Do IPOs still matter?
IPOs were once the pinnacle of success. Now, with private liquidity booming and retail capital surging, they risk becoming a dumping ground for companies that couldn’t sell upstream.
September 28, 2025
The market for secondaries is one of the most interesting alternative investments right now.
Lots of companies are popping up, all with the aim of facilitating investor access to pre-IPO shares of privately held companies (AKA secondaries).
Today, the secondaries market is in flux. After a meltdown in valuations over the past few years, prices seem to be stabilizing.
Investor demand, meanwhile, is higher than ever. Secondaries funds are raising tons of cash – even though average investors still struggle to get access.
Considering how much stronger pre-IPO returns are than post-IPO returns, it’s no surprise that the market is growing.
Traditional VCs have been hesitant to tap the secondaries market to sell startup shares, where valuations can be lower than traditional exits – but investor demand for liquidity often leaves them little choice.
All in all, Silicon Valley hasn’t always made trading startup shares easy. But with new platforms like OpenVC and Sandhill Markets coming online (not to mention Destiny, the world’s first ETF for pre-IPO unicorns), the size of this market looks set to expand significantly in the near future.
IPOs were once the pinnacle of success. Now, with private liquidity booming and retail capital surging, they risk becoming a dumping ground for companies that couldn’t sell upstream.
Enjoy this recap of our Altea summer meetups. From a SF cliffside mansion, to an Austin airplane hangar, a sold-out NYC art show, a tequila-fueled masterclass, and a space startup tour.
DXYZ will be the first public, exchange-listed portfolio of hand-picked venture-backed private technology companies. That’s a very big deal.
The secondary market looks nothing like it did a year ago — or at any point in its history. These five charts paint a good picture of what’s happening today.
This issue goes deeper into the world of secondaries. We explore how we got here, why startups are taking longer to go public, and how you can invest in them.
As startups delay going public, secondary markets have popped up to trade pre-IPO shares. But what are the pros and cons? Is now a good time to buy? Explore in this guest post by Jack Richardson.
We create indices for eclectic modern alts. We’ve got a vinyl index, a whiskey index, and more. This helps us find the best buying opportunities for our alternative investment fund
We wrap everything up with a rich qualitative analysis. You’ll understand the pros & cons of investing in all sorts of alternative asset classes.
