Key Takeaways
- • Secondary private market deal volume surged to $102.23B in H1 2025, representing a 51% year-over-year increase from $67.71B in H1 2024, with full-year 2025 volume projected at $176.25B based on FY 2024 trends.
- • Fund secondaries led growth at $59.49B (up 56.3% YoY), while direct secondaries reached $42.74B (up 44.1% YoY), with the market expected to maintain a near-even split of 55.7% fund secondaries and 44.3% directs over the next three years.
- • Non-credit private equity transactions posted the sharpest sectoral growth at 64.3%, while leveraged buyout funds dominated fund strategies with $48.52B in purchases (up 70% YoY); energy-focused funds more than doubled at $315M (up 195.6% YoY).
- • Secondary market purchases trended toward slightly more mature funds, with an average age of 6.76 years compared to 6.39 years in H1 2024, reflecting broader institutional confidence in seasoned portfolios.
- • Real estate activity showed divergence: core strategies doubled to $506M, while value-add and opportunistic funds declined 16.8% and 42.0% respectively, signaling sector-specific valuation and liquidity dynamics.
Summary
The secondary private markets experienced accelerated deal flow in the first half of 2025, with transaction volume reaching $102.23B according to data from Setter Capital—a substantial 51% increase from $67.71B recorded in the same period of 2024. This trajectory positions the full-year 2025 market at an estimated $176.25B, based on extrapolation from 2024 performance trends. The surge underscores sustained institutional appetite for secondary positions as a liquidity mechanism and portfolio optimization strategy.
Fund secondaries and direct secondaries diverged in growth rates, with fund secondaries accelerating more sharply. Fund secondaries climbed 56.3% year-over-year to $59.49B, while direct secondaries—typically comprising portfolio company stakes acquired directly from GPs or primary sponsors—increased at a more moderate 44.1% to $42.74B. Market projections suggest a near-stable composition over the next three years, with fund secondaries representing 55.7% of total volume and directs accounting for 44.3%, indicating structural consistency in the market's composition.
Sectoral performance revealed pronounced variation across strategies. Non-credit private equity transactions led all segments with 64.3% growth, while leveraged buyout funds dominated fund-level activity with $48.52B in purchases, up 70% from the prior-year period. Energy-focused funds demonstrated exceptional momentum, more than doubling to $315M (up 195.6%), and hedge fund secondaries rose 21.3%. Infrastructure and real estate posted more modest gains of 10.4% and 13.4% respectively. Agriculture and timber strategies recorded a dramatic 268.1% increase, though this occurred from a smaller transaction base. Venture capital fund secondaries remained relatively flat with only a 7% increase to $2.84B, while credit fund purchases rose marginally at 6.9% to $2.11B.
Real estate secondaries exhibited mixed performance by strategy type. Core strategies demonstrated robust demand, doubling to $506M, while value-add and opportunistic fund secondaries contracted 16.8% and 42.0% respectively. This divergence likely reflects market participants' preference for lower-risk, income-stable assets amid prevailing interest rate and valuation uncertainties.
The market also shifted toward slightly older fund vintages. Funds purchased in the secondary market averaged 6.76 years in age during H1 2025, compared with 6.39 years in H1 2024—a modest but measurable aging of target portfolios. Purchases spanned both portfolio-level transactions and single-line interest acquisitions across multiple vintages, reflecting the breadth of secondary market participants and deal structures.
Fund secondaries and direct secondaries diverged in growth rates, with fund secondaries accelerating more sharply. Fund secondaries climbed 56.3% year-over-year to $59.49B, while direct secondaries—typically comprising portfolio company stakes acquired directly from GPs or primary sponsors—increased at a more moderate 44.1% to $42.74B. Market projections suggest a near-stable composition over the next three years, with fund secondaries representing 55.7% of total volume and directs accounting for 44.3%, indicating structural consistency in the market's composition.
Sectoral performance revealed pronounced variation across strategies. Non-credit private equity transactions led all segments with 64.3% growth, while leveraged buyout funds dominated fund-level activity with $48.52B in purchases, up 70% from the prior-year period. Energy-focused funds demonstrated exceptional momentum, more than doubling to $315M (up 195.6%), and hedge fund secondaries rose 21.3%. Infrastructure and real estate posted more modest gains of 10.4% and 13.4% respectively. Agriculture and timber strategies recorded a dramatic 268.1% increase, though this occurred from a smaller transaction base. Venture capital fund secondaries remained relatively flat with only a 7% increase to $2.84B, while credit fund purchases rose marginally at 6.9% to $2.11B.
Real estate secondaries exhibited mixed performance by strategy type. Core strategies demonstrated robust demand, doubling to $506M, while value-add and opportunistic fund secondaries contracted 16.8% and 42.0% respectively. This divergence likely reflects market participants' preference for lower-risk, income-stable assets amid prevailing interest rate and valuation uncertainties.
The market also shifted toward slightly older fund vintages. Funds purchased in the secondary market averaged 6.76 years in age during H1 2025, compared with 6.39 years in H1 2024—a modest but measurable aging of target portfolios. Purchases spanned both portfolio-level transactions and single-line interest acquisitions across multiple vintages, reflecting the breadth of secondary market participants and deal structures.
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