Key Takeaways
- • TIFF Investment Management appointed Andrew Murray and Stephen Grau as senior leaders to formalize and expand its private equity secondaries platform, bringing combined expertise of more than three decades in secondaries, advisory, and investing.
- • The newly dedicated secondaries team will focus on smaller, more complex private equity secondary transactions ranging from $2 million to $20 million, targeting inefficient segments of the market where TIFF sees opportunity.
- • TIFF, an $11 billion OCIO (Outsourced Chief Investment Officer) firm, is formalizing previously informal secondaries activity as part of its broader alternative investment strategy and private markets capabilities.
- • The expansion reflects strong market tailwinds—global secondaries transaction volume surged to a record $162 billion in 2024, a 45% increase from 2023, driven by demand for liquidity and earlier cash returns relative to primary private equity strategies.
Summary
TIFF Investment Management has bolstered its alternative investment capabilities through the appointment of Andrew Murray and Stephen Grau to lead an expanded private equity secondaries platform. The hires formalize TIFF's existing activity in the secondaries market and establish a dedicated team focused on a specific market segment.
The newly constituted secondaries team will concentrate on transactions ranging from $2 million to $20 million, targeting smaller and more complex private equity secondary deals in inefficient market segments. This strategic positioning allows TIFF to address gaps in liquidity and market accessibility that larger, more traditional secondaries platforms may overlook. The combined experience of Murray and Grau—totaling more than three decades across private equity secondaries, advisory, and investing—positions the team to identify and execute on these opportunities.
The expansion comes as TIFF, an independent, employee-owned firm managing approximately $11 billion in assets under OCIO and alternative investment strategies, seeks to strengthen its private markets franchise. TIFF has previously offered access to private equity through primary investments, direct co-investments, and secondary strategies, but the senior hires signal a more formalized and resource-intensive commitment to the secondaries segment.
The timing aligns with robust market fundamentals in private equity secondaries. Global transaction volume in secondaries reached $162 billion in 2024, representing 45% year-over-year growth from 2023. This expansion reflects increasing institutional demand for liquidity solutions and accelerated cash return profiles compared to traditional primary private equity allocations—strategic imperatives for many LPs navigating extended J-curves and portfolio rebalancing pressures.
The newly constituted secondaries team will concentrate on transactions ranging from $2 million to $20 million, targeting smaller and more complex private equity secondary deals in inefficient market segments. This strategic positioning allows TIFF to address gaps in liquidity and market accessibility that larger, more traditional secondaries platforms may overlook. The combined experience of Murray and Grau—totaling more than three decades across private equity secondaries, advisory, and investing—positions the team to identify and execute on these opportunities.
The expansion comes as TIFF, an independent, employee-owned firm managing approximately $11 billion in assets under OCIO and alternative investment strategies, seeks to strengthen its private markets franchise. TIFF has previously offered access to private equity through primary investments, direct co-investments, and secondary strategies, but the senior hires signal a more formalized and resource-intensive commitment to the secondaries segment.
The timing aligns with robust market fundamentals in private equity secondaries. Global transaction volume in secondaries reached $162 billion in 2024, representing 45% year-over-year growth from 2023. This expansion reflects increasing institutional demand for liquidity solutions and accelerated cash return profiles compared to traditional primary private equity allocations—strategic imperatives for many LPs navigating extended J-curves and portfolio rebalancing pressures.
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