Over the past two decades, the secondary investment thesis has evolved from a mainly opportunistic strategy – bringing liquidity to fund investors seeking to exit illiquid commitments – to a more constructive strategy, in which both general partners and limited partners can leverage secondaries to better manage their portfolios and seek to generate strong returns.
Northleaf's secondaries investment strategy seeks to provide investors with attractive risk-adjusted returns by gaining access to high-quality assets, often at a discount to intrinsic value.
Investment Approach
We construct differentiated portfolios of mid-market and lower mid-market private equity secondaries.
Leveraging our team’s expertise across the range of secondary transaction types, we focus primarily on traditional LP-led secondary investments and opportunistically invest in GP-led secondaries.
LP-Led Secondaries
Investments in which existing limited partners in a private equity fund sell their fund interests to secondary investors
GP-Led Secondaries
Investments structured by general partners to sell specific assets to new investors or into new entities backed by secondary investors
Why Northleaf for Secondaries
Mid-Market & Lower Mid-Market
We invest in mid-market and lower mid-market funds and companies where there are typically more levers for value creation, greater market inefficiencies and information asymmetry.
Integrated Platform
We leverage our primary investment capabilities and global integrated platform across private equity, private credit and infrastructure to generate sourcing and informational advantages.
High-Quality Assets
We aim to acquire high-quality, mature assets and portfolios with embedded value and a clear path to exit, rather than relying on substantial discounts to net asset value.
Strong Track Record
We have a reputation as a preferred partner and a valued solutions provider with 20+ years of delivering strong secondaries returns with limited use of leverage.
Information inefficiencies within the secondaries mid-market offer an abundance of opportunities. Northleaf investors benefit from our relationships and deep expertise, our genuine mid-market focus and our differentiated platform.
Secondaries provide investors with the potential to:
Accelerate the pace of investment and return of capital
Immediately diversify portfolios
Mitigate the “j-curve”
Enhance returns through re-pricing existing portfolio company investments
Deepen access and informational advantages when coupled with a primary fund investment strategy and co-investments
Representative Investments
Project Venzurro
Secondary
Project Venzurro
24 fund interests (180 underlying companies)Investment Date: 2025Geography: EuropeNorthleaf Angle: Northleaf had strong information access and coverage across the portfolio and, as an existing secondary buyer with the seller, was well positioned as an efficient counterparty.
Active | Europe
Project Century
Secondary
Project Century
Seven fund interests (53 underlying companies)Investment Date: 2025Geography: North AmericaNorthleaf Angle: Northleaf was an existing investor with two of the fund managers and had a prior relationship with all six, providing a differentiated angle and access.
Active | North America
Project Gatsby
Secondary
Project Gatsby
Three fund interests (19 underlying companies)Investment Date: 2025Geography: North AmericaNorthleaf Angle: Northleaf had a strong due diligence angle through a longstanding relationship with the general partner and was an existing investor in all three funds as well as a co-investor in 7 of the 19 underlying companies.
Active | North America
Project Hawk
Secondary
Project Hawk
Multi-asset continuation vehicle comprising four companies, each holding a leading or strong position within its respective marketInvestment Date: 2025Geography: EuropeNorthleaf Angle: Northleaf has maintained a core relationship with the general partner since 2010, providing access to a small, exclusive syndication process. Northleaf is already an investor in all four assets.
