Partners Group cap prompts share plunge as private credit fears spread

Wed, 03rd Jun 2026 13:50

* Partners Group leads slide in ⁠private equity-linked shares

* Swiss company limits withdrawals on major evergreen PE fund

* Selloff points to private credit fears spreading

* Partners Group shares on track for their worst day

ZURICH/LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Partners Group's shares sank 17% ‌on Wednesday after it capped withdrawals from an $8.6 billion private equity fund, prompting falls in other European and U.S. fund groups and adding to wider market concerns ⁠over private credit exposures.

The Swiss company, which oversees about $185 billion in assets ⁠under management, said there had been industry-wide volatility across open-ended evergreen funds since late 2025, starting in private credit and spilling into private equity.

It said that total net redemption requests had exceeded 5% of the net asset value of the Partners Group Global Value SICAV fund and it was therefore capping redemptions, triggering a record fall in its already ‌weakened share price. Investors have been trying to withdraw their money from private credit funds in recent months, as worries rise about valuations, lending standards and how software companies that have received large amounts of funds can handle AI challenges.

Some have expressed the same fears about opaque valuations and exposure to AI at private equity funds, which typically invest in shares, and Wednesday's statement by Partners Group further fuelled those concerns. Of its Global Value Fund's top 10 direct holdings, four are in technology, a March filing showed.

Shares in EQT fell more than ‌6%, while CVC Capital Partners and Bridgepoint Group dropped 6% and 5%, respectively. "The share price reaction implies that the outflows from the Global Value Fund are merely the beginning and will spill ‌over to other investment vehicles," said Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti, adding, "Given the current focus on private credit, the market is highly sensitive to negative news".

Shares in U.S. private markets groups also slid in pre-market trading, with Blackstone and KKR both falling 6% and Ares Management down 7%.

'PRIVATE WEALTH CLIENTS ARE THE WEAK LINK'

Partners Group said the underlying fund's liquidity position remains within its target, supported by ongoing distributions from its underlying portfolio and an ‌undrawn credit facility.

The Global Value Fund and the underlying fund continue to invest and remain open for applications, it added.

"Volatility in open-ended evergreen fund flows across the industry has been building since late 2025, beginning in private credit vehicles. These flow dynamics have recently accelerated and extended ⁠to the ⁠private equity asset class, impacting the underlying fund," Partners Group told investors in a statement.

"Private ‌wealth clients are the weak link," said Aneeka Gupta, director of research at WisdomTree, adding they are usually quicker to withdraw money than institutional investors.

"Evergreen funds were sold to retail investors as a way to get private equity liquidity, but private equity is inherently illiquid," she said. "When enough people test ‌that promise at once, the gates come down."

Wednesday's fall brings the year-to-date drop in Partners Group shares to around 30%.

Bloomberg earlier reported that Partners Group was capping withdrawals from the fund. (Reporting by Oliver Hirt in Zurich and Harry Robertson in London, Writing by Dave Graham and Harry Robertson; Editing by Ludwig Burger, Miranda Murray, Thomas Derpinghaus, Elisa Martinuzzi and Alexander Smith)