Partners Group Rides Out a Tough Year as Fund Overhaul and Parmaco Sale Take Shape

Partners Group plans to convert its EUR 6.6bn Global Value SICAV into a fund of funds as Jefferies cuts its target and shares slump 39% this year.

Partners Group is steering through one of its more demanding stretches in recent memory, and the market has not been shy about registering its doubts. The Swiss asset manager's shares have surrendered 39 percent since the start of the year, a decline that lays bare investor unease with the private markets segment as a whole. Questions about liquidity management and the future trajectory of assets under management have become a running theme in trading rooms.

Friday brought a measure of relief. The stock closed at EUR 647.40, a gain of 1.7 percent on the day, though the bounce does little to offset the broader slump.

A Flagship Fund Gets a New Architecture

At the heart of the company's response is a plan to reshape the Global Value SICAV, an evergreen vehicle with a net asset value of EUR 6.6 billion. Management intends to convert it into a fund of funds, splitting it into two sub-portfolios: one targeting long-term capital appreciation, the other built for regular distributions. The idea is to cater to clients with differing appetites — some wanting steady income, others content to reinvest.

Shareholder approval is still required before the restructuring can proceed. The move follows media reports pointing to persistent redemption headaches across the firm's evergreen range. These products grant investors periodic liquidity windows, but a wave of withdrawal requests can quickly strain their operational capacity.

Jefferies Trims Its Targets

Analysts have taken a more cautious view of the earnings outlook. Jefferies cut its price target for Partners Group to CHF 605 from CHF 710 on 29 September, keeping a "Hold" rating. The brokerage also trimmed its earnings-per-share estimates for the next two years by roughly a tenth. In Jefferies' assessment, the strain on the evergreen funds is likely to delay any meaningful recovery in assets under management, with little improvement expected before 2028.

Those downgrades, combined with the redemption reports, injected visible nervousness into the market. According to media accounts, the share price came under notable pressure during the week.

Parmaco on the Block, New Bets on the Table

Alongside the fund restructuring, Partners Group is exploring ways to offload holdings. Bloomberg reported that the firm, working with Bank of America, is weighing a sale of Finnish modular builder Parmaco. Talks are at an early stage, and a deal could value the company at around EUR 1.5 billion.

The group has hardly been idle on the investment front. Roughly three weeks ago it expanded its direct-lending activities. About two weeks before that came the acquisition of student housing assets and a stake in sports talent agency SEG. On 2 September, Partners Group announced that its infrastructure secondaries strategy would invest in the growth phase of data centre platform atNorth, taking a stake of approximately 10 percent.

Buybacks Signal Confidence

Meanwhile, the firm's own capital measures continue apace. Partners Group Private Equity Limited picked up 12,126 of its own shares on 29 September under its ongoing repurchase programme — a move that puts the depressed valuation to work while the portfolio realignment presses ahead.

The shareholder vote on the fund conversion, together with how the company handles its liquidity obligations, will be the key markers to watch as Partners Group works to lay the groundwork for future earnings growth.