Partners Group raised a record $16bn of new client commitments during the first half of 2026, driven by strong demand for bespoke mandates and evergreen strategies, as the Swiss private markets manager reaffirmed its full-year fundraising target despite a challenging investment environment.
The firm reported assets under management of $186bn at the end of June, up from $174bn a year earlier, while maintaining guidance for between $26bn and $32bn of gross fundraising for the full year.
The first-half fundraising surpassed the $12bn raised during the same period in 2025, with bespoke client solutions accounting for more than half of total inflows. Mandates and evergreen products each contributed around a quarter of new commitments, highlighting continued institutional demand for customised private markets portfolios.
Evergreen strategies attracted $4.2bn of gross inflows during the period, although redemptions of $3.8bn – primarily from three mature vehicles—limited net asset growth. Traditional closed-end funds generated $7.6bn of commitments, supported by fundraising across flagship private equity and infrastructure strategies.
By asset class, infrastructure attracted the strongest investor demand with $6.1bn of new commitments, followed by private credit at $3.9bn, private equity at $3.1bn, real estate at $2bn and royalties at $900m.
Partners Group deployed $9bn across private markets during the first half, matching investment activity a year earlier. The firm said it remained cautious on new direct investments because of elevated valuations, particularly in private equity, and increased its allocation to secondary transactions as market volatility created opportunities to acquire high-quality portfolios at attractive prices.
Portfolio realisations also totalled $9bn. Although direct exits slowed after a strong period of disposals in late 2025, the firm continued to generate liquidity through infrastructure sales and public market sell-downs. Among the notable exits was the agreed sale of Nordic data centre platform atNorth, which generated a 2.5x multiple on invested capital and annualised returns of more than 30% for clients.
Chief executive David Layton said fundraising momentum reflected continued demand for the firm’s diversified private markets platform, but warned that investment conditions remain selective due to elevated asset valuations. He added that while most portfolio companies continue to perform well, some older vintages and individual assets remain under pressure.
Partners Group expects performance-related income to account for less than 20% of total revenues in the first half because of lower direct exit activity, although it expects this to improve during the second half and finish the year near the lower end of its long-term target range of 25% to 40% of revenues.
