Defying the Exit Stampede: Partners Group Insiders Buy CHF 20M as Redemption Fears Peak
11.06.2026 - 21:25:56 | boerse-global.de
In a stark vote of confidence, Partners Group employees have piled into their own stock, snapping up shares worth more than CHF 20 million in an extraordinary trading window that opened on June 5. The move comes as the Swiss private-markets giant reels from a redemption wave that has wiped roughly a third of its market capitalisation since the start of 2026.
The staff purchases — employees are already the firm’s largest investor group — are the clearest signal yet that management believes the selloff is overdone. But the data tells a brutal story. The flagship Partners Group Global Value SICAV, domiciled in Luxembourg, saw redemption requests hit 9.8% of net asset value in the second quarter — an exceptional level for a single three-month period. A US vehicle in Delaware triggered gating after requests crossed the critical 5% threshold in May, with outflows expected to reach around 6%. Three other institutional evergreen funds, which collectively manage $9.7 billion, are on course for redemptions of 3.5% to 5%.
The panic was ignited in late April by a Grizzly Research short-seller report alleging that up to 40% of assets in Partners Group’s evergreen funds were misvalued. Chairman Steffen Meister dismissed the claims as defamatory, but investors fled anyway. The stock crashed a record 16.33% in a single session — its worst day since the 2006 IPO. Chief executive David Layton squarely blamed Grizzly’s attacks for spooking private clients, and the rot has spread across the sector: EQT, CVC Capital Partners and Bridgepoint have all suffered, while Blackstone was forced to cap redemptions in its BCRED private-credit fund after $4.4 billion in requests blew through the limit.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Partners Group?
Analysts are split on whether the damage is temporary or structural. The Zürcher Kantonalbank’s Daniel Regli called the market reaction “exaggerated”, noting that the affected redemptions represent less than 1% of the firm’s total $185 billion in assets under management. Octavian and the Helvetische Bank share that view. But Citigroup wants hard evidence of stable inflows before turning positive. Oddo BHF downgraded the stock from Outperform to Neutral, slashing its price target to CHF 920. Vontobel cut its target to CHF 960, while Julius Bär’s Roger Degen trimmed to CHF 1,200 from CHF 1,400 — yet still counts the shares among his top picks.
Management is not budging on the full-year forecast, which calls for gross new-client demand of $26 billion to $32 billion. It does, however, warn that the evergreen platform could trim net AuM growth by 1–2 percentage points in the second half, with a similar drag possible in 2027. Co-founder Fredy Gantner acknowledged a communications failure, telling the SonntagsZeitung that Partners Group “must communicate better and more proactively” and describing the episode as a “painful lesson”. He called the market’s reaction a “massive overreaction” rooted in industry-wide jitters.
Technically, the stock is deeply oversold. At CHF 756.80, it sits about 3% above its 52-week low of CHF 733, with a relative strength index of 25 — territory that historically has preceded a bounce. The next major test comes on July 15, when Partners Group releases end-June assets under management figures. Those numbers will reveal whether new money is offsetting the redemptions. The full half-year report is due September 1.
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Partners Group Stock: New Analysis - 11 June
Fresh Partners Group information released. What's the impact for investors? Our latest independent report examines recent figures and market trends.
