Partners Group, the Swiss private equity giant, increased assets under management further in 2019, but applied the brakes in respect to how much it invested in new ventures.

Baar-based Partners Group managed a total of $94.1 billion by the end of 2019, according to a statement released on Thursday. That was 13 percent more than a year earlier.

Almost half of its assets are invested in privately held firms, while private debt, real estate and infrastructure make up the rest, it said in the statement.

Slowdown in New Investments

Following a year of record investments ($19.3 billion), the private equity firm in 2019 reduced the volume to $14.8 billion in new investments. Out of a total 2,600 opportunities, the company selected 75.

«Despite a market environment characterized by elevated valuations, low growth and geopolitical uncertainty, we are convinced that we will be able to continue to invest in a significant opportunity set of attractive assets,» said David Layton, partner and co-CEO of Partners Group.

«Benign» Conditions to Persist

After last year’s inflow of $16.5 billion in new commitments from clients, Partners Group expects gross client demand to amount to about $15 to $19 billion in 2020. It expects the market environment for fundraising to remain benign and expects strong demand across a variety of solutions spanning all private markets asset classes.

Partners Group is switching the assets-under-management reporting currency to the U.S. dollar to reflect the anticipated growing importance of dollar-denominated assets as a proportion of its assets under management. The company employs 1,400 members of staff in 20 offices worldwide.