NEW YORK, N.Y., Feb. 24, 2009 – SecondMarket, the world’s largest marketplace for illiquid assets, announced today that it has added trading in limited partnership (LP) interests in private equity funds, venture capital funds, hedge funds and funds of funds.

Through SecondMarket, limited partners will have the opportunity to monetize their stakes even when a fund has no formal redemption program or has restricted redemptions. This market also will enable limited partners in private equity and venture capital funds to transfer their future capital commitments to investors that are better able to satisfy these obligations. Over 150 of SecondMarket’s existing market participants have expressed interest in purchasing LP interests, and SecondMarket already has nearly half a billion in LP interests listed for sale.

“Today, many limited partners are in need of capital or have a desire to rebalance their portfolios,” said CEO Barry E. Silbert. “However, many are locked into their positions for years or are unable to receive capital distributions due to redemption restrictions. A centralized and transparent market, operating in close coordination with the funds themselves, is necessary to enable these limited partners to sell their positions.”

Limited partnership interests represent over $2 trillion in investments. Hedge fund assets under management, which peaked at the end of the second quarter of 2008, represented $1.4 trillion in investments as of Dec. 31, 2008, according to data from Hedge Fund Research. Private equity investment, as measured by initial capital raised, currently represents approximately another $1 trillion in assets, according to data compiled from Thomson Reuters and Preqin.

SecondMarket also is pleased to announce that it has hired Jeffrey C. Bollerman to help lead its LP interest market. Prior to joining SecondMarket, Bollerman developed investment products for Citigroup Global Wealth Management and was an attorney at Ropes & Gray LLP representing hedge funds, private equity funds and other private investment vehicles.

SecondMarket, through its online trading platform, proprietary matching algorithm and deep network of contacts, has established itself as a trusted, independent marketplace for many types of investors in many different illiquid asset classes. Its trading network includes nearly 2,000 pre-qualified market participants managing more than $500 billion in assets.

“These are unprecedented times in the financial markets, and we look forward to helping limited partners and fund managers address their immediate liquidity needs,” Silbert said. “We also look forward to helping develop a sustainable long-term model for private equity, venture capital, hedge fund and fund of funds businesses.”

In addition to trading LP interests, SecondMarket operates markets for auction-rate securities, bankruptcy claims, restricted securities, and blocks in small capitalization companies. It plans to announce the launch of markets for collateralized debt obligation (CDO) and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in the first quarter of 2009.

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