The sector ofasset management he has another one thorn in my side and this time it's about the private equityThe Swiss Partners Group detected one growing demand for reimbursement in some of its funds and decided to intervene by blocking them. But this has rekindled investors' concerns about the risks of alternative investments and caused a general decline in shares of asset management firms from one side of the Atlantic to the other.
IERI (Yesterday) Partners Group, an alternative asset management firm with a portfolio of approximately $185 billion, announced that it has placed a limit on increasing withdrawals from an private fund $8,6 billion equity, citing the volatility generalized in the sector of evergreen open-ended funds starting from the end of 2025, which, started in private credit, is now spreading to the private equityPartners Group said net redemption requests exceeded the alert threshold of 5% of its fund's net asset value. Partners Group Global Value Sicav, reaching the 9,8%. “Investors are extremely sensitive to any slowdown in the sector given the risk of contagion that goes beyond private credit,” said Glenn Schorr, an analyst at Evercore ISI. Reuters.
Furthermore today The Swiss company said it also intends to impose restrictions on its fund Private Equity Master Fund $16 billion in the coming weeks, following a surge in refund requests, reports the Financial TimesPartners Group said that redemption requests at the fund have reached about 6% of its net asset value, exceeding the 5% threshold that allows for withdrawal restrictions. "The company is ready to implement the respective liquidity limitation mechanism also on other funds” he said. For three other evergreen funds, with total assets of $9,7 billion, expected repayments in the second quarter are between 3,5% and 5%.
The possible contagion from private credit to private equity
In recent months, investors have focused on the problems that have emerged in loans granted by private credit fundsmanaged by large asset management firms, based in particular on ratings, credit granting standards and how the software companies can address the challenges of artificial intelligence. In this context, several large asset managers, including Apollo Global Management, KKR, BlackRock, and Blue Owl, have already introduced redemption limits to contain liquidity pressures.
But Partners Group's announcement shows that the private equity funds are not immune to valuation volatility and customer anxiety, so much so that its shares fell 16% yesterday reaching a six-year low in Zurich. Today shares recorded a 3% reboundSince the beginning of the year, the stock has lost 32%.
“Part of the pressure on reimbursements, started in private credit, is also starting to make itself felt in other asset classes"He said David Layton, CEO of Partners Group, Bloomberg TVthat last March, Partners Group itself had reported the possibility that the private credit default rates will grow in the next few years, until they double. Jamie Dimon, CEO JPMorgan Chase & Co. had already warned last October that other “cockroaches” They would have emerged in the once-thriving but opaque world of private lending, where prices are typically not made public.
Those who asked to go out were mostly single people, who were quicker in their movements
Most of the redemptions made in the Swiss group's private equity funds were made by single individuals, While 80% of the company's investors are long-term institutional investors. "High net worth clients are the weakest link," says Aneeka Gupta, director of research at WisdomTree, adding that they typically they are quicker to withdraw money compared to institutional investors. “I evergreen funds “They were sold to retail investors as a way to get liquidity from private equity, but private equity is inherently illiquid,” he said. “When enough people test this promise at the same time, the barriers come down.”
I evergreen funds They are perpetual investment vehicles, without a fixed maturity date. Unlike traditional funds, they allow you to enter or exit periodically and continuously reinvest the liquidated capital in new opportunities, keeping your money always invested. But some investors have begun to express concerns about theexposure of some sectors to artificial intelligenceOf the Global Value Fund's top 10 direct holdings, four are in the technology sector, according to a filing in March. Layton said Partners Group's exposure to software assets is less than 10%. The company said today that, overall, it continues to expect a solid fundraising this year and expects inflows into its private wealth management platform to outpace outflows in the first half of 2026. However, it cautioned that Repayment activities could reduce growth total assets under management of 1-2% in the second half of the year and in 2027.
From the US to Europe, asset management companies are feeling the pinch
Many companies in the sector have felt the impact on both sides of the Atlantic. The company's shares Swedish Eqt have fallen by more than 6% and in the UK CVC Capital Partners fell by 7,5% and Bridgepoint lost 10%, while in the United States, asset managers Blackstone, kkr, Tpg e Ares Management They each fell 4%. Many companies are trading near the bottom of their 52-week ranges, analysts say, reflecting concerns about private market investments and fears of problems in this sector. may affect other financial companies. Goldman Sachs e Morgan Stanley fell 2% yesterday, although both stocks are trading near recent highs. “The share price reaction suggests that outflows from the Global Value Fund may be just the beginning and they could extend to other investment instruments"He said to Reuters Andreas Venditti, analyst at Vontobel: "Given the current focus on private credit, the market is extremely sensitive to negative news."
