The full picture
Each piece below covers a different angle of the same market — read the one that matches what you're trying to understand.
With IPOs and M&A running ~70% below 2021 levels, secondary sales have become the main way VCs and LPs actually get paid.
Volume is tracking toward $180–200B in 2026, up from ~$60B in 2019, as LPs sell stakes at 10–15% NAV discounts to fix a liquidity drought.
Continuation vehicles now make up over half of all secondaries volume — how they work, why GPs use them, and what they cost LPs.
A GP moves a prized portfolio company into a new vehicle instead of selling it — extending the hold while giving existing LPs a cash-out option.
Hedge funds and mutual funds buying into late-stage private rounds — concentrated in a small number of the biggest names.
How early employees and angel investors sell vested equity on the secondary market before a company ever goes public.
Why secondary trading volume is growing faster than new primary investment — and what that means for how venture capital works going forward.
Case study: Robinhood Ventures (RVI / RVII)
The closed-end fund structure retail investors use to buy pre-IPO exposure through Robinhood is itself a secondary-market vehicle — it holds private-company stakes acquired on the secondary market and trades at a premium or discount to that NAV on the NYSE. We track it in depth.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a VC secondary market transaction?
- A secondary transaction is the sale of an existing stake in a private company or VC fund — as opposed to a primary transaction, where new capital goes directly to the company or fund. Sellers include LPs cashing out fund stakes, early employees selling vested equity, and GPs moving assets into continuation vehicles.
- Why is the secondaries market growing so fast?
- IPO and M&A exits have run roughly 70% below 2021 levels, so LPs and employees who need liquidity increasingly sell on the secondary market instead of waiting for a traditional exit. Volume has grown from roughly $60B in 2019 toward $180–200B in 2026.
- What is a GP-led secondary or continuation fund?
- A GP-led secondary is a deal a fund's own manager initiates — typically moving one or more prized portfolio companies into a new continuation vehicle so existing LPs can cash out while new investors fund a longer hold. GP-led deals now represent more than half of total secondaries volume.
- What discount do LP stakes trade at on the secondary market?
- Pricing varies by fund quality and vintage, but LP stakes in venture funds have recently traded at roughly 10-20% discounts to net asset value, tighter than in prior downturns as buyer demand for private-market exposure has stayed strong.
- Can startup employees sell their equity before an IPO?
- Yes, at many later-stage companies. Employees with vested shares can sell through company-sanctioned tender offers or, less commonly, through private secondary marketplaces — subject to the company's transfer restrictions and right of first refusal.