Activity is driven by secondaries and funds of funds aiming to lock in returns and liquidate old vehicles, according to managing partner Etienne Deshorme.
Although the strategy is not front of mind for most investors, a new type of manager-led deal is set to attract more institutional capital.
The top average bid for a buyout fund was close to pre-covid levels at the end of last year, with prices for VC and infra up in year-on-year terms.
Buyers are requesting a bigger GP stake in continuation vehicles and cross-fund investments are on the rise, according to the advisor.
There was a 'significant uptick' in financing requests for GP-led deals in the third and fourth quarter, according to a survey by the lender.
Secondaries funds returned net IRR of negative 1.75% in Q2 – the only strategy to go into negative territory – according to the latest data from the industry body.
Around 38% of capital for secondaries was raised in the fourth quarter, with Goldman Sachs, AlpInvest and HarbourVest accounting for the bulk.
Infra topping the pricing chart and the rise of mosaic sales are two of the trends outlined by Greenhill's 2020 secondaries market review.
Buyers told Setter Capital they expect global secondaries investing to reach an all-time high of nearly $90bn this year.
Almost two-thirds of investors said they expect capital calls to exceed distributions in 2021, according to a survey by Montana Capital Partners.