Partners Group has replaced chief executive David Layton after redemption pressure on its flagship funds hit the Swiss private equity manager's share price this year. Layton moves to chief investment officer as Roberto Cagnati and Juri Jenkner take over as co-chief executives, while the firm reported falling profit and fee revenue for the first half.
Partners Group replaced chief executive David Layton after redemption pressure on its flagship funds this year hit the Zug-based firm's share price. Layton will step down as CEO to become chief investment officer and chair of the global investment committee, effective January 1 next year. Roberto Cagnati and Juri Jenkner will take over as co-chief executives.
Layton has been sole chief executive since 2021 and shared the role for two years before that. The change came as the group reported a mixed set of results, after clients attempted to withdraw from some of its funds in droves earlier this year amid underwhelming performance. Partners Group pioneered offering private equity and other illiquid investments to wealthy individuals but has recently faced new competition as Blackstone and KKR entered the space.
Fee revenue and profit both decline
Shares in the firm fell as much as 8% on Tuesday morning after it reported fee revenues of SFr1.1 billion ($1.4 billion) for the first half, down 7% year on year. Profits dropped 13% to SFr502 million.
The decline in fee revenue was driven by a 39% drop in performance fees, which the group attributed to sizeable sales of holdings in the latter half of last year. Some sale processes in the pipeline for this year were likely to shift into 2027, it said. A filing showed the firm's flagship US private equity vehicle shrank from $15.8 billion in net assets to $15.1 billion in the three months to the end of June.
Redemption surge forced withdrawal caps
Partners Group built its business on evergreen funds that let wealthy individuals make regular deposits and withdrawals. Earlier this year, however, it capped withdrawals at its $8.6 billion European evergreen fund and moved to do the same at the now-$15 billion US equivalent, following a surge in requests to exit.
Both incoming co-CEOs have been with the group, which manages $186 billion in assets, since 2004. Cagnati most recently served as head of portfolio solutions and chief risk officer, while Jenkner is currently president and head of business development. Partners Group shares are down 35% for the year to date.
Source: Financial Times
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