🎥 Lexington Partners' Taylor Robinson - secondaries in the spotlight

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 $77B in total capitalization 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 LPs portfolios.* How secondaries have become a portfolio management tool for LPs.* The rise of GP-led secondaries.* Why not all CVs are 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.Thanks for reading Alt Goes Mainstream! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work - writing and podcasting about the convergence of private markets and private wealth since December 2020.Show Notes00:00 A Different Way of Thinking About Private Equity01:21 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast01:31 Meet Taylor Robinson from Lexington Partners02:03 The Evolution of the Secondaries Market02:36 Taylor Robinson’s Career Journey03:16 Joining Lexington Partners During the Financial Crisis04:49 The Growth of the Secondaries Market05:46 Impact of the Financial Crisis on Secondaries06:11 The Role of Liquidity in Market Growth06:59 Current State of the Secondaries Market07:39 Focus Areas in the Secondary Market07:55 Traditional vs. GP-Led Secondary Deals09:06 The Importance of Liquidity10:26 Challenges for Institutional LPs11:39 Active Portfolio Management15:48 Evaluating and Partnering with GPs16:50 The Role of Information and Relationships20:53 Future of Secondary Markets and Regulation23:58 Primary vs. Secondary Fund Investing28:01 Nuances in Secondary Market Strategies32:29 Asset Selection in Secondary Markets32:50 Value Drivers in Secondary Deals33:32 Consistent Return Generation34:44 Specialization in Secondary Markets35:12 Different Ways to Make Returns36:35 Comparing Secondary and Primary Funds38:38 Evaluating Secondary Funds40:20 Evergreen Funds and Secondary Investments44:07 Challenges in Evergreen Space45:01 Investor Preferences and Structures45:26 Wealth Channel and Capital Raising46:50 Skillset for Secondary Investors49:11 Importance of Intellectual Curiosity50:17 Underrated Skills for Success52:03 Industry Trends and GP Consolidation53:36 Understanding Market Dynamics54:58 Training and Retention at Lexington55:25 Future of Secondary Markets56:07 Scale and Growth Potential57:56 Misconceptions About Secondary Markets59:44 Shifting Mindsets on Secondary Investments01:01:10 Evolution of the Secondary Market01:01:39 Conclusion and Final ThoughtsEditing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.Join over 14,800 Substack subscribers & followers who are thought leaders and executives from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, EQT, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield Oaktree, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Stonepeak, Hightower, Focus Financial, Cerity Partners, and more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit altgoesmainstream.substack.com