World’s 3^rd largest equities secondaries manager establishes dedicated credit secondaries investment team

HarbourVest Partners, a global private markets investment firm, today announced the establishment of a dedicated credit secondaries investment team. The team will be led by Greg Ciesielski from the firm’s secondaries team, and Sean Gillespie from the credit team.

The expansion reflects HarbourVest’s growing focus on the private credit secondaries market – one of the fastest growing but still undercapitalized segments of private markets. The global private credit market surpassed $1.6 trillion in 2024, yet only $6.8 billion of global secondaries dry powder is currently allocated to credit transactions. Credit secondary volumes have grown from $3 billion in 2020 to $10 billion in 2024 as both LPs and GPs seek more flexible liquidity solutions.

“We believe credit secondaries will be one of the fastest-growing segments of the secondaries market over the next several years,” said John M. Toomey Jr., CEO of HarbourVest Partners. “Our multi-manager investment approach, which provides access to quality deal-flow from our more than 600 active GP relationships, has allowed us to scale our equities secondaries business to become one of the largest in the world. Our platform brings together decades of secondaries experience with deep credit underwriting capabilities in both direct and primary commitments, which we believe positions HarbourVest to be a preferred capital provider at scale in the credit secondaries market.”

As heads of the newly established team, Ciesielski and Gillespie will lead HarbourVest’s global credit secondaries strategy, drawing on its position as the third largest equity secondaries managers in the world¹ and four decades of experience in secondaries. The strategy will span both LP- and GP-led transactions and integrate with HarbourVest’s broader credit platform, which includes primary, direct, and secondary opportunities. This approach allows the firm to deliver diversified exposure across geographies, strategies, and managers, serving as a value-added partner to both general partners and institutional investors worldwide.

“Credit secondaries offer investors differentiation in how to access income, downside protection and seasoned portfolios,” said Greg Ciesielski, Managing Director at HarbourVest Partners. “The demand is strong and our ability to access capital at scale and underwrite portfolios provides a compelling value proposition for investors.”

HarbourVest’s approach to credit secondaries is underpinned by its extensive global sourcing network, broad data set, and multi-manager framework. The firm seeks to structure transactions that complement primary credit allocations by offering access to diversified portfolios with enhanced transparency and shorter time horizons.

HarbourVest Partners, LLC is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The information on this site is intended solely for the benefit of firms and companies seeking private equity investment capital by providing general information on our services and philosophy. The material on this site is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer or solicitation to purchase any investment solutions or a recommendation to buy or sell a security nor is it to be construed as legal, tax or investment advice. Unless otherwise indicated, any information available through this site is as of the date indicated therein and may not be updated or otherwise revised to reflect information that subsequently becomes available. HarbourVest is under no obligation to update the information contained on this site. Additionally, the material on this site does not constitute a representation that the solutions described therein are suitable or appropriate for any person and HarbourVest does not accept any liability with respect to the information.

About HarbourVest

HarbourVest is an independent, global private markets firm with over 43 years of experience and more than $146 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2025. Our interwoven platform provides clients access to global primary funds, secondary transactions, direct co-investments, real assets and infrastructure, and private credit. Our strengths extend across strategies, enabled by our team of more than 1,270 employees, including more than 230 investment professionals across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Across our private markets platform, our team has committed more than $64 billion to newly-formed funds, completed over $66 billion in secondary purchases, and invested over $49 billion in direct operating companies. We partner strategically and plan our offerings innovatively to provide our clients with access, insight, and global opportunities.

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