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Secondaries Get Smarter

The private equity secondaries market has officially roared back to life in the first half of 2025, with total deal volume surpassing $100 billion—an all-time high for any half-year period.

August 12, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Secondary Market Surges Past $100B as GP-led Deals Dominate Revival

According to Evercore, the rebound was led by a significant uptick in both LP- and GP-led activity, signaling renewed investor confidence and a more liquid deal-making environment.

In the first half of 2025 (1H25), total secondary market volume reached $102 billion, marking a 42% increase from $72 billion in 1H24. LP-led deals climbed to $54 billion—up from $41 billion—while GP-led transactions surged to $48 billion, up from $31 billion. The sharp rise in GP-led volumes, in particular, suggests a healthy return of structured solutions like continuation funds, which had been subdued in previous years due to market uncertainty.

“GP-led secondaries are back in full force,” said Nigel Dawn, global head of Evercore’s Private Capital Advisory. “Managers are using continuation vehicles not just to generate liquidity, but also as tools to consolidate their best assets and offer investors tailored exit opportunities.”

This marks a full recovery from the more tepid 2023, where overall activity had dropped to $41 billion in the first half. The comeback has been fueled by several macro and market-driven factors: stabilizing interest rates, improved pricing transparency, and a surge of dry powder waiting to be deployed.

Indeed, secondary market dry powder has reached an extraordinary $171 billion as of 1H25, continuing a decade-long upward trend that reflects growing LP interest in the secondaries space. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.9% since 2014, the abundance of capital is adding momentum to deal processes and compressing bid-ask spreads.

The rise in dry powder also highlights the evolution of the secondaries market from a niche liquidity tool to a core part of institutional portfolio strategy. “Secondaries is no longer just an asset class—it’s becoming a corporate finance function,” said Carlyle's head of secondaries, in an interview cited in a recent report. “We’re seeing more strategic usage of secondaries for portfolio rebalancing, NAV management, and even balance sheet optimization.”

Carlyle, like many other major players, is leaning into this transformation by developing dedicated secondaries capabilities across both LP- and GP-led deal structures. These platforms are designed not only to provide exit options for legacy investors but also to enable fund sponsors to hold onto high-performing assets beyond their typical fund life cycles.

The data also underscores that LPs are growing more comfortable with structured and complex transactions. Continuation funds—once viewed with skepticism due to potential conflicts of interest—are now being embraced as viable tools for both liquidity and long-term growth. According to Evercore, these vehicles are particularly attractive in today’s market where traditional exit routes, such as IPOs or strategic sales, remain challenging.

Looking ahead, the remainder of 2025 is expected to maintain strong momentum. While some caution persists around global economic uncertainty, the market fundamentals remain robust. With over $170 billion in available capital, secondaries buyers are well-positioned to support a wide range of transactions—from traditional LP stakes to innovative GP-led restructurings.

In the words of one industry executive: “What used to be a side pocket in private markets is now a core strategy. The secondaries market is not just back—it’s setting the tone for what the next decade of private equity might look like.”

As the secondaries space continues to evolve, expect further convergence between primary private equity and the secondary market, particularly as firms increasingly deploy secondaries strategies as extensions of their broader corporate finance and portfolio management efforts.

Sources & References

PE International. (2025). Carlyle chief: Secondaries is evolving into a corporate finance business. https://www.privateequityinternational.com/carlyle-chief-secondaries-is-evolving-into-a-corporate-finance-business/