Dry Powder: The Private Equity Podcast

When Fund Selection Is No Longer Enough with HarbourVest’s John Toomey

The CEO of HarbourVest explains why picking the right funds is no longer enough and how investors can generate returns after they commit.

By Hugh MacArthur

First published on Νοεμβρίου 10, 2026

Few people have a more comprehensive view of private markets than John Toomey. As CEO of HarbourVest, he leads a firm that backs fund managers, buys stakes from investors looking for liquidity, and invests directly alongside sponsors.

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“At HarbourVest we invested $11 billion into the secondary market last year,” John says, “and half of that, $5.5 billion, into the CV market.”

That gives John a rare view of how capital moves through the industry and how the same asset can look strikingly different depending on where you sit.

“I don’t know that there’s another manager that has the experience that we have, the types of archetypes and insights that we use to decide when we invest our investors’ capital,” he says.

Today on Dry Powder, I ask John how that perspective translates into better investment decisions, where HarbourVest sees its next wave of growth, and how it plans to expand into areas like growth equity and credit secondaries.

HarbourVest Disclosure

HarbourVest Partners, LLC (“HarbourVest”) is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. This material is solely for informational purposes and should not be viewed as a current or past recommendation or an offer to sell or the solicitation to buy securities or adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed herein represent the current, good faith views of the author(s) at the time of publication, are not definitive investment advice, and should not be relied upon as such. This material has been developed internally and/or obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, HarbourVest does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of such information. There is no assurance that any events or projections will occur, and outcomes may be significantly different than the opinions shown here. This information, including any projections concerning financial market performance, is based on current market conditions, which will fluctuate and may be superseded by subsequent market events or for other reasons.

Nothing herein should be construed as a solicitation, offer, recommendation, representation of suitability, legal advice, tax advice, or endorsement of any security or investment and should not be relied upon by you in evaluating the merits of investing in HarbourVest funds or in any other investment decision.

For a full list of risks, please see Important Information and Risk Factors.

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