Private capital hits $22T as investors flee broken stock-bond correlation; Q3 2025 PE deals reach highest since Q4 2021.

Private markets found their liquidity release valve in 2025. With distributions frozen at post-crisis lows and $2.9 trillion in unsold assets choking the system, the secondary market exploded to over $200 billion in annual volume—transforming from a niche corner of private equity into essential infrastructure for the entire industry.

Private credit secondaries explode to $18B as liquidity crunch hits funds. Goldman invests $1B in T. Rowe for retail push. Major deals: $38B Oracle data centers, $20B Carlyle secondaries fund. Asia education boom driven by Apollo/KKR. Industry consolidation expected as 96% of managers anticipate M&A within 5 years amid regulatory pressures.Retry

Erik Hirsch, co-CEO of Hamilton Lane, which manages nearly $1 trillion in private assets, detailed this credit revolution and its implications for both borrowers and investors on Bloomberg's Masters in Business podcast with Barry Ritholtz.

Private markets pivot toward retail access as Trump administration prepares 401(k) executive order for $12T retirement market. Secondary transactions hit record $103B amid exit drought. GIC signals caution on compressed private credit spreads. Major deals include Apollo's £600M dental financing, Carlyle's $250M farm loans.

Private credit markets are experiencing explosive growth as traditional bank lending retreats, creating a fundamental shift in how companies access capital and investors generate returns. What started as a $2 trillion niche market serving private equity sponsors has evolved into a $30 trillion global opportunity encompassing infrastructure, real estate, and investment-grade corporate lending.

Private markets face a critical inflection point with rating controversies exposing hidden risks, 30,000 unsold PE companies creating exit backlogs, and industry leaders warning the sector has "lost its way." Yet opportunities emerge through European expansion, AI infrastructure needs, and wealth democratization as regulators push to eliminate accredited investor barriers—reshaping the industry's future.RetryClaude can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.

Michael Schad, Partner and Head of Credit Secondaries at Coller Capital, sat down with Fund Shack at SuperReturn Berlin to discuss the explosive growth potential of private credit secondaries. Schad argues that the shift from bank lending to private fund lending represents a secular trend that could eventually make credit secondaries larger than private equity secondaries.