Do GP Valuations Hold Up? LPs Are Checking Secondary Prices

October 15, 2026

A NAV is a GP’s opinion. A secondary trade is a price. According to PitchBook, more limited partners now compare the two, using secondary market pricing to test how accurately GPs mark their assets. When marks and trades keep diverging, LPs treat it as a warning sign, and some are changing where they commit capital as a result.

How are LPs using secondary prices to check GP marks?

A secondary price shows what a buyer will actually pay for a fund stake as of a reference date. A reported NAV shows what the manager believes the portfolio is worth. LPs are now putting those two numbers side by side.

PitchBook’s Jessica Hamlin reports that a consistent gap between a manager’s marks and secondary prices “could well be a red flag.” One discount on one trade can reflect a motivated seller. A gap that persists across trades and quarters says something about the marks themselves.

Is this changing where LPs commit capital?

Yes, for some. According to several advisers cited by PitchBook, what LPs find when they benchmark marks against secondary pricing is shaping how some institutional investors deploy capital. In practice that means valuation credibility is becoming part of manager selection and re-up decisions, not just a back-office reconciliation.

LPs are also using the secondary market as an active tool, not only as a pricing reference. Nick Best of Campbell Lutyens’ secondary advisory team told PitchBook that LPs increasingly use secondaries for liquidity, selling funds, GP families or strips of commitments to right-size their exposure. Selling and benchmarking feed each other: every trade adds another data point.

Why is the secondary market a better benchmark now?

Volume. As more secondary deals get done, there are more comparable trades and pricing becomes more efficient. That effect is strongest for “flow name” funds from the best-known managers, whose stakes change hands regularly enough that buyers and sellers have a good sense of where they clear.

There is also a regulatory nudge. In late September, SEC staff said it is insufficient for private funds to rely on GP-provided valuations. We covered that statement and what it means in this week’s Private Market Insights: The secondary market is becoming the price check on private fund marks.

Where does the secondary price check break down?

Outside the flow names. Most mid-market and smaller funds, and most individual LP positions, rarely trade. With few or no comparable transactions, there is little market price to hold a NAV against, so the reality check that works for a top-tier buyout fund barely exists for the funds where many LPs actually hold their positions.

What does more visible secondary activity mean for LPs and sponsors?

Better data for everyone. Sellers learn what the market will bear for a position. Buyers and existing LPs gain a real benchmark instead of relying only on the manager’s mark. Sponsors whose marks hold up against trades can point to that evidence.

LPShares is a marketplace where LP interests can be listed and discovered, which adds more of that activity to the picture, including for funds outside the flow names. You can browse LP interest listings on the LPShares marketplace, read how listing an LP interest works in our FAQs, or look up terms like NAV and secondary discount in the LPShares private markets glossary. Any transaction is subject to sponsor approval, diligence, legal review and transfer requirements, and pricing is never guaranteed.

FAQ

What is a GP valuation or mark?

It is the value a general partner assigns to a fund’s holdings, reported to LPs as net asset value (NAV). It is an estimate, not a transaction price.

What does a secondary market price tell an LP?

It shows what a buyer was actually willing to pay for a fund stake as of a reference date, which gives LPs an outside check on the reported NAV.

Is a discount to NAV always a red flag?

No. A single discount can reflect a seller’s timing or needs. PitchBook notes it is a consistent gap between marks and secondary prices that could be a red flag.

Why is it harder to benchmark smaller funds?

Their stakes trade rarely, so there are few comparable transactions to compare against the GP’s marks.

Create a free LPShares account to follow secondary activity across private funds.

Source: PitchBook, “Do GP valuations hold up? Check the secondary market,” Jessica Hamlin, Oct 15, 2026.

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