It’s a rare occurrence for so many influential secondaries market professionals to be at the same time and place in person. Next week in Orlando, Florida, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.

Over the course of three days, PEI’s NEXUS 2024 event will see some of the biggest names in private equity on various stages, in conference rooms, on panel discussions, and of course deep in conversation with each other on the sidelines. You can find details of the event here.

On the secondaries front, we’ll kick off discussions on Thursday with a keynote interview with none other than Yann Robard, managing partner and founder of Whitehorse Liquidity Partners. Anyone who has met Robard will know he’s not one to mince words, and his takes on the market have often proven true. What’s the biggest barrier to achieving $1 trillion in annual deal volume by 2030? I’ll be asking Robard this question on stage, and I have the feeling his answer is going to surprise you.

We’ll also welcome Nigel Dawn, global head of private capital advisory at Evercore. During a 30 minute fireside chat, I’ll be asking Dawn what he thinks about the rise of direct primary players launching single-asset, GP-led businesses and what that means for the future of secondaries, among other hot topics.

Executives from CPP Investments, Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Manulife Investment Management and Astorg’s GP Equity Solutions group will also take to the stage to delve into so-called ‘GP bad behaviour’ in sponsor-initiated processes and the stigmas still associated with these transactions.

My colleague Madeleine Farman has the pleasure of sitting down with David Enriquez, former head of private equity at the New York City Retirement Systems who is now a partner at tech-focused secondaries firm Clipway. If reader reaction to our recent coverage of Clipway is anything to go by, this fireside chat will not be one to miss.

Finally, we’ll round the day’s secondaries discussions with a panel comprising Morningside Capital Management, New 2nd Capital, Ares Management and Neuberger Berman, chaired by Kirkland & Ellis. Think topics such as the dynamics of leading a deal (or not leading one, as may be the case); continuation fund economics; and why some deals succeed while others fail.

Secondaries fundraising is at an all-time high, with almost $118 billion raised last year, as Secondaries Investor data showed last month. New entrants to the buyside are giving advisers goose bumps about the potential for capital growth on the investment side.

On the GP-led side, challenging exit and fundraising conditions, high interest rates and a growing need for LP liquidity amid subdued distributions all laid the groundwork for more sponsors to shop assets on the GP-led market over the last year, as affiliate title Private Equity International‘s GP-led Secondaries Special Report, out next week, delves into.

It certainly feels like there’s never been a more exciting time to discuss the state of the secondaries market.

Write to the author: adam.l@pei.group