Key Takeaways
- • Secondary market transaction volume reached a record $226 billion in 2025, representing a 41% year-over-year increase and crossing the $200 billion threshold for the first time, according to Evercore Private Capital Advisory data.
- • The surge in secondary deal activity reflects constrained exit markets and prolonged holding periods in private assets, as limited partners increasingly rely on secondary transactions to achieve liquidity and rebalance portfolios.
- • Market momentum is expected to accelerate further, with projections indicating secondary deal volume could reach approximately $250 billion in 2026, suggesting continued structural tailwinds for the secondaries market.
- • The record volume demonstrates institutional investors' growing comfort with secondary strategies as a core portfolio management tool rather than a peripheral liquidity mechanism.
Summary
Private asset secondary markets achieved a historic milestone in 2025, with global secondary deal volume surging to $226 billion—a 41% increase from the prior year and the first time the market has exceeded $200 billion in annual transaction volume. This record-breaking performance, documented by Evercore Private Capital Advisory, reflects a fundamental shift in how institutional investors manage illiquidity and exit constraints within their alternative asset portfolios.
The robust growth trajectory underscores structural factors reshaping secondary market dynamics. Constrained exit environments and extended hold periods in private equity and other private assets have created persistent demand for secondary transactions, enabling limited partners to achieve portfolio rebalancing and liquidity without waiting for traditional exit events. This dynamic has elevated secondaries from a niche liquidity tool to a core asset management capability for institutions managing substantial private asset allocations.
Momentum is expected to intensify into 2026, with market participants projecting secondary deal volume could reach approximately $250 billion, further validating the structural tailwinds supporting market expansion. The consistent 40%+ growth rates and sustained investor participation suggest that secondaries have achieved critical mass as an institutionalized market segment, with robust dealer participation, established pricing mechanisms, and expanded fund-raising capacity supporting continued expansion.
For institutional investors and asset allocators, the secondary market surge presents both opportunity and necessity. As private holding periods lengthen and dry powder in PE vehicles accumulates, secondary transactions provide a practical mechanism for managing portfolio composition and meeting distribution expectations—particularly for pension funds and family offices managing multi-decade time horizons but facing intermediate liquidity requirements.
The robust growth trajectory underscores structural factors reshaping secondary market dynamics. Constrained exit environments and extended hold periods in private equity and other private assets have created persistent demand for secondary transactions, enabling limited partners to achieve portfolio rebalancing and liquidity without waiting for traditional exit events. This dynamic has elevated secondaries from a niche liquidity tool to a core asset management capability for institutions managing substantial private asset allocations.
Momentum is expected to intensify into 2026, with market participants projecting secondary deal volume could reach approximately $250 billion, further validating the structural tailwinds supporting market expansion. The consistent 40%+ growth rates and sustained investor participation suggest that secondaries have achieved critical mass as an institutionalized market segment, with robust dealer participation, established pricing mechanisms, and expanded fund-raising capacity supporting continued expansion.
For institutional investors and asset allocators, the secondary market surge presents both opportunity and necessity. As private holding periods lengthen and dry powder in PE vehicles accumulates, secondary transactions provide a practical mechanism for managing portfolio composition and meeting distribution expectations—particularly for pension funds and family offices managing multi-decade time horizons but facing intermediate liquidity requirements.
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