Key Takeaways
- • Endowment sales as a share of overall LP secondary market activity surged to approximately 15% in the first half of 2025, nearly doubling from 9% in fiscal 2024, signaling a structural shift in university portfolio management.
- • NYU endowment is actively shopping a small portfolio of private equity holdings in the secondary market, joining a broader wave of US college endowments divesting aging fund positions to generate liquidity for new allocations.
- • The uptick in endowment secondary sales reflects universities' need to balance increased spending requirements with the extended duration and illiquidity constraints of private markets commitments, creating opportunities for secondary buyers.
- • Campbell Lutyens' half-year volume report documents the acceleration, positioning endowment divestitures as an increasingly material component of the LP secondaries market in North America during 2025.
Summary
US college endowments are reshaping their private equity portfolios through secondary market sales at a notably accelerated pace. NYU endowment has joined this trend by actively marketing a small portfolio of private equity positions to secondary buyers, according to PEI Secondaries Investor reporting on October 28, 2025. The move reflects broader institutional dynamics reshaping the endowment investment landscape.
Endowment sales as a proportion of total LP secondary market volume have grown substantially, reaching approximately 15% of overall LP sales activity in the first half of 2025, according to data from Campbell Lutyens' half-year volume report. This represents a significant increase from 9% in fiscal 2024, nearly doubling the endowment contribution to secondary market activity within a single fiscal year. This acceleration indicates that university endowments—traditionally long-term holders of illiquid private assets—are increasingly engaging in portfolio pruning and rebalancing through secondary channels.
The driver behind this activity centers on the structural challenge facing endowments: balancing heightened spending obligations and portfolio rebalancing needs against the extended duration and illiquidity inherent in private markets commitments. Rather than reducing aggregate private equity allocations, endowments are selectively offloading older or underperforming fund positions to generate capital for new vintage-year commitments and to meet near-term capital calls across their portfolios. This tactical approach allows institutions to maintain exposure to private markets while improving portfolio liquidity and cash flow management.
The secondary market dislocation created by endowment sales has generated meaningful opportunities for secondary buyers, fund sponsors, and advisers navigating the LP sales landscape. Evercore is advising on NYU's secondaries sales process, underscoring the complexity and scale of these transactions within the institutional market.
Endowment sales as a proportion of total LP secondary market volume have grown substantially, reaching approximately 15% of overall LP sales activity in the first half of 2025, according to data from Campbell Lutyens' half-year volume report. This represents a significant increase from 9% in fiscal 2024, nearly doubling the endowment contribution to secondary market activity within a single fiscal year. This acceleration indicates that university endowments—traditionally long-term holders of illiquid private assets—are increasingly engaging in portfolio pruning and rebalancing through secondary channels.
The driver behind this activity centers on the structural challenge facing endowments: balancing heightened spending obligations and portfolio rebalancing needs against the extended duration and illiquidity inherent in private markets commitments. Rather than reducing aggregate private equity allocations, endowments are selectively offloading older or underperforming fund positions to generate capital for new vintage-year commitments and to meet near-term capital calls across their portfolios. This tactical approach allows institutions to maintain exposure to private markets while improving portfolio liquidity and cash flow management.
The secondary market dislocation created by endowment sales has generated meaningful opportunities for secondary buyers, fund sponsors, and advisers navigating the LP sales landscape. Evercore is advising on NYU's secondaries sales process, underscoring the complexity and scale of these transactions within the institutional market.
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