PitchBook分析师注：由美国风险投资公司GP主导的二级人才市场规模

Sizing the GP-Led SecondariesMarket for US VC PitchBook Data, Inc. Nizar TarhuniExecutive Vice President ofResearch and Market Intelligence Paul CondraGlobal Head of PrivateMarkets Research Exits to continuation vehicles and strip sales Kyle Stanford, CAIADirector of Research,US Venture PitchBook is a Morningstar company providing the most comprehensive, mostaccurate, and hard-to-find data for professionals doing business in the private markets. Institutional Research Group Analysis Emily ZhengSenior Research Analyst, VentureCapitalemily.zheng@pitchbook.com Key takeaways •The prolonged exit drought has transformed secondaries from a last resort to aproactive portfolio management strategy. This analysis expands our coverageof the US VC secondary market to GP-led secondaries, specifically continuationvehicles and strip sales. These vehicles aim to provide the best of both worlds:Investors get early access to liquidity, while GPs clean up old funds and gainadditional time to maximize returns on top startups. DataHarrison WaldockData Analyst pbinstitutionalresearch@pitchbook.com PublishingDesigned byJosie Doan •The market size of GP-led secondaries is inherently limited due to buyerand seller restrictions. Managers considering continuation vehicles needto be registered investment advisors with a larger shop that can bear theadministrative burden of re-underwriting and pitching the new vehicle. Thesefunds should also be near maturity and have at least $500 million to feasiblycreate and execute continuation vehicles. As potential buyers, many GPs areunable to purchase stakes in continuation vehicles due to overlapping strategieswith LPs. Therefore, the most prominent buyers tend to be secondary specialists. Published on October 9, 2025 Contents Key takeaways1What are GP-led venture secondaries?2Important limitations2Scope and market sizing4 •Another limitation is that because GPs are effectively negotiating withthemselves as they move assets from one vehicle they manage to another,LPs may find themselves at a disadvantage if their fee and ownershipstructures change. •Our market size estimate for GP-led venture secondaries is $14.6 billion and isprojected to grow by another $1.5 billion in the next two years. This is a relativelysmall market; for comparison, the annual transaction volume of US VC directsecondaries is more than four times larger at $61.1 billion. •If venture activity levels recover, GP-leds will have fewer growth opportunitiesthan direct secondaries. Continuation vehicles are incredibly resource-intensiveand may not be worth the effort if liquidity is more readily available. In contrast,direct secondaries are expected to expand alongside primary activity, driven byincreased pricing transparency and buyer confidence. What are GP-led venture secondaries? The prolonged exit stalemate has forced LPs and GPs to confront the harsh realitythat fund and startup timelines are no longer aligned. More than 40% of unicornsheld their first VC round more than a decade ago, exceeding the traditional 10-yearVC fund term. Given this muted environment, fund managers are shifting theirfocus away from solely opportunistic dealmaking to alternative exit planning, suchas secondaries. Our earlier research focused ondirect secondariesfor company stakes in US VC.This analysis expands our coverage to include fund interests, starting with GP-ledsecondaries. These strategies aim to provide the best of both worlds: Investorsget early access to liquidity, while GPs clean up old funds and gain additional timeto maximize returns on top startups. Also, portfolio companies face less pressureto sell because investors are not rushing to exit before their fund expires. Thisnote covers the two most common structures: continuation vehicles (CVs) andstrip sales.1 •CVstransfer assets into a new fund that the GP continues to manage, andLPs can either cash out or roll over. Multi-asset CVs are more typical thansingle-asset vehicles, which are usually reserved for the highest-performingtrophy assets. The CV can aggregate startup stakes across one or multiple funds. •Strip salescarve out a portion of portfolio companies, such as 50% of the fund’sequity in Company A and Company B, for example. This “strip” is transferred intoa new fund that the GP continues to manage. This allows GPs to maintain someholdings in the original fund, preserve upside, and reduce concentration risk. Overall, the growth of GP-led secondaries underscores the maturation of venture asan asset class. Secondaries are no longer viewed as a last resort for “zombie funds”but are now seen as a proactive portfolio management strategy. Important limitations The scope of GP-led secondaries is inherently limited due to restrictions placed onboth buyers and sellers. Secondaries are nonqualifying investments, so only registered investmentadvisors (RIAs) can create CVs and strip sales, rather than traditional VCs thathave exempt reporting advisor status