Whitepaper
Navigating the Private Equity Secondary Market in 2026
As institutional portfolios rebalance and exit activity remains constrained, the private equity secondary market has matured into one of the most compelling entry points into private markets. Global secondary volume exceeded $240 billion in 2025 — a sixfold increase in a decade — driven not by distress, but by structural repricing.
This White Paper by FINVIA and bunch examines why secondaries deserve a permanent place in family office portfolios. By offering mid-cycle entry, visibility into established portfolios, and pricing that embeds a margin of safety, secondaries address the structural weaknesses that primary-only programmes inevitably carry.
From the mechanics of LP-led and GP-led transactions to the operational infrastructure needed to manage them at scale, this paper lays out how a blended approach — structured with discipline — can outperform either primaries or secondaries in isolation.
What's inside
- A Repricing Market, Not a Distressed One - Why 2026 sharpens the case for secondaries
- What Secondaries Actually Offer - Mid-cycle entry, pricing dynamics, and structural transparency
- Cyclical Opportunity on Top of Structure - The three forces creating today's entry window
- LP-Led vs. GP-Led - Different instruments, different roles, different diligence
- Complement, Not Substitute - Integrating secondaries into a broader private equity programme