Winners rationale

As Asia’s private banking investors go on the hunt for alternative assets to diversify their burgeoning wealth from traditional assets and counter escalating systematic risks, it comes as no surprise that private equity continues to garner attention.

Partners Group, a provider of private markets investment strategies to private investors for more than 20 years, differentiated itself from its competitors in 2018 by virtue of the robustness of its investment process and its deft ability to deliver relevant solutions for its clients.

As one of the firm’s core competencies, Partners Group’s private equity business has grown significantly over the past few years, with the manager’s invested assets in private equity hitting US$41.1 billion today out of a total AUM of US$83 billion. Not to be understated is the role the firm’s compelling investment philosophy has played in bringing Partners Group success. The asset manager employs a relative value approach to the asset class, which enables it to make high conviction calls and select regions and industry segments that are particularly appealing at any given point in time. Moreover, Partners Group’s large network provides it with access to attractive deals in direct investments, other private markets funds in the primary market, and portfolios in the secondary market.

In anticipation of mounting demand, Partners Group has translated this access to PE markets to opportunities for Asia’s private banks via a suite of solutions, understanding that private investor exposure to private markets is often hindered by high barriers to entry. It provides exposure to single- or multi-asset class strategies across a range of liquidity profiles — from close-ended to semi- and fully open-ended structures.

Testament to the traction it has gained with private investors in recent years, the portion of AUM from its distribution partners and private individuals continues to increase. Today the client segment contributes almost one-fifth of the firm’s total AUM, up from the low teens in 2016.

With a global investment platform drawing support from a workforce of over 1,200, Partners Group has also developed capabilities that put the firm in good stead to weather the headwinds posed by the increasingly exacting global regulatory environment in today’s wealth management industry. Partners Group has been selected by private banking gatekeepers as Asian Private Banker’s Best Fund Provider – Private Equity.