Continuation Vehicles Hit $115B in 2025, Now Represent 43% of Total Secondary Market Volume

Continuation Vehicles Dominate the GP-Led Secondary Landscape According to a detailed analysis published by CAIA, GP-led continuation vehicles (CVs) have emerged as the dominant secondary market structure, reaching $115 billion in transaction volume during 2025. CVs now represent 89% of all GP-led secondary activity and approximately 43% of total secondary market volume — a share that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. The Structural Drivers Between 2022-2024, distributions as a percentage of NAV trailed historical norms by roughly 15% (13% actual vs. 28% historical) DPI for 2018-2021 vintages is approximately 0.2x lower than originally budgeted 2.5x more LPs now rank DPI as the most critical performance metric vs. three years ago (McKinsey 2025) Fundraising scarcity: for every $3 targeted, only $1 of LP capital is currently available Buyout fundraising in 2025 reached its lowest level relative to NAV since the Global Financial Crisis Why GPs Are Turning to Continuation Vehicles In the absence of traditional exit routes — IPOs and strategic M&A remain constrained — GPs are increasingly using CVs to retain high-conviction assets while providing liquidity to LPs who need to rebalance. The structures allow sponsors to move assets into a new vehicle with a fresh fund life, reset the clock on performance fees, and attract new capital from secondary buyers. CVs enable sponsors to retain control over high-quality assets while generating liquidity for existing investors — CAIA Portfolio for the Future, February 2026 Why This Matters for Private Markets The CV boom is not merely a liquidity patch — it represents a fundamental restructuring of how private equity manages its portfolio lifecycle. As traditional exit pipelines remain constrained, CVs are becoming a mainstream portfolio management tool. For secondary buyers, this creates a steady supply of high-quality single-asset and multi-asset deals at known valuations, often with embedded GP alignment. However, it also raises governance questions: when does a continuation vehicle serve LP interests versus simply extending GP fee duration? The market is still working out those boundaries.