Private Equity Insights
LP and GP Secondary Market Strategies in 2026: Trends, Pricing and What's Changed
The private markets secondary market is no longer a side pocket of liquidity. It has become a core tool for portfolio management, exit planning and capital recycling. That shift is showing up in both market structure and behaviour: LPs are using secondaries more actively to rebalance portfolios and manage liquidity, while GPs are using continuation vehicles and other GP-led structures to hold strong assets for longer and create optionality where conventional exits remain harder to execute. PEI’s 2026 GP-led secondaries report says GP-led volume crossed $100 billion in 2025 for the first time, while the market also broadened in deal types, participant mix and capital inflows.
That matters because the market backdrop has changed. Traditional exits have not disappeared, but they have become less predictable. In response, LPs and GPs are not waiting passively for M&A or IPO windows to normalize. They are adjusting.
LPs are becoming more active, selective and process-focused
For LPs, the adjustment starts with liquidity discipline. PitchBook reported that LP-led secondary volume reached $56 billion in the first half of 2025, up 40 percent year on year, and noted an influx of first-time sellers into the market. That is a meaningful signal: secondaries are increasingly being used not only by habitual sellers, but also by institutions treating the market as a standard portfolio-management lever.
At the same time, LPs are becoming more demanding about how liquidity is delivered. PEI reported in January 2026 that ILPA released a continuation fund disclosure template designed to improve transparency by requiring GPs to disclose transaction terms and asset-return information. PEI also noted that LP frustration with continuation vehicles is often less about the concept itself and more about how some deals are executed. In other words, LPs are not rejecting GP-leds; they are asking for better governance, better disclosure and cleaner process execution.
Pricing is part of that adjustment too. SecondaryLink’s pricing coverage for 2025 highlighted that buyers and sellers are operating in a more nuanced market than the old “forced-sale discount” narrative suggests. In LP-led processes, pricing is being shaped by portfolio quality, concentration, fund age, manager quality and the structure of the sale process rather than by a simple secondary-market stigma.
For LPs, secondaries can help rebalance portfolios, reduce concentrations and generate cash. For GPs, they can provide a way to hold on to assets that may still have room to grow, often through continuation vehicles rather than outright exits. PitchBook reported that GP-led deal counts increased from 16 in 2020 to 89 in 2024, showing how quickly this part of the market has expanded.
GPs are leaning further into continuation vehicles, but with more scrutiny
For GPs, the big adjustment is strategic: continuation vehicles have moved from opportunistic to mainstream. PEI said continuation funds represented the vast majority of GP-led secondaries transactions last year, while its annual GP-led report described a market that is broadening in both structure and investor base.
That growth is being supported by a wider range of capital providers. PEI also highlighted the rise of evergreen capital in GP-leds, a sign that new pools of long-duration money are moving into the space.
But GPs are not just doing more GP-led deals; they are adjusting how they bring those deals to market. Process design, fairness opinions, disclosure, conflict management and roll/sell election mechanics are all under sharper LP scrutiny. PEI’s recent coverage points to a market that is becoming more standardized, even if some tensions remain around negotiation, alignment and execution.
This is where the secondary market is maturing. The question is no longer whether GP-leds are acceptable. The question is whether the process is credible, well-prepared and appropriately structured for the asset and investor base.
Setter Capital’s H1 2025 report showed $59.49 billion of fund secondaries and $42.74 billion of direct secondaries in the first half alone. That breadth matters because different portfolios require different solutions. In some situations, a full sale is the right path. In others, the better answer may be a partial sale, a restructuring or a process that allows existing investors to choose between liquidity today and continued exposure tomorrow.
Market news shows a broader, more sophisticated market
Recent SecondaryLink coverage reinforces that this is not just a volume story; it is a market-structure story.
SecondaryLink’s reviews of Q2 2025 and Q3 2025 continuation funds tracked asset composition, deal sizes and the most active lead investors, advisors and counsel, underscoring how institutionalized the continuation market has become.
Its 2025 pricing coverage also noted that near-par pricing continued to anchor GP-led transactions, while Lazard data showed deferred structures rising meaningfully, with the 6–12 month payout window accounting for 51 percent of all deferral deals in 2025. That is an important development: when valuation gaps persist, market participants are adjusting through structure rather than simply abandoning transactions.
SecondaryLink also highlighted a “dramatic shift” in credit secondaries, citing Jefferies’ expectation that 2025 credit-secondary volume would exceed $17 billion, representing a CAGR of more than 70 percent since 2023. This matters because it shows how the toolkit is widening beyond traditional private equity fund interests and classic buyout continuation vehicles.
And the directional trend may continue. SecondaryLink reported Lazard’s expectation that GP-led transactions could surpass LP-led activity in 2026, which would further confirm that sponsor-led liquidity solutions are becoming central to how private capital is managed.
What this means for LPs
For LPs, the market adjustment is now fairly clear.
Secondaries are increasingly being used to:
- manage denominator pressure and liquidity needs,
- rebalance away from overexposed vintages, managers or sectors,
- exit tail-end or non-core positions more proactively,
- and create flexibility for new commitments.
But the buy-side market is also more competitive and more analytical. Strong outcomes increasingly depend on portfolio preparation, realistic pricing, buyer targeting and process control rather than simply “testing the market.” That is especially true in concentrated, complex or specialist portfolios.
What this means for GPs
For GPs, the market is rewarding quality and preparation, not just access.
Continuation vehicles remain highly relevant for:
- high-conviction assets that need more time,
- situations where sponsor and LP timing diverge,
- concentrated assets with a clear strategic equity story,
- and portfolios where a traditional exit route would leave value on the table.
However, LP scrutiny is also rising. That means GPs need to be sharper on conflict management, valuation support, election design, buyer fit, diligence readiness and communication discipline. In the current market, a continuation process that is poorly framed or weakly run can damage confidence even if the underlying asset is attractive.
For firms assessing a secondary sale, GP-led process or externalisation strategy, the practical implication is straightforward: execution quality matters more than ever.
Breslin positions its services around exactly these issues. On its services page, the firm describes its work in secondary transactions, exit management and externalisation of investments, including the divestment of company stakes, fund portfolios and private equity project developments, supported by portfolio validation, deal structuring, buyer outreach, negotiation and execution support.
That positioning is relevant in the current market because both LP-led and GP-led deals are becoming more process-sensitive. Sellers need more than market access; they need preparation, structuring judgment and a discreet route to the right counterparties. Breslin also highlights a long track record in private equity and secondaries, including a focus on life sciences and early-stage assets.
LPs and GPs are adjusting to a changing market in different ways, but with the same underlying logic: liquidity, optionality and control have become more valuable.
LPs are using secondaries more actively to manage portfolios and liquidity. GPs are using continuation vehicles and structured solutions to hold quality assets longer and shape more tailored exit pathways. At the same time, both sides are demanding more discipline around transparency, pricing and process execution.
For sellers, sponsors and portfolio owners evaluating these options, the current market is not simply about whether a deal can get done. It is about whether the transaction is being designed and run in a way that protects value.
To learn more about Breslin’s work in secondary transactions, exit management and externalisation, visit breslin.ch/services.
