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Partners Group has reduced staffing in its private equity business with dozens of employees either leaving the firm or being transferred to other divisions as the asset manager looks to improve performance amid heightened investor scrutiny.
The changes affect the 200-person global private equity team, led by Wolf-Henning Scheider and span multiple levels of seniority, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. While some employees have departed, others have been reassigned to areas including infrastructure and royalties.
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The reduction in force happened following the firm’s performance review process, a spokesperson for the firm told Bloomberg.
“Partners Group’s private equity team size remains consistent with its long-term average, while we have significantly strengthened our senior operational capabilities over the past year. This reflects a buyout environment in which creating long-term value and driving distributions require greater operational intensity,” Partners Group said in a statement to Bloomberg.
The Swiss private markets manager has seen elevated redemption pressure across some of its mature evergreen funds.The firm warned earlier this year that redemptions could weigh on net asset growth for up to 18 months and said potential net outflows from three affected strategies could reach $10 billion to $20 billion.
The firm attributed the pressure to industry concerns around evergreen fund liquidity, negative media coverage and geopolitical volatility, while noting that the affected funds had significant exposure to private equity vintages from 2019 through 2022.
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Earlier this month, Partners Group revealed plans to restructure its Global Value SICAV private equity evergreen strategy into two portfolios, giving investors more options to either compound returns over the long term or take cash from portfolio realizations.
Partners Group has also made several senior hires since last year, including Tarak Megta, Nicholas Smith Wang, Jennifer Hoh and Pete Zippelius, the spokesperson told Bloomberg.
The firm has also undergone a leadership transition, appointing Roberto Cagnati and Juri Jenkner as co-CEOs, after a 39% decline in performance income. Former CEO David Layton remains in his position as chief investment officer.