Secondaries Investor’s Second Thoughts
PEI Group 47 episodes Oct 28, 2026
Second Thoughts is a podcast from Secondaries Investor focused on the growing private markets secondaries market, which provides liquidity across illiquid asset classes. The show features analysis from Secondaries Investor’s global team of journalists as well as interviews with influential market participants and rising stars. Episodes explore the dynamics shaping this evolving area of private markets. More information is available at secondariesinvestor.com.
Episodes
Inside LPs' growing liquidity toolkit
LP-led secondaries volume continues to swell, with over $100 billion of activity recorded last year. As demand has increased, so too has investors' level of sophistication when approaching liquidity options.
The use of structured secondaries – like collateralized fund obligations, NAV financings and preferred equity – is increasing as some LPs opt to keep hold of private markets positions within t
The boom in LP-led secondaries
This episode is sponsored by LGT Capital Partners, Dawson Partners and Pomona Capital
Record volumes and growing liquidity pressures are pushing limited partners into the market as secondaries become a core portfolio management tool rather than a last resort. What was once viewed as a reactive measure has become a core tool for managing private equity exposure with repeat sellers now a defining fe
The evergreen effect: Secondaries’ newest investors
This episode is sponsored by Partners Group, Lexington Partners and Davis Polk
As private wealth capital continues to flow into evergreen structures, this dry powder is having an immediate impact on secondaries volume. While estimates on just how much evergreen capital is moving into the market vary, industry participants view it as a growing force within secondaries.
In this episode, Secondaries
The 'tremendous tailwind' behind infra secondaries' growth
In a market shaped by slower exits and macro uncertainty, infrastructure secondaries is increasingly viewed as a defensive investment strategy as LPs seek stable cashflows and downside protection.
Infrastructure secondaries saw approximately $9.5 billion of deployment in 2025, including around $5.5 billion across LP-led transactions, according to Evercore's 2025 Secondary Market Report. Among non-
Data Dive: Reading the signals in secondaries sentiment
How is market sentiment shaping secondaries fundraising and deal activity?
In this episode of PEI Group’s Data Dive podcast, PEI’s senior content producer, Evie Rusman, is joined by Secondaries Investor editor Madeleine Farman and PEI head of special projects for private equity Louise Fordham to discuss the findings from the Secondaries Investor Global Market Survey 2026. The survey, conducted in
Is credit secondaries having its ‘moment’?
This episode is sponsored by Dawson Partners, StepStone Group and Davis Polk
Ongoing uncertainty within private markets over the past year has helped fuel interest in credit secondaries.
Institutions have turned to private credit looking for relatively stable returns. Furthermore, managers and LPs are turning to the secondaries market for liquidity as they look to manage their own portfolios.
“Tho
Secondaries' next iteration: market capitalisation in 2026 and beyond
Secondaries volumes to date in 2026 are ahead of what they were at the same period last year, driven by a lack of distributions, with investors taking advantage of strong prices.
LPs have become even more sophisticated in the past few years. A factor that is aiding their sophistication is the rise of asset class-focused products, offering them the ability to bring portfolios to market that are met
What’s driving European secondaries activity?
The European secondaries market saw a string of sizeable deals across the course of 2025, with expected growth continued both this year and beyond.
European managers CapVest, Montagu, Norvestor and PAI Partners secured CV-on-CV transactions over the course of last year, with CVC, Inflexion and TDR Capital also securing sizeable CVs, to name just a few. Belgian holding company Groupe Bruxelles Lamb
The new era of GP-led secondaries
This episode is sponsored by Lexington Partners, LGT Capital Partners and Davis Polk
In 2024, GP-led deals hit a record of $71 billion in transaction volume, accounting for 44 percent of the total secondaries market volume of $160 billion, according to Evercore’s FY 2024 Secondary Market Review. This is significant and marks the increasing popularity of continuation vehicles as an exit route.
In t
Unpacking the early rise of GP stake secondaries
GP stake secondaries transactions are steadily gaining traction as investors seek exposure to leading private equity firms. Though still in their early stages, these deals are often described as offering some of the most attractive risk-return profiles in today’s volatile market.
In this episode, Jon Costello, founder of Devon Park Advisors, and Christopher Zook, founder and chief investment offic
Inside secondaries' expansion into private wealth
This episode is sponsored by Lexington Partners, Proskauer and StepStone Group
The secondaries market is benefitting from private markets' push into the private wealth space, with managers either launching secondaries-focused vehicles or secondaries making up a meaningful component of many evergreen funds.
Evergreen funds raised $16 billion in the first half of 2025 alone, 60 percent of which is d
Infra LP-leds rule by volume, but GP-leds are sizeable
This episode first appeared on The Infrastructure Investor Podcast
In this special crossover episode from our affiliate title, Infrastructure Investor editor-in-chief Bruno Alves sits down with Madeleine Farman, editor of Secondaries Investor, as well as Infrastructure Investor Americas editor Zak Bentley, to talk about the infrastructure secondaries market.
The discussion tracks the evolution of
The opportunity surrounding uncertainty
This episode is sponsored by Pomona Capital and Proskauer
While the Trump administration's tariff announcements and the subsequent unfurling of uncertainty globally does create some headaches, it also creates a tailwind for the LP-led secondaries market.
"What the market has trouble adjusting to is uncertainty. And what happens in times of uncertainty, like the times we're dealing in now, is that
What’s next for StepStone after its record real estate fundraise?
As volatility pushes real estate investors to look for liquidity, secondaries can provide some attractive solutions. Now, StepStone Group has a record-setting fund in its arsenal to seize the opportunities.
StepStone now manages the largest dedicated real estate secondaries vehicle raised to date having closed StepStone Real Estate Partners V on $3.77 billion in commitments last month. An addition
What's driving the growth of private credit secondaries
Private credit secondaries has the potential to surpass private equity in deal volume over the longer term as more secondaries investors pursue yield and diversification amid market volatility.
Over the past year, several billion-dollar-plus deals have emerged in the credit secondaries space, including Coller Capital's recent acquisition of a $1.6 billion portfolio from American National and TPG A
Behind the organisation opening doors to students of colour in secondaries
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 mo
Do LPs need to take a more proactive approach to secondaries?
Delights and gripes relating to the continuation fund market were shared at PEI Group's NEXUS 2025 conference. A critical question was raised: do LPs need to take a more proactive approach to secondaries?
In one of the panels, Jeremy Coller, founder of Coller Capital, encouraged LPs to do just that – proactively manage their exposure as more GPs mull CVs for assets they want to hold longer regardl
How specialised can the secondaries market get?
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
A record year for secondaries volume, but not for bonuses
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 follo
Behind the numbers for secondaries' record year
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 a
Secondaries deals are on the cards for Australia's Aware Super
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,
The next record-setting year
The secondaries market is bullish that 2025 will be another record year for secondaries market activity. Regionally, North America is set to continue its dominance in dealmaking, Europe is expected to throw up interesting opportunities that offer portfolio diversification, and increasing manager sophistication could lead to more GP-led opportunities in APAC.
In this episode, Secondaries Investor's
Peeling back the onion on 2024 – literally
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
Tail-end secondaries: The $900bn+ opportunity
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 di
How Next Gen Leaders see the future 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 secondar
Secondaries market on track to break records
Second Thoughts host Madeleine Farman and America's correspondent Hannah Zhang sit down to discuss the latest volume, fundraising and performance data coming through on the secondaries market and talk through the spaces to watch as activity surges towards the end of the year.
What are the ingredients for a successful secondaries deal?
Do you work collaboratively with potential partners to help shape a deal, or do you have a set notion of what type of transaction you want to be a part of from the outset? Is EQ as important to you as IQ? How big a role does ego play in preventing deals from being consummated?
In part two of our discussion with AlpInvest Partners managing director Louis Choy, PJT Partners‘ European head of private
The 'lead investor' conundrum: a buyer, adviser and lawyer share their thoughts
A secondaries buyer, adviser and lawyer walk into a room. This isn't the start of a bad joke – it's the culmination of an idea Secondaries Investor had after moderating a panel at an alternatives conference with AlpInvest Partners managing director Louis Choy, PJT Partners' European head of private capital solutions Johanna Lottmann and law firm Stephenson Harwood partner and head of private funds
Saving time, energy and brainpower: Clipway’s Vallano on AI-driven secondaries
While many private markets firms are working to leverage generative AI, secondaries investment firm Clipway has put the technology front and centre of its strategy.
The London-headquartered firm counts secondaries veterans Ingmar Vallano, Vincent Gombault and Benoît Verbrugghe and others among its senior investment team. All worked at secondaries giant Ardian.
Since its inception last year, Clipwa
How to get into the SI 50: Inside our latest ranking of the biggest secondaries fundraisers
This episode first aired on September 5, 2024
The top 50 secondaries investors globally raised $473.8 billion in the five years to the end of 2023, according to this year’s SI 50. That’s a 9 percent increase on last year’s ranking, when $434.5 billion was recorded across a longer counting period of five-and-a-half years.
Ardian took the top spot, raising $49.6 billion across the period, followed c
SI Decade: is Asia-Pacific the most promising secondaries market?
This episode first aired on September 23, 2024 and is sponsored by Kirkland & Ellis, LGT Capital Partners and TPG NewQuest
The Asia-Pacific secondaries market is one of the most fascinating corners of the global secondaries landscape. This region typically never accounts for more than single-digit figures in terms of global deal volume share – yet some of the most innovative transactions have
SI Decade: Europe’s appeal and the evolution of specialisation
This episode originally aired on July 8, 2024 and is sponsored by UBS Asset Management and Proskauer Rose
The global secondaries market has grown from roughly $47 billion in 2014 to more than $100 billion today. In Europe, fragmentation has led to some significant regional differences. However, it is also clear that many of the trends and dynamics found in the European market are the same as in No
SI Decade: How the secondaries industry can empower women
This episode first aired on June 3, 2024
The private equity industry has been pushing for more gender equality among GPs, LPs and intermediaries over the past decade, and the trend is now taking hold in the secondaries market, where diversity issues have historically received less attention.
In recent years, women across secondaries have been advocating for empowerment movements and forming suppor
SI Decade: Why specialised secondaries are poised for growth
This episode first aired on May 29, 2024
Specialised secondaries strategies are becoming an increasingly important part of the market. According to data complied by Secondaries Investor, 85 percent of the capital raised by secondaries funds in final closes last year was for private equity strategies; the remainder of this was for non-PE strategies, and the year before that more than one-third of c
SI Decade: The birth of programmatic secondaries sales
This episode first aired on May 22, 2024
Post-global financial crisis, many institutional investors were forced sellers, offloading private markets exposure at hefty discounts. More than a decade on, these same institutional investors have become repeat sellers on the secondaries market, using the tool as a way to proactively manage their portfolios. How has LP sentiment toward the secondaries mar
SI Decade: Inside the biggest regulation changes to secondaries
This episode first aired on May 13, 2024
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently passed rules relating to the GP-led secondaries market have put these deals squarely on LPs’ radars.
“[These rules] raise the visibility of GP-led transactions to LPs and they signal how important and risky those transactions might be,” Igor Rozenblit – managing partner and founder of governance, risk and
SI Decade: Will the North American market’s dominance continue?
This episode first aired on May 7, 2024 and is sponsored by Ares Management, Dawson Partners and Proskauer Rose
The North American secondaries market remains the deepest and most active area for secondaries trading of all the global regions. Around $114 billion-worth of alternatives exposure changed hands last year and North America accounted for around two-thirds of global secondaries trading.
In
SI Decade: From frustration to longer holds with single-asset continuation vehicles
This episode first aired on April 29, 2024
Single-asset continuation funds have surged in popularity in recent years. While the technology isn't new, it took persistence from secondaries market advisers to show both private equity managers and buyers that vehicles associated with the moniker 'zombie funds' could be used to keep hold of star-performing assets.
Last year, single-asset continuation f
SI Decade: Zombie funds to continuation vehicles
This episode first aired on April 22, 2024
What's in a name? The process of moving an asset or assets from an existing private markets fund into a separate structure has been happening for some time now – some say as early as 2006 and possibly even prior to that.
The so-called 'continuation fund' market was worth around $40 billion last year, according to advisory estimates. Yet, this market was n
SI Decade: From financial crisis to secondaries sales
This episode originally aired on April 15, 2024
A decade ago, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, anxiety around unknowns was still rippling through financial markets, including within secondaries. Similarly, there was a great deal of concern around the Volcker Rule that came into effect in 2014, which essentially prohibited banks from investing in private equity with their own funds.
The figures behind secondaries' second record year
This episode originally aired on March 26, 2024
In this episode, Secondaries Investor's Madeleine Farman, Adam Le and Hannah Zhang cut through the headline figures in 2023's advisory reports to break down geographic trends and key themes in the market.
Total deal volume sat somewhere in the region of $109 billion to $115 billion in 2023 with LP-led volume making up $56 billion to $66 billion.
Farm
Ardian’s Colas on the potential for secondaries growth in 2024
This episode originally aired on January 2, 2024
In this episode, Ardian's co-head of secondaries and primaries Vladimir Colas makes a bold prediction for the secondaries market: the first private equity fundraise to breach the $30 billion mark will be a secondaries vehicle.
LP portfolios being brought to market are only growing in size, and if they could, sellers would be offloading even larger p
Behind Q1-Q3’s best-ever secondaries fundraising figures
This episode originally aired on November 1, 2023
Secondaries funds investing in private equity opportunities that held their final close between January and the end of September raised $67.69 billion – a 168 percent jump on the same period last year and 46 percent more than the previous record of $46.44 billion raised in Q1-Q3 2020.
In this episode, senior reporter Madeleine Farman and senior edi
Strategic Partners’ Perry on the state of the market and career lessons learned
This episode originally aired on September 1, 2023
In this episode, the spotlight is on our yearly ranking of the top secondaries firms globally. Blackstone Strategic Partners has topped this year's SI 50 ranking published by Secondaries Investor and Private Equity International, raising $51.3 billion across funds that closed between 1 January 2018 and 30 June 2023.
Senior reporter Madeleine Farma
Which advisers stood out from the crowd?
This episode first aired June 30, 2023
Senior reporter Madeleine Farman and senior editor Adam Le discuss the key findings underpinning Secondaries Investor's Advisory Survey 2023 and Law Firm Survey 2023.
What’s making the GP-led market tick
This episode first aired on April 26, 2023
Presenting the second instalment of Second Thoughts, a special series from Secondaries Investor that delves into the latest trends affecting the fastest-growing market in alternatives.
How the secondaries market fared in 2022
This episode first aired on February 8, 2023
Presenting the first instalment of Second Thoughts, a special series from Secondaries Investor that delves into the latest trends affecting the fastest-growing market in alternatives.
Secondaries Investor's Second Thoughts trailer
Secondaries Investor's Second Thoughts podcast focuses exclusively on private markets' burgeoning secondaries market, which is offering liquidity to its underlying illiquid asset classes. Hear analysis from Secondaries Investor's global team of journalists and interviews with the market's most influential players and rising stars discussing the dynamics shaping this ever-evolving area.
