Amid AI-Driven Liquidity Squeeze, Partners Group Co-Founder Bets CHF 20 Million on a Turnaround

Partners Group stock drops 30% in 2025; co-founder Fredy Gantner calls selloff 'massive overreaction,' buys CHF 20M shares. Redemption caps, short-seller allegations, and AI-driven liquidity drain heighten risks.

The selloff in Partners Group shares has been brutal — down roughly a third over the past year and off nearly 30% since January. But Fredy Gantner, the private-equity firm's co-founder, is not backing down. Calling the market's reaction a "massive overreaction," he and the management team purchased more than CHF 20 million of stock on Friday, a move designed to broadcast confidence even as two red flags wave: redemption caps on retail funds and a short-seller attack.

Gantner acknowledged in an interview with SonntagsZeitung that Partners Group could have communicated better during the turmoil. However, he stood firmly behind the business model, pointing to a projected gross new-money inflow of between CHF 26 billion and CHF 32 billion in 2026 — a year he still expects to be record-breaking. The company also continues to flag a dividend yield of around 7% as a backstop for jittery investors.

The immediate trigger for the recent rout is a pair of evergreen funds that breached their quarterly redemption limit of 5%. That cap is a standard liquidity buffer in private markets, but the breach underscores the tension between Partners Group's push into retail clients and the inherent illiquidity of its assets. Chairman Steffen Meister told the Neue Zürcher Zeitung the firm remains committed to the strategy, even if roughly 80% of the client base is still institutional. Still, the episode has prompted a review of distribution channels and fund sizes.

Compounding the company-specific stress is a broader liquidity drain across financial markets. According to market observers, the insatiable capital needs of the artificial-intelligence boom are tying up roughly $4 trillion, draining liquidity from sectors like private equity. At the same time, an estimated $80 trillion in global debt needs refinancing over the next 12 to 18 months, raising the pressure on firms like Partners Group and Blackstone to manage redemptions carefully.

Gantner also dismissed allegations from short-seller Grizzly Research as "completely unfounded" and said the company would pursue legal action. Yet the stock continues to trade under the shadow of that report, as well as the redemption-cap news.

The technical picture remains fragile. Shares closed at €783.00 in Frankfurt on Friday, up 0.57% on the day but down 13.5% for the week and 28.3% year to date. The relative strength index sits at 27.7, deep in oversold territory, while the stock is trading about 15% below its 50-day moving average and nearly 25% below its 200-day moving average. The 52-week low of €733.00, touched on June 3, is only about 7% away.

In the past 30 days alone, Partners Group has shed roughly 19% of its market value. Gantner's CHF 20 million bet and his public assurances may buy some breathing room, but the coming quarter will be decisive. The record 2026 targets for net new money must start showing up as concrete inflows — otherwise, the dividend yield may prove to be the only argument left for the bulls.