Partners Group limits capital acquisitions due to wave of investor withdrawals
Chaos prevails in the private funds market, with Swiss Partners Group Holding AG, one of the largest listed alternative investment managers in Europe, imposing restrictions on capital withdrawals from one of its largest evergreen private equity funds, as increasing pressure from takeover requests shows that investor concerns, which had originally affected private credit funds, are now expanding to other categories of private investment.
According to a letter to the investors held by Bloomberg, the fund Global Value SICAV, It will reduce the acquisitions of shares to 5% of net asset value quarterly, as investor withdrawal requests were launched at 9.8% in the second quarter of the year.
Pressure from private investors increases
Representative of the Partners Group reported that there is a significant increase in takeover requests from private health customers across the group's portfolio of evergreen funds.
These investors are traditionally considered more sensitive to market fluctuations than institutional investors. They represent about 20% of the company's funds under management, and constitute a particularly significant proportion of its investment base. Global Value SICAV.
The news prompted strong pressure on the share of Partners Group, which manages about $ 185 billion in private equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure and royalties.
The share recorded an intra-session fall of up to 18.2% in Zurich Stock Exchange, noting the greatest daily retreat in its history. Since the beginning of the year, losses have reached 30%.
The pioneers of evergreen funds
The Partners Group is considered to be one of the companies leading the development of so-called evergreen funds, i.e. investment vehicles of indefinite duration, which allow investors to withdraw part of their capital per quarter, rather than commit for a specific period of time.
Today he manages more than 30 such investment schemes in five different asset categories, with a total of over $56 billion under management.
The negative picture also affected other major managers operating in the same area, with their shares EQT AB and CVC Capital Partners Plc also disappear more than 5%.
Crisis expands from private credit to private equity
The company notes that the turbulence in the private markets caused by macroeconomic changes and geopolitical conflicts over recent years has begun to be carried over from private credit funds To private equity portfolios.
«These trends in capital flows have recently accelerated and are now affecting this fund.», refers to the letter to investors.
The CEO of the company, David Layton, he told Bloomberg Television that there are special factors affecting this fund, but he admitted that the trend is wider.
«After several quarters of pressure on private credit funds, We now see investors moving on to acquisitions and other categories of private investment», report.
As he explained, most of the takeover requests come from investors in Asia and Australia.
Fears of debt quality and artificial intelligence
The private credit funds have been at the heart of market concerns for months.
Investors express fears about the quality of loan portfolios, but also about the excessive exposure of many Funds software companies that may accept significant reversals from the rapid development of artificial intelligence.
Increasing concern has led to massive outflows of billions of dollars from the industry, with leading managers such as Apollo Global Management, KKR, BlackRoc k and Blue Owl Capital have also at times imposed restrictions on capital acquisitions.
«There is a need for restrictions on investor protection»
The Partners Group It argues that restrictions on acquisitions are a key feature of private markets, as they protect long-term investors in a class of investments characterised by limited liquidity.
«Protecting all investors in an evergreen fund requires a balance between those looking for immediate liquidity and those who want to stay invested to take advantage of future investment opportunities», indicated in the letter.
Warnings for the entire industry
THE Pierre-Yves Gauthier, AlphaValue CEO, warned that the phenomenon was not limited to a single company.
«The disease spreads to all classes of assets in private markets», stated features.
As he added, the reduction in managed capital may lead analysts to a review of profitability forecasts for the industry.
It still has considerable liquidity
Despite the constraints, the company stresses that the Global Value SICAV has liquidity equal to around 15% of its net asset value.
In addition, it has an unused credit line that also accounts for 15% of the size of the fund.
The investment vehicle, which has been operating for 19 years, had imposed similar restrictions only during the pandemic.
The company confirms that the Fund remains open to new capital placements, while total distributions to investors are expected to be set at 15% for 2026, compared to 16% in 2025.
In the background the Grizzly Research attack
The case comes a few weeks after her report. Grizzly Research, which announced that it maintained a short position in its share Partners Group, arguing that there are inconsistencies in the valuations of evergreen funds.
Grizzly estimated that up to 40% of investments may be significantly overvalued, citing differences between the reported valuations and the actual performance of investments.
The Partners Group απέρριψε κατηγορηματικά τους ισχυρισμούς, υποστηρίζοντας ότι οι αποτιμήσεις ελέγχονται από ανεξάρτητους τρίτους φορείς και χαρακτηρίζοντας τις κατηγορίες της Grizzly ως «αβάσιμες, δυσφημιστικές και βαθιά παραπλανητικές».
THE David Layton αναγνώρισε ότι η έκθεση της Grizzly δεν βοήθησε την κατάσταση, χωρίς όμως να τη θεωρεί τον βασικό λόγο των αυξημένων εξαγορών.
«Σίγουρα δεν βοηθά, αλλά είναι δύσκολο να εκτιμηθεί ο ακριβής αντίκτυπός της. Δεν θεωρούμε ότι αποτελεί τον καθοριστικό παράγοντα, αν και είναι ένας από τους λόγους που αυξάνουν την πίεση στο συγκεκριμένο fund», δήλωσε.
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