Aside from death and taxes, certainty is famously elusive. Yet
it would require some spectacular plot twists for the secondaries
market to disappoint in 2026. We consider the key drivers shaping
the secondaries market and their continued importance to liquidity
solutions in the months to come.
A look back at 2025
Consistent with
Torys' 2025 outlook, the private fund secondaries market
had yet another record year in 2025. Secondaries transaction value
in 2025 totalled $226 billion1, marked by continued
growth on both the LP-led side and the GP-led side and far
outstripping the prior $160 billion record year in 2024. On the
LP-led side, secondary investors saw plenty of opportunities for
both large and small transactions, with notable processes hitting
the market throughout the year involving prominent U.S. university
endowments, state pension plans and sovereign wealth investors. The
GP-led market also remained hot—with continuation funds now
representing
