Secondaries are moving from niche to necessary for wealth firms

Secondaries are no longer the preserve of global pension plans or institutional behemoths. In Australia, they’re starting to take hold in a very different corner of the market: private wealth portfolios.

The shift is subtle but significant, and what was once considered an esoteric strategy for the world’s largest investors is increasingly being adopted by forward-thinking advice firms looking to modernise their approach to private markets.

Leading the shift

At the front of this pack is Viola Private Wealth, whose recent allocation to secondaries sends a clear message. This isn’t a passing trend, it is a structural shift in how wealth is managed.

Daniel Kelly, Chief Investment Officer at Viola Private Wealth, explains how secondaries are becoming an important tool for advisers building modern private market portfolios:

“Secondaries allow advisers to enter more mature private equity portfolios with greater transparency around the underlying assets, which makes them easier to integrate into diversified portfolios for investors. They help simplify what can otherwise be a complex part of the market while still delivering the long-term growth clients expect.”

Secondaries: smarter private equity access

The appeal of secondaries is clear; it offers a different kind of exposure to private equity, one that feels particularly well-suited to today’s investment climate. By investing later in a fund’s life, secondaries provide exposure to more mature portfolios, greater visibility on underlying assets, and, in many cases, a shorter duration profile than traditional primary commitments. While this can support earlier distributions, any additional liquidity features are driven by fund structure, not the strategy itself.  

It’s private equity with faster distributions and less guesswork.

For firms such as Viola Private Wealth, they are operating in an environment where clients are demanding more control, better visibility and smarter diversification. And secondaries offer all three for them.

Alignment with adviser needs

What has changed is the access. Until recently, even the most sophisticated wholesale clients were struggling to enter the asset class without the infrastructure of a large institution. But that’s beginning to change.

Driving a lot of this evolution in Australia is Coller Capital. Known globally as a pioneer in secondaries, the firm has spent more than three decades building the asset class and its track record, and today, its attention is now firmly on the private wealth sector in Australia.

Its flagship fund in Australia, the Coller Secondaries Private Equity Fund, is structured specifically for high‑net‑worth investors. It offers institutional‑quality private equity assets, diversified across managers, sectors and regions. More importantly, it is made accessible in a format designed for advisers and their clients.

What makes this moment different is the alignment between product innovation and market needs. Advisers want to stay ahead of client expectations without adding complexity. Secondaries, with built‑in diversification and a supportive liquidity profile, deliver on those goals without reshaping the advice process.

The shift gains pace

In conversations across the market, it’s clear this isn’t just about one firm’s strategy. Viola Private Wealth may be early to realise it, but it won’t be alone for long. More advisers are beginning to see the benefits of adding secondaries to their alternatives sleeve, whether as a core allocation or to complement other private market exposures.

This is especially true in Australia, where the universe of influential allocators is small. Of the roughly 11,500 financial advisers in the country, only a small group controls most flows into managed accounts. These are the CIOs, asset consultants and senior partners. Increasingly, they’re asking different questions, not just about returns, but about structure, alignment and flexibility.

Agility and predictability

Secondaries answer those questions. They’re not immune to market cycles, but they offer more agility than traditional private equity. By acquiring funds later in their lifecycle, often at negotiated pricing, investors gain exposure to seasoned portfolios. They can tap into existing value rather than waiting for it to be created. The result? A smoother ride, with earlier liquidity and more predictable outcomes.

Still, myths remain. Some advisers continue to assume secondaries are too complex or opaque. But firms such as Coller Capital have worked to break down those barriers. They do this not just through fund design but also through education, giving advisers the knowledge and confidence to discuss the strategy with clients.

It’s a long game, but momentum is clearly building. Secondaries may not yet be mainstream in Australian advice, but that is changing. What was once a niche exposure is now being recognised as a necessary evolution in how private markets are accessed and constructed within modern portfolios.