Houlihan Lokey has appointed Emil Fajersson as a Managing Director in its Capital Solutions Group as the global investment bank continues expanding its GP-led secondaries advisory capabilities.
Fajersson will be based in New York and serve as a senior leader within Houlihan Lokey’s Equity Capital Solutions team. His appointment is part of the firm’s broader push to build a larger advisory franchise around private-market liquidity and GP-led secondary transactions.
Fajersson joins Houlihan Lokey from Northleaf Capital Partners, where he served as Managing Director and Head of GP-Led Investments & Co-Investments. He was also Portfolio Manager of Northleaf’s Capital Opportunities Fund.
Earlier in his career, he served as a Principal at middle-market private equity firm Vision Capital and held roles at UBS Investment Bank and Macquarie’s infrastructure investment group.
His background gives Houlihan Lokey experience from the investor side of the secondaries market as the bank advises private equity sponsors seeking liquidity solutions for portfolio assets.
GP-led secondaries have become an increasingly important part of private markets. Unlike traditional LP-led secondary transactions, in which investors sell existing fund interests, GP-led deals are generally initiated by private equity sponsors seeking to provide liquidity around one or more portfolio companies while potentially extending ownership through structures such as continuation vehicles.
Houlihan Lokey sees the market’s recent growth as evidence that GP-led secondaries are becoming a more established component of private capital.
Fajersson said broader investor participation and the number of opportunities available in the market have contributed to significant maturation of the sector over the past two years.
His appointment follows a period of investment by Houlihan Lokey in its broader secondaries advisory platform.
Matt Swain, Global Co-Head of Equity Capital Solutions, said the firm has substantially expanded its secondaries capabilities during the past two years and has worked opposite Fajersson on transactions for much of the past decade.
Houlihan Lokey’s Capital Solutions Group now includes more than 240 dedicated professionals operating from 19 offices across eight countries.
During the 12 months ended June 30, 2026, the group raised and advised on more than $35 billion across over 135 transactions.
That platform spans offices including New York, London, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Dubai, Frankfurt, Houston, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, Milan, Munich, Paris and Zurich.
The addition of Fajersson strengthens the group’s North American GP-led secondaries coverage at a time when private equity firms are increasingly looking for alternatives to conventional exits.
Continuation funds and other structured liquidity transactions can allow sponsors to retain high-conviction portfolio companies while providing existing limited partners with an opportunity to sell or roll their interests into a new vehicle.
For advisory firms, that market requires experience across valuation, capital formation, investor relationships and transaction structuring.
Houlihan Lokey is positioning its growing Equity Capital Solutions operation to capture more of that activity as private-market managers seek increasingly customized liquidity options.
The firm provides services across mergers and acquisitions, capital solutions, financial restructuring, and financial and valuation advisory.
Fajersson’s appointment adds an executive with experience allocating capital to GP-led opportunities as well as evaluating co-investments, giving Houlihan Lokey another senior adviser familiar with how secondary investors assess these transactions.
KEY QUOTES:
“Houlihan Lokey’s advancing market share in secondaries demonstrates its success at attracting individuals who share a cultural compatibility with the firm and possess the market relationships and execution expertise that clients value and expect.”
“We are excited that Emil has chosen to join us and help Houlihan Lokey reach its goal of establishing the premier secondaries advisory platform in financial services.”
Gregg Newman, Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Houlihan Lokey’s Capital Solutions Group
“Over the past two years, we have substantially grown our secondaries advisory capabilities with extraordinarily talented individuals who embody our client-first ethos and value the strength and momentum we’ve achieved in Equity Capital Solutions.”
Matt Swain, Global Co-Head of Equity Capital Solutions at Houlihan Lokey
“The acceleration in GP-led secondaries activity over the past two years demonstrates the meaningful maturation of this market, driven in no small part by increasingly broad participation and the substantial opportunities that exist for these investors.”
Emil Fajersson, Managing Director at Houlihan Lokey
