SecondQuarter Ventures, the dedicated venture secondaries fund operating across Australia and New Zealand (ANZ), is launching its third fund to tackle what it estimates is an AUD$4 billion private market liquidity opportunity over the next three years.

The move comes as the global trend of prolonged exit timelines for high-growth tech companies continues to put pressure on early investors, employees, and founders seeking to realise paper gains.

SecondQuarter, which has established itself as the go-to secondary buyer in the region, reports that liquidity demand has spiked five times compared to its second fund, reflecting a broader maturation and potential bottleneck in the ANZ tech ecosystem.

The fund manager, which already has over AUD$200 million in assets under management (AUM) and stakes in local giants like Canva, Airwallex, Cover Genius, ROKT, and Fleet Space, has already secured early commitments from new and existing limited partners (LPs). Fund three will grow in size from Fund I (~$50M) and Fund II (~$100M).

The core thesis behind the new fund is directly tied to the growing chasm between a startup’s rapid growth and the increasingly delayed public market or M&A exit.

While the ANZ region is globally recognised for its capital efficiency, ranking number one globally for unicorns created per dollar of VC investment, the delayed exits create a palpable demand for secondary transactions.

Ian Beatty, Managing Partner at SecondQuarter Ventures, framed the moment as a critical turning point. “Australia and New Zealand have proven at a global level that they can produce world-class companies, attract leading talent and scale innovation,” Beatty said. “We’re at a critical point in our venture market, where extended exit timelines mean that liquidity is the new frontier.”

This need is particularly acute for employees who, in the absence of an IPO, must wait years to monetise their hard-earned equity.

The local market boasts a strong pro-equity culture, with local startup employees exercising options at a high rate of 51.8 per cent compared to 32.2 per cent in the United States, according to Carta.

“Through our third fund, we are meeting this inherently human demand head-on, giving founders, their teams and early investors a more flexible pathway to realise value in their share options to meet the demands of their day-to-day lives,” Beatty added.

Leigh Jasper, Chairman and Partner at SecondQuarter Ventures, further emphasised the human element, drawing on his experience as an exited founder. “But life milestones – like buying a house or funding your children’s education – don’t always align with traditional 10-year exit timelines. And they shouldn’t have to when a growing secondaries market offers them the optionality and financial flexibility they deserve,” Jasper stated.

The partners view the early commitments to the third fund as a validation of their specialised approach.

“We appreciate the support of new and existing investors who have already made commitments to the fund. Their backing is a testament to our unique model and the strength of our team, and positions us to continue investing in the next wave of global technology leaders,” Jasper noted.

The previous two funds have reportedly delivered top-quartile performance and are already returning cash to investors, with further distributions anticipated from potential IPOs within their portfolio.

Beyond its current ANZ focus, SecondQuarter is also signalling plans for international expansion. The firm's vision is to enter other "underserved liquidity markets, including the UK, Europe and Asia," using its proprietary dataset and first-mover insights to unlock trapped capital and build stakes in top-performing companies.