What happens to a venture fund after year 10?
Usually it keeps going. Most venture funds have a 10-year term with one or two one-year extensions, but few have exited their companies by then. Of 715 venture funds from the 2014–2016 vintages that filed for year-end 2025, the median still reported holding 1.31x its fund size in gross assets, nine to eleven years in.
Older funds still hold a lot
| Vintage | Funds filing for YE 2025 | Median held ÷ size | Holding 2x+ size | Holding under 1x size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–2013 | 113 | 1.10x | 28% | 43% |
| 2014–2016 | 715 | 1.31x | 34% | 37% |
| 2017–2019 | 1,157 | 1.26x | 26% | 35% |
Gross asset value at year-end 2025 from Form ADV, divided by fund size from Form D. Venture funds filing Form ADV with a size of $10MM or more, excluding feeder funds, single-deal SPV platforms and funds of funds. Holding less than 1x size is not the same as a loss: the fund may already have distributed more than it raised.
How funds run past term
- Extensions: most agreements allow one or two one-year extensions, then need LP or LPAC consent for more
- Fees: many agreements step management fees down after the term; some GPs waive them
- Continuation vehicle: the remaining companies move to a new vehicle; LPs choose to sell or roll
- Strip sale or tender: a buyer takes a slice of the portfolio, or LPs who want out sell to a buyer
- In-kind distributions of public stock after IPOs, so LPs can sell on their own schedule
If you hold an interest in an older fund
- Wait: the value is real but late, and concentrated in a few companies
- Sell on the secondary market, at about 68–79% of NAV in 1H 2026 (details)
- Take distribution financing: cash now, repaid only from the fund’s distributions
- Look up what the fund has reported holding each year in the Fund Tracker
Sources and related questions
Sources
- Yantacaw Capital Fund Tracker (SEC Form ADV and Form D)
- SEC Form ADV, Schedule D, via IAPD
- Campbell Lutyens, 1H 2026 Secondary Market Report, August 2026
Related
- How can a venture LP get cash without selling its fund interest?
- How can you look up a venture fund’s performance?
- The venture liquidity guide
Updated October 19, 2026. Yantacaw provides distribution financing; this page also covers options we don’t offer. General information, not legal, tax or investment advice.