Perella Weinberg Acquires Devon Park Advisors to Lead Surge in Private Equity Secondaries

Perella Weinberg’s acquisition of Devon Park Advisors marks a significant strategic shift for the firm, enabling expansion from its traditional strength in corporate and M&A advisory into the alternatives secondary market. With pressures on exit routes such as IPOs and sales—driven by macroeconomic headwinds like high interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty—sponsors are increasingly turning to continuation and secondary transactions as liquidity tools. By securing Devon Park’s pedigree in GP-led secondaries and fund secondaries (spanning private equity, real estate, private credit), PWP positions itself to meet a growing need for advisory capacity in a market expected to surpass $200 billion in deals in 2025. [1][2]

The integration of a small, high-expertise team (15 professionals) into a new Private Funds Advisory business led by Devon Park’s founder is not just a talent acquisition; it is a credibility play. PWP gains domain expertise, capital provider relationships, and execution track record—without needing to build organically. This may allow cross-selling to PWP’s existing client base (credit, infrastructure, real estate, etc.), potentially enhancing margins and allowing PWP to capture more value in the advisory chain.

However, there are challenges and risks. First, revenue is down very sharply (~43% YoY in Q2) which suggests that near-term financial performance may be volatile. [2] Second, this is a competitive space: many advisory and investment banks are looking to get into secondaries and continuation funds advisory, making differentiation and execution critical. Third, the regulatory process and rate of adoption of such structures will affect speed of growth. Lastly, integrating a specialized boutique into PWP’s culture and operations—ensuring deal flow, client alignment, and avoiding dilution of focus—will be essential.

Strategically, for investors and sponsors of alternative assets, this move signals that PWP sees long-term structural demand for secondaries, not just cyclic tailwinds. For limited partners, GP-led continuation funds can offer liquidity while retaining upside exposure. For PWP itself, this opens a new revenue stream and reduces reliance on public company M&A and traditional exits. It also suggests that firms that lack secondaries advisory capabilities may face increasing pressure to either build or acquire them.

Open questions include: how PWP plans to price these advisory services; what portion of PWP’s future revenue will come from this Private Funds Advisory unit; how it will compete versus established specialist secondaries advisors; and whether deal terms (i.e., fees, economics) will evolve under increased competition. Also, market size estimates beyond 2025 (for example for 2026 and onwards) are uncertain given macro outlook, raising risks around projections.