farman for a discussion on the topic. The three discuss the structural drivers of the tail-end secondaries market, how to approach due diligence in this part of the market, which institutions are more likely to sell a tail-end secondaries portfolio, whether new entrants will enter into this space, and the long-term outlook for this growing segment of the secondaries market.

The lack of human capital has become one of the biggest challenges in the secondaries industry – a situation that could change as the sector gains appeal among young professionals. In this episode of Secondaries Investor's Second Thoughts podcast, we're joined by three young achievers who made it on the NextGen Leaders of Secondaries: Class of 2024 list, which features the most impressive secondaries professionals aged under 36. This year, we saw the highest number of submissions in the ranking’s history with almost 400 nominations. Our guests include Sijia Cai, partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell; Sabrina Harliman, vice president at TPG; and Josef Menasche, co-head of secondaries advisory at Goldman Sachs. They discuss current talent trends and how they think the secondaries market will evolve in the future.