Partners Group launches two evergreen funds for Europe, Asia clients

Swiss investment firm Partners Group has introduced a couple of semi-liquid vehicles in Europe and Asia to shore up its retail client base, according to an announcement on Thursday.

Partners Group LIFE will target established assets in the energy transition, healthcare, and education sectors; while the Next Generation Infrastructure fund will invest in global value-add and core-plus infrastructure that are capital-intensive businesses with contracted or regulated cash flows.

The evergreen funds, which will focus on direct investments, are available to individual investors with a $10,000 minimum entry requirement through Partners Group’s distribution partners across markets in Europe and Asia, said the statement.

Both retail and institutional investors, who are also able to access the new strategies, will be offered the same investment content through the firm’s pro rata allocation policy.

The new funds are the first in a series of evergreen strategies that Partners Group plans to launch this year in an attempt to attract more retail clients. 

Semi-liquid funds, also known as evergreen funds, are open-ended investment vehicles that allow limited partners to subscribe to the funds as long as they prefer and redeem cash without having to wait until funds reach the harvest period like closed-ended funds. The fund structure also provides retail investors easier access to private alternative funds, which have higher entry barriers for individual investors, who are largely high-net-worth individuals.

Open-ended funds have gained popularity in a tough fundraising and exit environment as they allow general partners to extend their holdings for star assets and benefit from the steady income generated by businesses in sectors like enterprise software or infrastructure.

EQT, KKR, and Hamilton Lane are among a growing list of investment managers that have recently been ramping up their semi-liquid franchises to cater to a diverse range of clients. 

About 30% of Partners Group’s $147 billion of assets under management are in evergreen programmes. Its $44-billion assets in evergreen products grew six times from the $7 billion it managed in 2013.