Interim Secondary Market Report 2026 (Lazard)

Summary

• The secondary market generated an estimated $124 billion in transacted volume in the first half of 2026, up approximately 28% year-over-year.p.3
• Trailing-twelve-month volume through June 2026 reached approximately $260 billion, double the market's 2021 level.p.3
• Lazard expects volume to meet its full-year prediction of $275 billion.p.3
• The GP-led market represented approximately 49% of first-half volume, with continuation funds accounting for 84% of GP-led deployment.p.3
• Single-asset continuation funds rose to 54% of total GP-led transaction volume.p.3
• M&A volume reached $3.2 trillion in 1H 2026, while IPO proceeds more than tripled to $205 billion.p.7
• Surveyed investors hold ~$77 billion of dry powder for 2H 2026 GP-led deployment, more than the ~$61 billion 1H 2026 GP-led volume.p.10

Key insights

1. Respondents indicated that their own GP-led deployment targets are expected to increase by an average of 20% in 2H 2026 relative to 1H 2026.p.9
2. 76% of respondents are raising flagship funds in 2026, and 11% are targeting $10 billion-plus vehicles.p.10
3. 6% of investors control approximately 43% of 2H 2026 deployable capital.p.10
4. Multi-asset continuation funds declined to 30% of volume from 33% in 2025, while preferred equity and other structured solutions increased to 14% from 10%.p.11
5. Technology's share of single-asset continuation fund volume declined from 27% in 2025 to 20% in 1H 2026, while Industrials rose from 9% to 18%.p.12
6. 23% of single-asset continuation fund volume priced above par in 1H 2026, versus 8% in 2025.p.13
7. Average lead commitments above $100M reached approximately 46% of participants in 1H 2026, from approximately 39% in 2025.p.14
8. The share of respondents operating an evergreen / '40 Act vehicle increased to 40% in 1H 2026, from 34% at year-end 2025.p.15
9. Approximately 86% of surveyed secondary investors report greater caution toward software since the early-2026 shakeout.p.17
10. 96% of respondents agree that large-cap sponsors will increasingly tap the secondary market for liquidity solutions.p.21