Secondaries

French investment firm Peugeot Invest is offloading 35 PE funds to rebalance its portfolio.

With peers facing substantial portfolio challenges, the $30bn endowment is urging restraint in what its leaders say is an environment for endowments akin to 2008’s financial crisis.

Some 450 private markets professionals attended PEI Group’s 2025 Women in Private Markets Summit this week. With liquidity on the minds of many, the secondaries market was front and centre.

Without new capital coming in, the firm is considering an extensive continuation fund process that would extend its ability to make new investments.

Last quarter saw 11 continuation vehicles close, with a dozen more hitting or looking to hit the market, according to data gathered by Secondaries Investor.

While rapidly changing market conditions can create significant bid-ask spreads, there are tools and concepts the secondaries market can borrow from M&A to get deals across the line.

The fund of funds specialist believes China could present interesting secondaries opportunities given a lack of buyer interest, managing partner Alex Sao Wei Lee said.

The two New York-based partners’ clients include Brookfield Asset Management, Coller Capital, PSP and StepStone.

In the latest episode of the Second Thoughts podcast, StepStone’s Jeffrey Giller discusses the firm’s plans for deployment and the runway for growth in the real estate secondaries market.

SQ Capital’s fundraising could benefit from recent momentum in secondaries dealmaking, as GPs and LPs both seek a remedy to persistent illiquidity.