Private equity and private capital investors offloaded a record volume of ageing fund stakes in 2025, as prolonged exit delays across the buyout industry pushed institutional investors to seek liquidity through the secondary market, according to a report by the Financial Times citing data from HarbourVest Partners.
Global secondary transactions reached more than $110bn last year, up around 25% from the previous record of $89bn in 2024, according to estimates from HarbourVest. The transactions involve investors selling their interests in existing private capital funds rather than waiting for underlying assets to be realised.
Market participants say the surge highlights the mounting challenges facing private equity managers, particularly a difficult environment for IPOs and trade sales, alongside the continued maturation of the $22tn global private capital market.
“With liquidity at a premium and markets rattled by tariff-driven shocks, asset owners and managers increasingly turned to secondary deals to unlock cash and rebalance portfolios,” said David Atterbury, who oversees Europe, the Middle East and Asia at HarbourVest.
The record activity spans multiple private capital strategies, including private equity, private credit, venture capital and infrastructure. Buyout fund stakes accounted for more than half of the supply of ageing positions in the first half of 2025, according to Jefferies, as pension funds and other institutions trimmed overweight exposures to rebalance portfolios.
Hamilton Lane also confirmed record volumes, with co-head of investments Richard Hope noting that secondaries have become an increasingly important liquidity tool as private markets continue to grow. When combined with continuation fund transactions — where managers move older assets into new vehicles — total activity linked to ageing fund assets may have exceeded $200 billion in 2025, although final figures are still being compiled.
Investor demand for secondary exposure has remained strong. Funds dedicated to acquiring second-hand private capital investments raised $118 billion by November 2025, putting the segment on track for another record year, according to PitchBook data.
Jeremy Coller, founder of Coller Capital and an early pioneer of the secondaries market, said momentum is expected to continue. He suggested transaction volumes could rise further in 2026, potentially approaching $300bn, reinforcing secondaries as a standalone asset class within private markets.
