According to a notice sent by Partners Group to investors, redemptions from the Global Value SICAV Fund have been capped at 5 percent of the fund's net asset value. The measure was taken after redemption requests for the fund rose to approximately 9.8 percent in the second quarter. The fund manages around 8,6 billion dollar in assets.

The Global Value SICAV Fund would have had sufficient liquidity to meet all redemption requests, the company said in response to an inquiry. «However, that is not the purpose of such evergreen funds.»

The fund is explicitly designed as a long-term investment vehicle, and part of its liquidity is also required for new investments. Redemption requests that could not be fulfilled will therefore be carried over to the next quarter.

A spokesperson for Partners Group told Bloomberg that redemption requests from high-net-worth private clients had increased across the firm's entire evergreen platform. These clients account for roughly one-fifth of the platform's assets under management and represent a «particularly large share of the investor base» in the Global Value fund.

UBS: No Major Surprise

The increase in redemption requests did not come as a surprise, UBS analysts wrote in a commentary. Citi analysts likewise said that the rise in redemption activity was expected. They pointed to spillover effects and heightened uncertainty following turbulence in private credit investments.

Partners Group manages more than 30 evergreen funds across five asset classes, with total assets exceeding 56 billion dollar. As recently as April, the company reported positive fundraising momentum for its private markets strategies during the first quarter and sought to distance itself from growing concerns about the stability of the private credit market. The tone has now changed.

Pressure Intensifies

Macroeconomic changes and geopolitical conflicts have weighed on private equity markets in recent years. According to the letter, industry-wide volatility that began in private credit vehicles has now spread to private equity. «This dynamic has recently accelerated and has affected the fund,» the Zug-based asset manager explained.

As investors seek to withdraw money from these long-term vehicles, several of the world's largest asset managers, including Apollo Global Management, KKR, Blackrock and Blue Owl, have recently imposed redemption limits of their own.

Partners Group is also facing additional challenges. In April, Grizzly Research launched an attack on the company, alleging that up to 40 percent of the assets held in its funds could be significantly misvalued. Partners Group responded by stating that its valuations are validated by independent third parties and described Grizzly's claims as «baseless, defamatory and misleading.» The Swiss firm has vowed to challenge the allegations.

In the short term, however, investors appear to be reacting with panic. By midday, the shares had fallen by more than 17 percent, trading at their lowest level in six years.