Goldman Sachs Asset Management is preparing to launch its largest-ever private equity secondaries fund, seeking to surpass the $14.2bn raised for its predecessor, according to a report by Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter.
The fund, the 10th in Goldman’s flagship secondaries series, is being marketed to a broad base of institutional investors. The initiative comes as limited partners – including university endowments – increasingly turn to the secondaries market to manage liquidity constraints amid a slowdown in private equity exits.
Investor appetite for secondary strategies has grown in tandem with mounting pressure on portfolios, with capital locked in buyout funds and muted deal activity delaying distributions. The trend has been particularly acute among endowments and pensions, which have sought to raise cash by offloading stakes at a discount.
The size of Goldman’s new vehicle is still being finalised and could adjust based on investor sentiment, particularly as some institutions express caution about rising valuations in the secondaries space.
The surge in secondaries activity – which reached approximately $160bn in transaction volume in 2023, according to data from Evercore – has drawn renewed interest from major players. Lexington Partners, for instance, is targeting at least $25bn for its latest fund, a move that would set a new benchmark for the strategy.
Still, concerns persist. Some investors are wary that the volume of capital chasing deals may compress returns, with competition driving up prices for private equity portfolios.
At the same time, general partners are increasingly utilising continuation vehicles to extend hold periods for mature assets – a practice that has drawn scrutiny but continues to expand the secondaries opportunity set.
Goldman’s growing commitment to alternatives is reflected in the scale of its secondaries platform, which had reached $44bn in assets under management by year-end 2024. Its most recent secondaries fund raised capital from a mix of institutions, high-net-worth individuals, and Goldman employees.
The effort is led by Harold Hope, Global Head of Secondaries at Goldman Sachs, who has previously highlighted the sector’s evolution as a natural outgrowth of the private equity industry’s maturity.
Institutional dynamics are further shaping the market. Harvard University, which allocated nearly 40% of its $53bn endowment to private equity as of June 2024, has been exploring secondaries sales, while Yale University has also evaluated similar options amid budgetary pressures and muted returns.
Political pressures have added to the liquidity squeeze. President Trump’s disputes with elite universities and proposed legislative changes affecting endowment taxation have pushed some institutions to reassess private market exposures, with secondaries offering a path to rebalance.
