Chris Witkowsky

The teachers’ pension portfolio is among several that have moved through the market this year, helping to drive secondaries volume even as activity on the GP-led side of the market remained muted.

A disconnect exists in the industry between GPs who view continuation funds as a desirable way to hold certain assets beyond the limits of a traditional private equity fund, and LPs who generally would prefer a regular exit.

Infrastructure and real assets accounted for around 9% of estimated total volume in the first half, according to Greenhill & Co’s latest volume survey.

The deal is Partners Group's largest secondaries deal on a total adjusted commitment basis, a source said.

Veritas was part of an investor group earlier this year that included Elliott Investment Management and Patient Square Capital that acquired Syneos Health in an all-cash deal for about $7.1bn.

Sources point to an influx of deals hitting the market toward the end of summer that may drive volume, especially as pricing has improved.

Opinions vary, and the real-world impacts of the rules are uncertain – lawyers are up in arms, while GPs are worried and dreaming of money flowing out of firms like a homeowner with a plumbing issue. 

In the wake of the most sweeping regulations since the financial crisis, Gensler was grilled this week by members of the Senate’s Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committee about the new private fund rules.

GP-led secondary deals like single-asset continuation funds represented about 40 percent of estimated total market volume in the first half, according to Lazard’s first-half volume report.

With sluggish fundraising and GPs often desperate for capital, LPs are in a stronger position to demand certain concessions that may have been unworkable in the bull market years.