Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode dives into the rapidly expanding world of secondaries with a senior leader at one of the pioneering firms in the secondaries space.

We sat down at Franklin Templeton’s New York office with Taylor Robinson, a Partner on the Secondary team at Lexington Partners, which has over $77B in total capitalization and is part of Franklin Templeton’s family of private markets funds and strategies.

Taylor, who joined the firm in 2008, is primarily focused on the origination, evaluation, and execution of secondary opportunities, including partnership and GP-led transactions. He’s also a member of Lexington’s ESG Steering Committee.

Taylor and I had a fascinating conversation about the current state of the secondaries market. We covered many of the hot button topics and trends that are shaping the secondaries market, including:

* Why secondaries have become an integral part of many LPs portfolios.

* How secondaries have become a portfolio management tool for LPs.

* The rise of GP-led secondaries.

* Why not all CVs are created equal.

* Why secondaries can be a good on-ramp to private markets for wealth channel investors.

* What the future holds for secondaries.

Thanks Taylor for coming on the show to share your expertise and wisdom about private markets and secondaries.

Thanks for reading Alt Goes Mainstream! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work - writing and podcasting about the convergence of private markets and private wealth since December 2020.

Show Notes

00:00 A Different Way of Thinking About Private Equity

01:21 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

01:31 Meet Taylor Robinson from Lexington Partners

02:03 The Evolution of the Secondaries Market

02:36 Taylor Robinson’s Career Journey

03:16 Joining Lexington Partners During the Financial Crisis

04:49 The Growth of the Secondaries Market

05:46 Impact of the Financial Crisis on Secondaries

06:11 The Role of Liquidity in Market Growth

06:59 Current State of the Secondaries Market

07:39 Focus Areas in the Secondary Market

07:55 Traditional vs. GP-Led Secondary Deals

09:06 The Importance of Liquidity

10:26 Challenges for Institutional LPs

11:39 Active Portfolio Management

15:48 Evaluating and Partnering with GPs

16:50 The Role of Information and Relationships

20:53 Future of Secondary Markets and Regulation

23:58 Primary vs. Secondary Fund Investing

28:01 Nuances in Secondary Market Strategies

32:29 Asset Selection in Secondary Markets

32:50 Value Drivers in Secondary Deals

33:32 Consistent Return Generation

34:44 Specialization in Secondary Markets

35:12 Different Ways to Make Returns

36:35 Comparing Secondary and Primary Funds

38:38 Evaluating Secondary Funds

40:20 Evergreen Funds and Secondary Investments

44:07 Challenges in Evergreen Space

45:01 Investor Preferences and Structures

45:26 Wealth Channel and Capital Raising

46:50 Skillset for Secondary Investors

49:11 Importance of Intellectual Curiosity

50:17 Underrated Skills for Success

52:03 Industry Trends and GP Consolidation

53:36 Understanding Market Dynamics

54:58 Training and Retention at Lexington

55:25 Future of Secondary Markets

56:07 Scale and Growth Potential

57:56 Misconceptions About Secondary Markets

59:44 Shifting Mindsets on Secondary Investments

01:01:10 Evolution of the Secondary Market

01:01:39 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

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