Partners Group replaces CEO as it works through evergreen fund redemptions

Partners Group replaces CEO as it works through evergreen fund redemptions

Tue, September 1, 2026 at 3:58 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• PGHN.SW -6.71%

Partners Group is replacing its CEO after reporting mixed interim results amid redemption pressure on its evergreen products.

David Layton, who has been the sole CEO since 2021 and with the firm since 2005, will step down to become CIO and chair of the global investment committee.

Roberto Cagnati and Juri Jenkner, both hired in 2004, will take over as co-CEOs effective January 1.

Cagnati most recently ran portfolio solutions and served as chief risk officer, while Jenkner most recently served as president after heading both infrastructure and private credit earlier.

The change comes as Partners, which manages total assets of $186 billion, announces mixed interim results. While the group saw record fundraising—with clients committing $16 billion to the firm, up from $12.2 billion a year earlier— profit fell 13% to 502 million Swiss francs (about $620 million).

The inflows contrast with a broader retreat in European PE, where both the total capital raised and number of fund closes have fallen sharply since 2023, according to PitchBook data, with this year on course to be one of the leanest fundraising years in more than a decade.

Performance income, which also includes investment and interest results, represented 19% of total revenue, below the firm's 2026 guidance of 20-25%—a range it cut this quarter from an earlier target of 25-40%.

The firm expects some exit processes to postpone into 2027.

"Sometimes it can be a little bit more complex today, and things can get dragged out a little bit. We have a handful of processes that we're just not sure if we'll end up closing and getting the cash this year, or if it's going to be pushed to next year," said CEO David Layton in the earnings call.

"At this point in the year, if you're not already signed and marching towards exit, there's just uncertainty there."

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The generation of performance fees in evergreen programmes was also affected by weaker performance in select mature PE portfolios in H1.

Partners Group's share price has fallen more than 30% year to date amid redemption pressure in its evergreen products, which the firm expects to continue.

"There have been a lot of investors that made a lot of money in these funds. The early investors that made five times and when there's questions around the outlook, some people maybe like to buy some of the sort of more fancy public stocks. Some people might have this more thematic investment. So there's all kind of reasons why people try to harvest some of their returns," said executive chairman Steffen Meister in the earnings call.

"Given the sizes of these funds and the fact that we have a little bit more quiet environment, you will see these limitations on liquidity being enacted for a few quarters."

This article originally appeared on PitchBook News