Revelation Partners Taps BlackRock, Jefferies Vets for Secondaries Push

Revelation Partners, the Miami-based private equity firm focused on GP stakes and secondaries, is expanding its investment team with two senior appointments that signal the firm's commitment to deepening its secondaries capabilities as market volumes surge.

The firm announced Tuesday that Jonathan Au has joined as partner and Jordan Bloom as associate, both bringing institutional pedigrees from BlackRock and Jefferies, respectively. The hires come as Revelation builds out its platform following its inaugural fund close and as GP-led secondaries activity continues to accelerate across the private equity landscape.

Au arrives from BlackRock's Private Equity Partners group, where he spent nearly a decade evaluating and executing GP stakes investments and fund commitments. Bloom joins from Jefferies' Global Private Capital Advisory team, where he advised on secondaries transactions and fund placement. Both will be based in Miami, contributing to the city's growing reputation as an alternative assets hub.

The appointments reflect a broader trend in the secondaries market, where specialized expertise has become increasingly valuable as transaction structures grow more complex and deal flow intensifies. According to Jefferies' most recent secondaries market report, GP-led transactions accounted for roughly 60% of total secondaries volume in 2024, with continuation vehicles and other bespoke structures requiring deeper technical capabilities than traditional LP stake sales.

Revelation Partners was founded in 2022 by managing partners who previously worked together at alternative asset managers with exposure to GP stakes and direct private equity. The firm targets investments in high-performing private equity fund managers, providing capital solutions that allow GPs to extend fund life, offer liquidity to existing LPs, or recapitalize portfolios.

The firm closed its debut fund in 2023 with commitments totaling $285 million, according to regulatory filings. That vehicle focuses primarily on GP-led continuation funds and direct secondaries in the lower and middle market, with check sizes ranging from $10 million to $50 million.

Au's hire is particularly notable given his background at BlackRock, one of the largest allocators to private equity globally. At BlackRock's Private Equity Partners division — which manages over $30 billion across fund-of-funds, co-investments, and secondaries strategies — Au focused on evaluating emerging and established GPs, analyzing fund performance, and structuring complex transactions.

"Jonathan's experience evaluating hundreds of managers and funds at BlackRock gives us a significant edge in underwriting GP quality and fund performance," said Daniel Tejada, managing partner at Revelation Partners, in the announcement. "As we scale our platform, having someone who's seen thousands of data rooms and negotiated with the best institutional LPs in the world is invaluable."

Bloom's appointment complements Au's institutional investment background with direct advisory experience on secondaries deals. At Jefferies, Bloom worked on the placement and advisory side of GP-led transactions, giving him insight into how these deals are marketed, structured, and negotiated from the GP's perspective.

That dual vantage point — understanding both the buyer's diligence process and the seller's positioning strategy — is increasingly critical in a market where information asymmetry can make or break returns. GP-led continuation funds, in particular, require investors to assess not only the underlying portfolio company fundamentals but also the alignment of interests between the GP, existing LPs choosing to roll or exit, and new capital coming into the vehicle.

"Jordan brings a different lens," Tejada noted. "He's seen how GPs think about structuring these transactions, what terms matter most, and where the pressure points are in negotiations. That helps us move faster and avoid pitfalls that less experienced buyers stumble into."

The firm did not disclose compensation details or equity stakes for the new hires, though partner-level appointments at emerging GP stakes funds typically include carry participation tied to fund performance.

Both hires will work out of Revelation's Miami office, reinforcing the city's emergence as a hub for private equity and hedge fund talent. Over the past three years, Miami has attracted dozens of financial firms and hundreds of investment professionals relocating from New York, San Francisco, and other traditional finance centers, drawn by tax advantages, lifestyle factors, and a growing ecosystem of allocators and service providers.

The timing of Revelation's team expansion aligns with continued momentum in the secondaries market, which has evolved from a niche liquidity solution into a core component of private equity portfolio management. Total secondaries transaction volume reached approximately $130 billion in 2024, according to preliminary estimates from industry data providers, with GP-led deals representing the fastest-growing segment.

Several factors are driving this growth. First, the denominator effect — where rising public market valuations reduce LPs' private equity allocations as a percentage of total assets — has forced many institutional investors to seek liquidity in their existing PE portfolios rather than making new commitments. Second, GPs sitting on strong but unrealized portfolio companies are increasingly using continuation vehicles to extend hold periods and provide liquidity to LPs who need it, while retaining control of high-conviction assets.

Third, the sheer volume of capital raised during the 2020-2021 vintage years — much of it still uninvested or locked up in companies whose exit timelines have stretched — has created natural demand for secondaries solutions. Funds raised during that period are now approaching the midpoint of their lives, the traditional window when secondaries activity peaks.

For buyers like Revelation, this environment presents both opportunity and challenge. Deal flow is abundant, but competition has intensified. The number of dedicated secondaries funds has grown from fewer than 20 a decade ago to well over 100 today, with total dry powder exceeding $200 billion. Pricing has tightened accordingly, with LP stake transactions that once traded at 80-85% of NAV now frequently commanding 95% or higher for high-quality funds.

GP-led deals, while offering more control and potential upside, require deeper operational and strategic diligence than passive LP stakes. Investors must assess not only the current portfolio's quality but also the GP's ability to execute on the next phase of value creation — often a more difficult task than evaluating a diversified fund portfolio.

Revelation's approach, according to firm materials, focuses on the lower and middle market — deals sized below the radar of mega-funds like Lexington Partners, Coller Capital, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, which typically pursue transactions in the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. This segment of the market tends to be less efficient, with fewer bidders and more room for negotiation on terms.

The firm's $285 million debut fund size positions it to write checks that are meaningful to mid-market GPs but too small to attract the largest secondaries buyers. That's a deliberate strategy: in a market where the biggest funds are increasingly chasing the same handful of large deals, operating in a less crowded segment of the market can generate better risk-adjusted returns.

The decision to bring on a partner-level hire like Au, rather than a more junior investment professional, suggests Revelation is preparing to scale its investment pace or launch a successor fund. Partner appointments typically precede periods of faster deployment or fundraising, as firms need senior decision-makers to evaluate opportunities and manage LP relationships.

Au's background in fund-of-funds and primary commitments at BlackRock also hints at potential expansion beyond pure secondaries. Many GP stakes platforms eventually layer in primary fund commitments or co-investments as a way to build deeper relationships with managers and gain earlier access to secondaries deal flow. If Revelation pursues that path, having someone with Au's primary fund experience would be a logical prerequisite.

Bloom's hire, meanwhile, signals the firm's need for additional analytical bandwidth as deal flow increases. Associate-level professionals typically handle the heavy lifting of financial modeling, due diligence coordination, and portfolio monitoring — all critical functions as a firm moves from initial deployment into active portfolio management.

The firm did not disclose how much of its debut fund has been deployed to date or whether it has begun marketing a second vehicle. However, the typical deployment period for a secondaries fund is 3-4 years, meaning a 2023 vintage fund would be roughly halfway through its investment period and likely preparing for a successor fundraise within the next 12-18 months.

Revelation's ability to attract talent from BlackRock and Jefferies reflects the broader competition for experienced secondaries professionals. As the number of dedicated secondaries platforms has proliferated, demand for investors with direct transaction experience has outpaced supply, driving up compensation and making it harder for emerging managers to compete with established brands.

Smaller platforms typically win talent by offering faster paths to partnership, more direct investment responsibility, and equity stakes in the management company — benefits that large, bureaucratic institutions can't easily match. The tradeoff for candidates is less brand prestige and more operational risk, particularly if the firm struggles to raise capital or deploy its current fund.

Beyond Revelation's specific circumstances, the broader shift toward GP-led secondaries is reshaping how private equity firms staff their investment teams. A decade ago, most PE firms had little need for dedicated secondaries expertise — transactions were primarily LP-driven stake sales facilitated by intermediaries, and buyers were a small group of specialists.

Today, as GPs increasingly use continuation vehicles and other structured secondaries solutions to manage their portfolios, understanding the buyer's perspective has become a core competency. Firms that can't credibly model a continuation fund's economics or negotiate favorable terms with secondaries buyers risk leaving value on the table or structuring deals that fail to clear the market.

This evolution has created a talent arbitrage opportunity: professionals who understand both the GP and LP sides of secondaries transactions are in short supply but increasingly essential. Firms like Revelation that can attract and retain this expertise have a meaningful advantage in both sourcing and executing deals.

The flip side is that as more generalist PE investors move into secondaries, the market becomes more competitive and pricing more efficient — which is exactly what's happened over the past five years. The days of buying high-quality LP stakes at 70-75 cents on the dollar are largely gone, replaced by a market where information travels faster and buyers are more sophisticated.

For Revelation, the immediate task is deploying its debut fund and building a track record that will support a larger successor vehicle. The firm's ability to generate strong returns in the current environment — where secondaries pricing is tight and exit timelines for underlying portfolio companies remain uncertain — will determine whether it can grow into a multi-billion-dollar platform or remain a niche player.

The hires suggest the firm is betting on scale. Bringing on a partner-level investor before the first fund is fully deployed is an expensive move — partners command significant compensation and carry allocations — but it's a necessary one if the firm intends to raise a materially larger Fund II and compete for bigger deals.

More broadly, the secondaries market is approaching a potential inflection point. If exit activity picks up as interest rates stabilize and IPO markets reopen, the overhang of unrealized portfolio companies could begin to clear, reducing the need for continuation vehicles and other liquidity solutions. Conversely, if exits remain constrained, secondaries activity could remain elevated for several more years, creating sustained opportunities for buyers with capital and expertise.

Either way, the firms that built strong teams and established LP relationships during this high-volume period will be best positioned for the next cycle. Revelation's bet is that investing in talent now — even at a cost that might seem premature for a debut fund — will pay dividends as the market evolves and competition intensifies.

How quickly will Revelation deploy its remaining dry powder, and what types of deals will it prioritize? The firm's early transactions will set the tone for its strategy and signal to LPs whether it can execute on its thesis.

Can the firm differentiate itself in a crowded market where dozens of funds are chasing similar deals? Brand and relationships matter in secondaries — GPs and LPs tend to work with buyers they know and trust. For a younger platform, building that credibility takes time.

Will Revelation expand into adjacent strategies like primary commitments or direct co-investments, or remain a pure-play secondaries buyer? The answer will shape the firm's long-term identity and competitive positioning.

And perhaps most importantly: when secondaries pricing eventually corrects — as it inevitably will when a downturn or credit shock hits — which firms will have the discipline to sit on the sidelines and wait for better opportunities, and which will chase deals at unsustainable prices to keep deploying capital? That question won't be answered for years, but the firms that get it right will define the next generation of secondaries leaders.