SecondQuarter wants super funds to step up and fill the secondary liquidity void
Australia's startup secondary market sprang to life two years ago. Now, it is at a crossroads, with demand for liquidity far outstripping supply.
Australia's nascent venture capital secondary market is at a crossroads, with demand for liquidity from employees and early investors seeking to cash in far outstripping the supply of capital to meet those needs.
That's the message from Ian Beatty, managing partner at dedicated secondary investor SecondQuarter, who said the mismatch between supply and demand could be resolved if more institutional investors step up and fill the funding void.
"The demand for liquidity far exceeds the supply," Beatty told Capital Brief. "There is more demand from shareholders in private technology companies... for liquidity [which] far exceeds the amount of dedicated capital that is out there to provide to satisfy it".
SecondQuarter's portfolio includes stakes in most of the big names in Australian startups including Canva, Airwallex and CultureAmp. It has brought on a new partner David Moss, and has plans to raise another fund "on the horizon".
