2026年二级市场报告

In This Report Secondaries Set Records OnceAgain in 2025 Highlights and Analysis FromWilliam Blair's Private CapitalAdvisory Team 2026 Secondary Market Report William Blair Private Capital AdvisoryWinter 2026 Secondary Market Report Secondary volumes reached$220 billion in 2025,another record year thatexceeded expectations—withno signs of slowing in 2026. Secondaries Set Records, Again The secondary market achieved arecord-breaking 2025, driven byall-time highs in both GP- and LP-ledtransaction volumes. With an evensplit across both categories, accountingfor $220 billion in total volume,2themarket grew 42% year-over-year.This performance outpaced the 37%increase in global M&A3and was in linewith the 44% surge in IPO activity,4which followed years of relativestagnation. recovery has been concentrated inmegadeals (valued at over $5 billion),while the midmarket activity hasbeen rather static. A similar patternemerged with IPOs, where proceedsrose to approximately $181 billionin 2025,7though the total number ofIPOs remained largely flat. Despite theuptick in large-cap transaction activity,many private equity portfolios continueto experience limited liquidity andextended hold periods, reinforcingsecondaries’ growing role as a viableexit alternative. LP-led sales were driven by evergreendemand fluidity and new entrants,among other factors as highlightedlater in this report. Resilience Amid Macroeconomic,Geopolitical Tensions Of course, 2025 was a tumultuous yearfrom a macroeconomic perspective,with tariffs implemented by the U.S.and geopolitical tensions including thecontinuing Russia/Ukraine war andconflicts in the Middle East stokingmarket uncertainty. But secondaryinvestors were not deterred—and someeven sought to arbitrage the broadermarket volatility: 91% of respondentsindicated no impact in deployment dueto recent macroeconomic uncertaintyand geopolitical tensions when askedabout interest rate volatility, inflation,and global conflicts generally. Twelve Growth in secondaries, on the otherhand, has been exceptional for years,which continued as the 2025 resultsblew past even the bullish predictionsfrom insiders surveyed for ourpreviousannual report, and doubled the totalsfrom 2023. Looking ahead, respondentsto our latest survey project $250 billionof total secondaries volume in 2026.5 GP-led volume in 2025 was $110billion, mostly driven by the surgein single-asset transactions, whichrepresented 55% of GP-led volumein 2025 compared to 45% in 2024.Notably, 56% of GP-led transactionswere sponsored by repeat issuers. How M&A, IPO Trends AreDriving Secondaries Although M&A volumes increasedto nearly $5 trillion last year,6the percent reported an increased proclivity for diversified transactions, such as multi-asset continuation funds and LP trades, to limit tariff exposure risks. Supply and Demand Stoke Record Volumes A main driver of the strong activity in 2025 was the pressure felt by GPs to generateliquidity, stemming from trillions in unrealized global private equity assets, as wellas industrywide extended hold periods. That backlog, paired with an uncertain M&Aenvironment, continues to help fuel the supply of secondary transactions coming tomarket. At the same time, secondary funds maintained their fundraising momentum,raising a record $95 billion in 2025 (and a further $17 billion through year-to-dateFebruary 2026), arming specialist secondary investors with dry powder of $248billion as of the end of 2025. Secondary capital raised as a percentage of total privatecapital has continued to trend upward, rising from 3% in 2021 to 10% last year.8 Growth in secondaries hasbeen exceptional for years,which continued as 2025’sresults blew past even thebullish predictions frominsiders surveyed last year,doubling the totals from2023. In addition to incumbent secondary investors raising record funds (e.g., Ardian’s $30billion fund and ICG’s $11 billion single-asset–focused fund), new entrants such asLeonard Green & Partners and Painswick Capital have recently launched secondarystrategies, with strong capital formation momentum providing further lift toaggregate secondary fundraising totals. Furthermore, the continued proliferation ofevergreen funds, which are now approaching $700 billion in AUM10and are expectedto grow meaningfully faster than the broader private markets over the next decade,has amplified the supply of investable capital. Evergreen structures, which allowcontinuous fundraising and reinvestment rather than fixed periodic closings, are wellsuited to secondaries given the asset class’s shorter duration, J-curve mitigation, andmore predictable distributions. Global Teams Grow to Capture Demand One trend that has been supported by record fundraises and the expected continuedsupply of secondary opportunities is the expansion of secondary investment teamsaround the globe. In the U.S., 73% of secondary investors have actively expandedtheir teams in the past 12 months, and 79% plan to expan