Partners Group Slumps as It Sees Evergreens Slowing Growth

Partners Group, the Swiss private markets firm, reported record new client demand of $16 billion in the first half of 2026, pushing its total assets under management (AUM) to $186 billion as of June 30, 2026. This performance exceeded analyst expectations, as Bank Vontobel had projected $14.5 billion in new client demand. Despite this overall growth, the firm acknowledged mounting pressure from redemptions in three of its mature private equity-heavy evergreen funds, which saw quarterly redemption rates surge from approximately 2% to over 5%.

The firm anticipates that these redemption dynamics, exacerbated by industry-wide concerns about private credit evergreen liquidity, negative media coverage, and geopolitical volatility, could slow its net AUM growth by 1-2% over the next 18 months. Partners Group estimates potential net outflows from these three mature strategies to be between $10-20 billion in a negative scenario. To manage this, the firm has enacted and expects to continue imposing redemption limits on these vehicles, framing them as a protective measure for remaining investors. These affected funds have significant exposure (50-60%) to private equity vintages from 2019 to 2022, a period before significant interest rate hikes that have since led to valuation headwinds and slower realizations industry-wide.

Despite these challenges, Partners Group reaffirmed its full-year fundraising guidance of $26-32 billion in new assets, bolstered by the strong first-half performance. Management also indicated that it would maintain its dividend policy and potentially discuss share buybacks. The firm emphasized that the issues are concentrated, with 85% of its broader platform performing at or above plan, and sees $20 billion of upside potential in the performing portion of the portfolio. Evergreen funds, which accounted for 26% of new client commitments in H1, also saw robust inflows of $4.2 billion, though net flows were only modestly positive due to $3.8 billion in redemptions, with 79% originating from the three mature strategies.