Lexington Partners' Taylor Robinson - Secondaries in the spotlight

Описание: Original Publish Date: February 3, 2026

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 $76B in AUM 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 LP's portfolios.

How secondaries have become a portfolio management tool for LPs.

The rise of GP-led secondaries.

Why aren't all CVs 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.

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Chapters:
00:00 -0:00 – How secondaries reprice private equity fund life cycles
0:50 – Alt Goes Mainstream intro & show theme
1:19 – Episode overview: secondaries, liquidity, and market trends
2:36 – Taylor Robinson’s background & career path
4:45 – Origins and early days of the secondaries market
5:18 – 2008 financial crisis and its impact on secondaries
6:34 – Zero interest rates and the private markets boom
7:06 – Today’s liquidity challenges for LPs and GPs
7:41 – Traditional LP secondaries vs. GP-led transactions
9:15 – Why liquidity demand is driving secondary market growth
10:11 – How declining distributions changed LP portfolio management
12:08 – Evolution from negative to positive asset selection in secondaries
14:12 – Where secondary managers generate edge and returns
15:48 – Partnering with GPs in a higher-rate, value-creation era
17:52 – Repricing assets across the private equity life cycle
19:24 – Valuations, data transparency, and future regulation
21:36 – Hold periods, duration risk, and market maturation
24:07 – Secondaries vs. primary investing for LPs
24:45 – Why secondaries are an ideal on-ramp to private markets
27:03 – Secondaries as a core asset class
28:03 – Single-asset continuation vehicles vs. diversified portfolios
30:58 – Diversification, beta, and alpha in secondaries
32:06 – Discount vs. asset selection as return drivers
35:02 – IRR, DPI, multiples, and LP outcome preferences
36:40 – Comparing secondaries and primary fund returns
38:26 – Capital velocity and commitment pacing
40:13 – Evergreen funds vs. drawdown structures
42:35 – Scale advantages in secondaries investing
46:54 – Skills required to be a top secondaries investor
50:21 – Underrated traits for career success in secondaries
52:07 – Understanding industry dynamics and GP behavior
55:21 – Future growth and fund size potential in secondaries
58:10 – Biggest misconceptions about secondaries
1:01:11 – Why secondaries are here to stay
1:02:08 – Outro and closing remarks