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The proposition for continuation vehicles is to let GPs hold on to trophy assets while giving existing LPs the option to stay or sell.
Given the option, most LPs sell.
Secondary transaction volume reached a record $121 billion in the first six months of the year, split between $65 billion in GP-led deals and $56 billion in LP-led deals, according to PitchBook’s latest Global Private Market Fundraising Report.
While the top-line numbers paint a robust picture of a market that can retain high-conviction assets, this is mainly supported by incoming investors.
“From the mandates that I have worked on, and from other people that I have spoken to in the industry, I do think that cashing out rather than rolling has been the more common approach taken by LPs in those instances. It’s not an easy decision, particularly when the cash out option can often be at a discount to what the asset was being valued on the manager’s books,” said Brendan Gallen, partner at Reed Smith.
The average LP rollover in CV transactions increased from 11% in 2023 to 15% in 2025, according to Jefferies’ Global Secondary Market Review report published in January.
However, a November 2025 working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, “Selling to Yourself: Continuation Funds in Private Equity,” found the share of LPs rolling fell from 14%-15% in 2018 and 2019 to below 5% by 2025.
The measures differ, but the picture is the same: most LPs still cash out.
Given the lack of distributions, some LPs do jump on the opportunity due to their own liquidity needs, but there are also other reasons why existing LPs choose not to roll.
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