ZURICH, June 25 - Partners Group is signalling a limited adjustment to the scale of its evergreen funds while maintaining its overarching strategy, Chairman Steffen Meister said in an interview with Bloomberg.
The comments come after the firm moved on June 3 to cap withdrawals from an $8.6 billion open-ended private equity fund, a decision that triggered renewed investor apprehension about liquidity risks in popular alternative investments. That episode contributed to a broad sell-off in global asset manager shares and has hit Partners Group’s stock particularly hard - the company’s shares are down around 34% so far this year.
Meister told Bloomberg:
"We clearly don’t see the need to change our strategy based on what has happened over the past weeks."
He added that the firm is reviewing the size of its open-ended vehicles and may keep them "slightly smaller in size going forward, more aligned to flow dynamics over time." The chairman framed the move as an alignment of fund scale with investor flows rather than a strategic retreat.
Pressures on alternatives have been broadening. The article notes rising concerns about private credit fund performance and valuations, which have prompted withdraws from those vehicles, particularly among wealthy retail clients. Those strains have spilled over into private equity, creating redemption pressure that led to Partners Group's move to cap withdrawals.
On June 12, Partners Group issued a statement addressing media interest around its evergreen funds. The company said it had no intention of changing documented liquidity mechanisms and does not plan to freeze any of its evergreen vehicles, stressing that the portfolios were healthy and that liquidity was sufficient in line with target allocations.
Management sought to bolster confidence in the company after the market reaction. Senior management purchased in excess of 60 million Swiss francs of Partners Group stock since June 3, according to stock exchange filings - a sum the article equates to approximately $74 million. The piece also provides the exchange rate used: $1 = 0.8114 Swiss francs.
Context and implications
The firm’s public statements emphasise that documented liquidity arrangements remain unchanged and that there are no plans to freeze evergreen vehicles. At the same time, leadership appears ready to moderate fund scale to better match investor flow patterns, a move presented as operational calibration rather than a revision to strategy.
Market reaction
Investor unease over alternatives and the capped withdrawals have driven a significant share-price decline for the firm, while management’s share purchases are presented as a vote of confidence in the company’s fundamentals and liquidity position.