Partners Group invested USD 3.2 billion in private equity secondaries in 2024

• Partners Group completed 25 secondaries transactions last year
• The firm has invested over USD 35 billion across the asset class since 1998
• Partners Group has achieved industry leading net multiples across its mature closed-ended private equity secondaries funds

Partners Group, one of the largest firms in the global private markets industry, acting on behalf of its clients, invested USD 3.2 billion in private equity secondaries in 2024, up from USD 1.5 billion in 2023, as the firm capitalized on opportunities across the asset class during a period of market dislocation. 

Partners Group’s Private Equity Partnership Investments team completed 25 private equity secondaries investments last year, including both LP-portfolios and GP-led transactions, across more than 80 GPs, 150 funds, and 3,000 underlying companies. Over 80% of the USD 3.2 billion was invested in LP-portfolios, as more LPs turned to the secondary market to create distributions after two consecutive years of depressed exit activity. The firm’s investments included the acquisition of a private equity secondaries portfolio with a EUR 800 million NAV from one of the largest private pension schemes in the UK. The portfolio, which was Partners Group’s largest secondaries transaction of the year, consisted of twelve fund interests and over 250 high quality underlying companies.

Across all secondary opportunities, Partners Group follows a thematic investment approach, which involves leveraging insights from the firm’s Private Equity business to identify sectors with strong tailwinds. A rigorous data-led, company-by-company underwriting process then ensures that the underlying companies within a portfolio stand to benefit from these trends. Partners Group’s highly selective approach resulted in the firm declining 97% of the USD 125 billion of secondary transactions it reviewed last year.

Partners Group has achieved industry leading net multiples across its mature closed-ended private equity secondaries funds, placing all its mature funds since 2008 in the first quartile. Partners Group continues to see strong demand from clients and has already raised over USD 5 billion for the strategy since the final closing of its predecessor fund. The firm’s integrated platform enables it to raise capital via mandates and other bespoke products that invest alongside traditional closed-ended funds.

Anthony Shontz, Partner, Co-Head Private Equity Partnership Investments, Partners Group, says: “We expect another strong year in the secondaries space, with the market continuing to provide a range of liquidity options for LPs. At the GP level, we expect some private equity firms may prioritize acquiring new companies before selling existing ones, which would support extension secondary solutions that enable firms to hold quality assets for longer.”

Nicolas Petitjean, Managing Director, Co-Head Private Equity Partnership Investments, Partners Group, adds: “The ability to identify portfolios and assets that have strong growth potential is becoming increasingly important in the current market. This is leading to a significant return dispersion between those investors that can identify growth and those that can’t. Our integrated platform, underwriting capabilities, and industry network, developed over two decades, enables us to build conviction in each secondary opportunity.”

Partners Group has been an active investor in the private equity secondary markets since 1998 and has invested USD 35 billion since then across more than 400 transactions. The firm’s Private Equity Partnership Investments team has over 70 investment professionals across Europe, the US, and Asia-Pacific.