Main Conference Day One
What is driving a "new normal" in secondary pricing and execution? Analyzing the strategic responses to mounting liquidity pressures, the impact of recent trade policy shifts, and the long-term implications of the massive secondary dry powder overhang. Exploring asset class bifurcation, capital specialization and geopolitical risks and their effect on the market.
Discussing the evolving challenges of maintaining target allocations in a volatile macro environment. Where do LPs see arising opportunities and which strategies do they prefer? Examining how institutional investors are leveraging secondary markets and structured liquidity solutions to optimize cash flows without sacrificing long-term returns.
Analyzing the impact of new market entrants raising dedicated GP-led capital and the rise of "retail-adjacent" evergreen vehicles. How can GPs maintain fairness, transparency, and trust while meeting LP liquidity needs? What strategies balance short-term liquidity with long-term investor alignment and growth? What are the new trends, risks, and challenges, and how can GPs and LPs handle them?
- Michael Bego - Managing Partner and Founder, Kline Hill Partners
- Michael Friedberg - Principal, Leonard Green & Partners, L.P.
Exploring mispriced opportunities where traditional exits have stalled. Comparing proactive, proprietary deal-flow against reactive auction participation. Navigating minority recaps and creative change-of-control dynamics as alternatives to full buyouts. Exploring secondary direct investing beyond the unicorns.
How are GPs and LPs adapting to longer-than-planned hold periods and mixed investment performance? What are LP perspectives on expectations vs reality and how is this influencing their allocation strategy?
What has been driving the increase in LP-led secondaries transactions? Are we seeing a structural evolution where LPs now view secondaries as a permanent tool for active portfolio rebalancing? Pro-tips on navigating the 'higher-for-longer' interest rate environment. With forecasts suggesting further surge in total secondary volumes, where will the necessary buyer capital come from?
- Ethan Levine - Head of secondaries, co-head of real assets and sustainability, CF Private Equity
Debating whether evergreen funds represent the permanent evolution of private equity liquidity or a ticking regulatory time bomb.
- Jay Patel - Co-head of Secondaries, Albourne Partners
- Elliott Campbell - Principal, Portfolio Manager, HarbourVest Partners
To register, please contact Svetlana.fathers@informa.com
How does the mix of LP led versus GP led deals differ between the US, Europe and Asia, and what structural or cultural factors most explain those differences? Where are the biggest regional divergences in pricing and required returns? Which regulatory, legal and tax considerations most materially affect deal structuring and timelines in each region?
- Rocío Heres - Partner, AltamarCAM Partners
Establishing rigorous frameworks for manager selection by decoding GP track records, optimizing operational due diligence, and contrasting the agility of emerging managers against the stability of established platforms.
LP-only discussion group run under the Chatham House Rule and open to 30 pre-registered LPs from the following organizations: banks, corporate investors, development finance institutions, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, investment consultants, pension funds, RIAs, single family offices, sovereign wealth funds and wealth managers subject to qualification.
To register, please contact Momina Nehmat at Momina.Nehmat@informa.com
Evaluating semi-liquid evergreen vehicles, SMAs, and flexible structures that capture institutional and wealth management capital. Defining how GPs can leverage sector expertise and operational alpha to stand out in competitive fundraising. Analyzing the latest shifts in management fees, tiered carry structures, and heightened GP commitment expectations.
Sharing best practices for RIAs using secondaries to give retail clients immediate, diversified exposure to mature buyout and credit portfolios. Navigating the 2026 "process-based safe harbors" while using open-ended and semi-liquid vehicles as essential bridges for wealth managers. How to best overcome operational complexities while delivering the high-touch transparency required by sophisticated wealth platforms.
How can GPs and LPs harness AI to compress transaction timelines and enhance valuation accuracy? In what ways are machine learning and generative AI transforming due diligence and portfolio monitoring? How can AI be used to enhance valuation models?
Exploring the unique role of emerging managers as "alpha generators" who provide liquidity to the lower-mid market and complex "non-trophy" assets that larger funds often overlook. What are some of the key structural challenges of launching a secondary platform in 2026, from navigating an average fundraising cycle to meeting heightened LP demands?
- Cari Lodge - Founder and Managing Partner, Aqualis Partners