Investors last year sold US$240 billion of their existing shares in companies, known as secondaries, according to a new report from Jefferies. That’s up 48 per cent from 2024. The firm expects the volume of deals in 2026 to match last year’s record. (The Logic)

Talking point: The secondary market has been booming for the last couple of years. Early shareholders in companies are increasingly selling some or all of their stakes through these transactions to free up cash for themselves in the absence of initial public offerings or acquisitions—the more typical ways shareholders glean returns on their investments. Many buyers, meanwhile, are snapping shares at a discount. Jefferies found that investors selling private-equity stakes got about 87 cents on the dollar for what those holdings were reported to be worth, while buyers paid 78 cents on the dollar for venture and growth assets in the secondary market.