尽管宏观经济发生了更多变化，但借调人员仍持乐观态度

INVESTMENT BANKING Continued Bullishness Across SecondariesDespite More Macroeconomic Changes Another spring of uncertainty is necessitating creativity inglobal deal making. But expectations remain for strong growthin secondaries, especially as the market applies lessons learned For secondaries, 2026 began with great optimism—a hallmark of the sector inrecent years—as insiders surveyed by William Blair projected $250 billion inactivity by year-end (see chart).1But macro disruptions emerged early in the year, Authors Mike Custar+1 332 262 2551mcustar@williamblair.com Quinn Kolberg+1 332 262 2550qkolberg@williamblair.com Tom Marking+1 332 262 2554tmarking@williamblair.com Tim-Oliver Seidel+44 20 7297 4750toseidel@williamblair.com Jake Stuiver+1 332 262 2577jstuiver@williamblair.com Dan DiSalvio+1 332 262 2611ddisalvio@williamblair.com Kyle McManus+1 212 237 2706kmcmanus@williamblair.com Despite the latest uncertainty, trillions of dollars of unrealized value across privatefunds have continued to support growth in secondaries—and while disruptionsrelated to the conflict in Iran and AI are making their way through the market,they appear temporary in the face of a longer-term, structural need for liquidity. Doug Milanes+1 332 262 2573dmilanes@williamblair.com Elisabeth Thomas+1 646 591 9510ethomas@williamblair.com Still, one may look at 2025 for an example of how the secondary market canplay the role of a stabilizing force amid the ups and downs of the IPO and M&Amarkets—and indeed market participants expect much of the same from thesecondary market in 2026. The following report examines the LP- and GP-led 1.Source: William Blair Private CapitalAdvisory: 2026 Secondary Market Report.2.Ibid. How Have LP-LedsDealt With 2026’s MacroTurbulence? Understanding Secondary Market Pricing3 As of June 2026, LP-led sellers would be best described as moderately motivated,compared with slightly motivated late last year, largely due to weaker pricingresulting from macro factors set against continued strong desire for liquidity. Each Last year, LP-led deal activity stalledafter the Trump administration’sApril 2025 tariff announcements—only to surge shortly thereafter. Theresult was a glut of attractive deal flowthat surpassed the market’s capacityin midsummer before evening out In the end, 2025 smashed recordsfor LP-led activity, and the hope isthat investors will look back andbe less fazed by the potential formacro disruption this year. But, atthe moment, sellers on the LP-ledside would be best described asmoderately motivated, compared withslightly motivated and verging on What’s Behind GP-Leds’Continued Surge? its portfolio company ConvergintTechnologies, demonstrate growingSACF momentum as well as increasingmarket sophistication that bolsters theneed for expertise across continuation While GP-leds are feeling someuncertainty about AI and tech, themarket is booming, with adoptioncontinuing to accelerate across Much of the broader growth in SACFactivity is tied to two concepts. Capitalformation targeting concentratedGP-led transactions continues toaccelerate, with many blue-chip,large-cap private equity funds raisingcapital to support their newly formedstrategies. Additionally, the first half of GP-led activity, which representsapproximately half of the overallsecondary market, predominantlycomprises continuation funds.The category has matured into a thirdexit pillar alongside M&A and IPOs andrepresented a significant portion ofprivate equity exits by the end of 2025. Activity is expected to stabilize soonerthan last year, with marks poised toimprove and slower distributionsexpected to drive scaled sellers tomarket. Further, a possible run on Further, secondary pricing has seensignificant normalization, with two-thirds of investors predicting pricingstability through 2026 and only 4%anticipating a decline.6High-quality Consolidation of secondaryplatforms has also been a theme in2026, with insiders expecting thetrend to continue over the next coupleof years, increasing pressure to growfaster. Sector-focused firms andspecialists are emerging, including Single-asset continuation funds(“SACF”) are booming, with activitygrowing from $34 billion in 2024to $60 billion in 2025, comparedwith strong but less pronounced For GP-leds, two other factorsshould stoke optimism: continuationfunds are now an established portfoliomanagement strategy, and showno signs of slowing, while marketuncertainty that made them If anything, SACFs’ dominance in thecategory has continued to increase in2026 after the structure accountedfor 55% of category volume in 2025as more SACF-focused investor fundswere closed.5A number of recent This seems to be sending a signal thata growing number of limited partnersand secondary buyers are focusingon—and growing more comfortable— high-profile transactions, includingour continuation fund transaction How Will AI Risk and IranAffect Secondaries? Even amid the latest macro uncertainty,