NEW YORK, NY, SecondMarket, the leading marketplace for alternative investments, announced today that it has raised $15 million in Series C financing from The Social+Capital Partnership, a new venture fund established by former Facebook senior executive Chamath Palihapitiya, who will also join the SecondMarket board of directors.

"We're delighted to welcome Chamath as an investor and board member," said SecondMarket Founder and CEO Barry Silbert. "He's a strong entrepreneur advocate committed to investing in some of the most disruptive companies in the country, and he's assembled some of the best investors in the technology world as limited partners. We believe that Chamath's tremendous success and experience helping Facebook to scale its business will prove invaluable to our growth."

The Social+Capital Partnership is focused on backing innovative companies in the areas of healthcare, education,financial services and mobile/internet technologies. The fund was formed by Palihapitiya after he spent four years at Facebook, where he led the launch of the Facebook platform, launch of their ad platform, created the Growth team that drove their expansion from 25 million to more than 750 million users all over the world, and led Facebook's mobile group.

"SecondMarket is a clear game-changer. It has become the preeminent platform for private company shares enabling companies to meet their liquidity needs, help retain and reward talent, and provide start-ups with an opportunity to monetize and grow their businesses," said Palihapitiya. "SecondMarket is a compelling alternative to companies that are not ready to navigate the public markets."

On the heels of SecondMarket's own successful secondary transaction in September, this new round of financing will support SecondMarket's hiring growth, expansion into new asset classes and potential acquisitions. SecondMarket is a leading marketplace for several alternative investment classes, including private company stock, structured products, bankruptcy claims and restricted securities in public companies.