Key Takeaways
- • Global secondary market transaction volume reached $220 billion in 2025, representing a 42% year-over-year increase from 2024, with institutional respondents projecting further growth to $250 billion in 2026.
- • 60% of surveyed secondary investors deployed more than $500 million in transactions during 2025, while 40% exceeded $1 billion in deployment, indicating substantial capital allocation by large institutional players.
- • 91% of respondents reported no planned changes to outflow activity despite macroeconomic headwinds including U.S. tariff implementation, the Russia-Ukraine war, and Middle East conflict, demonstrating the defensive, resilient character of secondary markets.
- • Europe emerged as a significant growth region, capturing approximately $60 billion in secondary volume in 2025, with 65% of survey respondents maintaining dedicated European deal teams and 50% planning to expand presence over the next 12 months.
- • The survey of 60 respondents from the market's largest secondary investors reveals that more than half are dedicated secondary specialists, while 38% operate as combined primary and secondary investors, reflecting diverse participation models.
Summary
The global secondary market demonstrated robust momentum in 2025, reaching $220 billion in transaction volume—a substantial 42% increase over the prior year, according to William Blair's 2026 Secondary Market Report released March 26. The firm's annual survey of 60 of the market's largest institutional investors projects continued expansion, with respondents forecasting volume will climb to $250 billion in 2026. This growth trajectory underscores sustained institutional appetite for secondary transactions despite challenging external conditions.
The survey respondent base reflects significant capital deployment capacity. Approximately 60% of respondents invested more than $500 million in secondary transactions during 2025, while 40% exceeded $1 billion in capital deployed to secondary markets. The investor composition is characterized by a mix of specialized and diversified approaches: more than half identified as dedicated secondary investors, 38% operated as combined primary and secondary investors, and the remainder classified as opportunistic primary or direct investors. This heterogeneous composition indicates that secondary markets continue to attract both specialist and generalist institutional capital.
A critical finding concerns market resilience amid macroeconomic and geopolitical stress. Despite headwinds including U.S. tariff implementation, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, and instability in the Middle East, 91% of respondents indicated they had made no planned changes to their secondary outflow activity. This result underscores what market observers characterize as the defensive nature of secondary transactions, where limited partner liquidity requirements and general partner portfolio management objectives operate independently of broader macroeconomic cycles.
Europe emerged as a primary focus area in the report for the first time, reflecting growing institutional interest in the region's secondary opportunities. Secondary transaction volume in Europe reached approximately $60 billion in 2025. The report noted that 65% of respondents maintain dedicated deal teams in Europe, and 50% plan to expand their European presence over the next 12 months, signaling a structural shift in geographic capital allocation within secondary markets.
Mike Custar, head of Secondary Advisory and co-head of Private Capital Advisory at William Blair, summarized the findings, stating: "Our survey once again shows how resilient the secondary market continues to be." The data supports this assessment, demonstrating that secondary markets function as a counter-cyclical mechanism during periods of economic uncertainty, enabling institutions to meet liquidity needs while facilitating general partner capital redeployment across portfolio companies.
The survey respondent base reflects significant capital deployment capacity. Approximately 60% of respondents invested more than $500 million in secondary transactions during 2025, while 40% exceeded $1 billion in capital deployed to secondary markets. The investor composition is characterized by a mix of specialized and diversified approaches: more than half identified as dedicated secondary investors, 38% operated as combined primary and secondary investors, and the remainder classified as opportunistic primary or direct investors. This heterogeneous composition indicates that secondary markets continue to attract both specialist and generalist institutional capital.
A critical finding concerns market resilience amid macroeconomic and geopolitical stress. Despite headwinds including U.S. tariff implementation, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, and instability in the Middle East, 91% of respondents indicated they had made no planned changes to their secondary outflow activity. This result underscores what market observers characterize as the defensive nature of secondary transactions, where limited partner liquidity requirements and general partner portfolio management objectives operate independently of broader macroeconomic cycles.
Europe emerged as a primary focus area in the report for the first time, reflecting growing institutional interest in the region's secondary opportunities. Secondary transaction volume in Europe reached approximately $60 billion in 2025. The report noted that 65% of respondents maintain dedicated deal teams in Europe, and 50% plan to expand their European presence over the next 12 months, signaling a structural shift in geographic capital allocation within secondary markets.
Mike Custar, head of Secondary Advisory and co-head of Private Capital Advisory at William Blair, summarized the findings, stating: "Our survey once again shows how resilient the secondary market continues to be." The data supports this assessment, demonstrating that secondary markets function as a counter-cyclical mechanism during periods of economic uncertainty, enabling institutions to meet liquidity needs while facilitating general partner capital redeployment across portfolio companies.
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