Partners Group is restricting investor withdrawals from its $8.6 billion Global Value SICAV fund after redemption requests exceeded 5% of the net asset value, a move that rattled sentiment across private markets.
The firm pointed to instability across open-ended vehicles since early last year, beginning in private credit and later affecting private equity, Reuters reported.
In comments aired on Bloomberg TV, CEO David Layton said the fund saw withdrawal requests totaling about 9.8%, which corresponded to roughly 4.8% of the company's overall asset base. Layton said a large share of the redemption activity came from Asia Pacific and Australia.
Partners Group oversees approximately $185 billion in assets under management. The firm's shares fell sharply following the announcement, dropping nearly 17% as of mid-day.
Other listed alternative managers in Europe and the U.S. also traded lower as investors reassessed exposure to private credit and related products. Blackstone, KKR & Co, Apollo Global and the Carlyle Group were all down between 2% and 4%.
Vontobel analyst Andreas Venditti tied the market's reaction to fears the withdrawals could spread beyond a single vehicle, saying, "Given the current focus on private credit, the market is highly sensitive to negative news," Reuters added.
Partners Group said the underlying fund's liquidity stayed within target levels, supported by portfolio distributions and an unused credit facility.
The firm said the Global Value Fund and its underlying fund remain open to new applications and will continue deploying capital.
In its investor communication, Partners Group wrote: "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's top 10 largest direct investments include four in technology: Forterro, Version 1, Unit4, and Precisely, with the rest invested in industrials, real estate, healthcare and financials, a March filing shows.
Last week, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon cautioned that periods of calm in credit markets often mask the buildup of risk, warning that performance typically deteriorates more than expected once the credit cycle turns.
“I do think when we have a credit cycle because there have been weakening standards in underwriting and transparency and marking, I do think you’ll see credit perform worse than people expect. That’s all. I don’t think it’s systemic,” he said during the Reagan National Economic Forum.
Private Credit Redemptions Hit Other Firms
Recently, banks and asset managers have issued warnings or restricted lending within their private credit portfolios amid market ripples.
A Switzerland-based pension fund sought to redeem all of its shares of a Vista Equity Partners private credit fund, pushing the firm to cap redemptions at 5% during the first quarter. The name of the pension fund could not be identified, Bloomberg reported. However, Switzerland has one of the region's largest pension markets. Five funds alone manage over $37.7 billion as of 2025, according to an Investments and Pensions Europe report.
Meanwhile, Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) announced it would limit withdrawals from its Ares Strategic Income Fund. The firm faced a significant increase in redemption requests. The decision comes as the fund, which targets affluent investors, saw redemptions rise to 11.6% in the first quarter, prompting the firm to cap outflows at 5%.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) started restricting lending to software-related companies in its private credit funds, while Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) curbed redemptions after investors sought to withdraw nearly 11% of shares from its North Haven Private Income Fund.
BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) limited withdrawals from its $26 billion HPS Corporate Lending Fund after redemption requests surged to 9.3% of the fund’s net asset value.
Barings also limited redemptions in its private credit fund, capping withdrawals at 5% of shares. Investor requested to pull out 11.3% of shares in the first quarter, as revealed in a regulatory filing.
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