Urs Wietlisbach, one of the billionaire co-founders of Swiss private markets firm Partners Group, is preparing to reorganise the structure of the family office that manages the founders’ combined wealth, in a move that signals early-stage succession planning, according to a report by Bloomberg citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Wietlisbach is carving out a more independent investment unit within PG3 AG, the shared family office established in 2013 by him and fellow co-founders Alfred Gantner and Marcel Erni. The platform has historically managed the founders’ wealth collectively.
The new unit is expected to be led by Jascha Forster, currently chief investment officer at Swiss billionaire Thomas Schmidheiny’s family office Spectrum Value Management, the sources said. PG3 declined to comment, while Forster was not immediately available.
The restructuring marks the first significant shift away from the integrated model that has defined PG3 since its creation, as the founders of Partners Group begin to formalise longer-term governance and succession arrangements across their personal investment structures.
The trio originally met while working at Goldman Sachs before founding Partners Group, which has grown into one of the world’s largest private markets investors, overseeing around CHF147bn ($185bn) in assets.
The move comes at a turbulent time for Partners Group itself, which has faced increased investor scrutiny and share price pressure in recent months following redemption activity in its evergreen funds. The company’s stock has fallen sharply this year, prompting senior executives and founders to increase personal share purchases.
The founders have also been working on a revised shareholder agreement intended to guide future decision-making across their holdings, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Despite recent volatility, Wietlisbach and his co-founders remain among Switzerland’s most prominent financiers, with significant influence in both business and political circles.
