Partners Group, a Swiss private markets investment manager, increased assets under management by almost a fifth in 2018. The company is now adopting what it calls a disciplined approach to protect investors from downside risks.

Partners Group received commitments worth 13.3 billion euros ($15.3 billion) from investors in 2018, the Baar-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. The demand for programs and mandates brought total assets under management (AuM) to 72.8 billion euros by the end of last year, up from 61.9 billion a year earlier.

Tail-down effects from mature private markets investment programs and redemptions amounted to a total of -4.8 billion euros. The appreciation of the dollar versus the euro by 5 percent in 2018 had a positive impact on assets under management because 36 percent of all AuM are denominated in dollar.

Downside Protection

Over the year, the company assessed more than 2,800 opportunities across all asset classes and invested in 78 of those, corresponding to a decline rate of 97 percent.

«The potential for more challenging macroeconomic conditions demands disciplined asset selection for downside protection,» said David Layton, partner and co-CEO of Partners Group. «In addition, in this late stage of the economic cycle, we focus on businesses and assets that are well positioned to withstand a variety of alternative economic scenarios and our underwriting for new investments includes prudent assumptions that market valuations will come down.»

Higher Tail-Down Effects in 2019

This year, Partners Group expects gross client demand of 13 to 16 billion euros and tail-down effects of 6.5 to 7.5 billion euros. The higher projected tail-down effects in 2019 relate to a number of larger closed-end programs that will reach the end of their lifetime, the company said.

«We are pleased with the solid fundraising in 2018 and continue to observe a strong structural trend of increasing allocations to private markets,» said André Frei, partner and co-CEO. «For 2019, our aim is to capture further client demand through a series of flagship programs across all private markets asset classes.»

Partners Group will publish annual results on March 19.