Bank of America

As credit secondaries scale and GP-led continuation vehicles gain traction, the secondaries market is splitting in two—buyers still demand discounts from LP sellers, while trophy assets controlled by GPs increasingly clear at par or better.

The flood of '40 Act capital from private wealth is pushing secondaries pricing to historic highs, dramatically narrowing bid-ask spreads and forcing major asset managers and new specialized firms into an arms race for liquidity-generating deals.

Even though international investment banks win advisory roles on some deals, Japanese firms have a big hometown advantage.