The growing acceptance of continuation vehicles signals a major shift in private equity, with New Mountain Capital's Neal Costello betting on GP-led transactions as the next frontier. Speaking at the NEXUS 2026 conference in Orlando, Costello explained why his firm is launching New Mountain Atlas to capitalize on this trend.

Costello noted that LP sentiment has evolved dramatically over the past five years. Where skepticism once prevailed, there's now broad recognition that single-asset continuation funds represent a permanent fixture in the market. This acceptance has created fertile ground for PE firms to expand their secondaries strategies and offer new liquidity solutions to investors.

With expectations for another record year in 2026, Costello reports that New Mountain Atlas is seeing deal flow that significantly exceeds market projections. The firm's sector-focused approach to identifying single-asset opportunities positions it to benefit from what Costello describes as the market's healthy current state. His move from established secondaries firms to a PE player underscores the strategic importance of GP-led transactions in the evolving private markets landscape.