Partners Group reports 2022 fundraising within guidance; communicates expected range of USD 17 to 22 billion for 2023

Baar-Zug, Switzerland; 12 January 2023 | Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 Listing Rules (LR)

• USD 22 billion gross client commitments received in 2022, within the range of guidance communicated in January 2022
• USD 26 billion invested across private market asset classes in 2022
• USD 135 billion AuM as of 31 December 2022, impacted by foreign exchange rates
• Expected gross client demand of USD 17 to 22 billion in 2023, with a tilt towards H2
• Ready to execute on significant investment and divestment pipeline, subject to market conditions

Partners Group received USD 22 billion in new commitments from its global client base in 2022 (guidance USD 22-26 billion), bringing the firm's total assets under management (AuM)^[1] to USD 135 billion as of 31 December 2022 (31 December 2021: USD 127 billion). Excluding foreign exchange effects, AuM grew by 10% year-on-year. Including foreign exchange effects, AuM grew by 6%, mainly driven by the strengthening of the USD against the EUR. The firm committed USD 26 billion (2021: USD 32 billion) globally across private markets asset classes with a focus on assets benefiting from transformative growth, and generated USD 14 billion (2021: USD 29 billion) in portfolio realizations. Partners Group guides for USD 17 to 22 billion in expected client demand for the full-year 2023, assuming markets stabilize sufficiently to support a normalization in client conversion periods, with stronger fundraising anticipated in the second half.

David Layton, Partner and Chief Executive Officer, comments: "2022 proved that clients continue to see value in our transformational investing strategy. The rigor of our thematic sourcing approach provides us with a steady and predictable pipeline of investment opportunities at any given time, and we were able to continue to transact in H2 by focusing on smaller investment sizes and lower leverage levels. As we enter 2023, we expect higher inflation and interest rates to persist in what remains a demanding market environment – conditions that offer the potential for strong vintage years."

USD 26 billion invested

Partners Group invested USD 26.0 billion in 2022 (2021: USD 31.7 billion) on behalf of its clients. In H2, the firm continued to transact on its thematically sourced pipeline and committed USD 12.5 billion (H1: USD 13.4 billion) across all private market asset classes despite a challenging transaction environment and the limited availability of debt financing.

In 2022, the firm invested 68% (2021: 66%) of total volume into direct assets in areas of the economy it believes will benefit from transformative trends and therefore have superior growth prospects. From the dozens of themes that Partners Group actively follows across all asset classes, its investments in 2022 included companies and assets active in the digitalization of business models, Energy Efficiency as a Service, the provision of affordable housing, and data-driven supply chain management. Following the companies' onboarding, Partners Group's entrepreneurial governance approach drives forward long-term transformation plans through strategic rigor, industrial logic, and operational excellence. This approach translated into the strong operational performance of the firm's direct private equity portfolio, with average Q3 last-twelve-months EBITDA growth of 13% and an average EBITDA margin of around 20%[2].

To complement its direct investments, Partners Group invested 32% (2021: 34%) of total investment volume into portfolio assets. These assets include secondary investments into globally diversified private markets portfolios, select primary commitments to other complementary private markets strategies and investments into the broadly syndicated loan market.

North America remained the most active region for new investments, accounting for 53% of deployed capital, versus 42% in Europe and 5% in Asia-Pacific & rest of world.

USD 14 billion realized

In 2022, portfolio realizations amounted to USD 14.0 billion (2021: USD 29.1 billion), of which portfolio assets and credit distributions accounted for 59% and direct equity distributions for the remainder. In part, the year-on-year decrease in distributions was a result of bringing forward a portion of the direct exit pipeline originally planned for early 2022 into 2021. The firm also then elected to postpone certain realizations originally planned for 2022 to future years. However, Partners Group did continue to see strong demand for several of its mature assets, especially those with infrastructure-like characteristics.

In August 2022, the firm expanded the shareholder base of United States Infrastructure Corporation ("USIC"), a leading provider of "utility locate" services, keeping a 50% co-lead interest at an enterprise value of USD 4.1 billion. After acquiring USIC in 2017, Partners Group installed an entrepreneurial board that helped transform the company and drive strong organic growth, with EBITDA increasing 77% over five years. Key value creation initiatives included specialist training strategies, launching productivity and operational performance programs, and reforming pricing and contract arrangements. Partners Group also introduced a program to improve USIC's approach to health & safety, which led to a substantial reduction in accidents and related lost-time periods.

Additionally, in December 2022, Partners Group agreed to sell CWP Renewables, a vertically integrated renewable energy platform in Australia. Partners Group developed CWP from the ground up in line with its long-term and thematic approach to investing in next-generation infrastructure assets that benefit from decarbonization trends. The firm invested in the first of CWP's wind farms in 2016 and added four further wind farms over its holding period. Today, CWP operates over 1.1 gigawatts (GW) of wind assets and has a pipeline of 5 GW of near-medium term projects and an additional 15 GW at an early stage of development.

USD 22 billion in new client demand, led by bespoke client solutions

In 2022, Partners Group's client demand for investment solutions resulted in new commitments of USD 22.3 billion (2021: USD 25.0 billion), within the full-year guidance of USD 22 to 26 billion that was communicated at the beginning of the year. Fundraising remained robust throughout H1 (USD 13.1 billion) with the closing of the firm's latest flagship infrastructure strategy offering and continued success in its bespoke solutions. As H2 progressed (USD 9.2 billion), fundraising activity slowed due to high levels of uncertainty in financial markets, which increased the conversion periods required by clients.

Overall, Partners Group's innovative bespoke client solutions were the largest contributor to fundraising at USD 15.5 billion (70% of assets raised). Within the scope of bespoke client solutions, mandates (USD 8.4 billion raised) are separate accounts that allow large institutional investors to achieve their long-term target allocations to private markets. Evergreen programs (USD 7.2 billion raised) in turn have liquidity features that enable individual investors to access private markets. Traditional closed-ended programs also continued to grow and contributed a total of USD 6.7 billion (30% of assets raised).

Breakdown of total AuM as of 31 December 2022 (in USD billion):

2021

2022

Last 5 years CAGR[3]

Gross 2022 client demand

Private equity

63.0

71.2

+13%

13.2

Private debt

27.5

26.8

+15%

4.5

Private infrastructure

19.2

20.8

+16%

3.5

Private real estate

17.6

16.5

+5%

1.0

Total

127.4

135.4

+13%

22.3

Tail-down effects from mature private markets investment programs amounted to USD -7.3 billion and redemptions from evergreen programs to USD -2.9 billion. Foreign exchange effects strongly impacted underlying AuM growth by USD -4.7 billion, mainly driven by the strengthening of the USD against the EUR during the period. A final USD 0.6 billion came from a select number of investment programs that link AuM to NAV development[4]. Overall, net AuM grew by USD 8.0 billion during the period.

Outlook 2023

Partners Group expects to raise between USD 17 to 22 billion in total assets for the full-year 2023. The firm bases its guidance on a normalization in the pace of client conversions and on financing markets stabilizing sufficiently during H1 to support an increase in investment activity later in the year. Partners Group's fundraising in H2 should be further supported by a number of next-generation flagship strategies coming to market at that time. The firm continues to see the structural tailwinds for the private markets industry as intact and its outlook for long-term, sustainable growth remains in place.

Partners Group's full-year estimates of tail-down effects from the more mature closed-ended investment programs and redemptions from evergreen programs remain largely unchanged at USD -10.5 to -12.5 billion. Furthermore, the firm anticipates tail-down effects and redemptions to stabilize around 2023 levels in the medium term. This is the result of the continued shift from traditional programs towards bespoke solutions which are often more perpetual in nature and which, as such, do not have tail-downs.

Sarah Brewer, Partner and Global Co-Head Client Solutions, adds: "2022 showed that clients increasingly want exposure to the growing portion of the real economy that can be accessed through private markets. Our ability to create and actively manage bespoke programs that match different clients' targets remains unmatched in the industry. These tailored and non-traditional solutions provide the flexibility of choice for investors and today account for 67% of our total assets under management. These solutions, together with the launch of three of our next-generation flagship funds in 2023, will help lay the groundwork for future growth in the years to come."

Conference call today

Partners Group's senior management will hold a conference call today at 6:15pm CET. To register for the call, please click here or use the contact details at the end of this press release.

Key dates 2023

21 March 2023

Annual Results and Annual Report as of 31 December 2022

24 May 2023

Annual General Meeting of shareholders

13 July 2023

Announcement of AuM as of 30 June 2023

5 September 2023

Interim results and Interim Report as of 30 June 2023

[1] AuM is an Alternative Performance Metric (APM). A description of the APMs can be found in Partners Group's 2021 Annual Report on pages 30-31, available for download at www.partnersgroup.com/financialreports. AUM figures are for Partners Group Holding AG, inclusive of all Partners Group affiliates.

[2] Yearly (last-twelve-months) adjusted EBITDA growth rate calculated for Q3 2022 and adjusted LTM EBITDA margins for Q3 2021 and Q3 2022 on a NAV-weighted basis (unaudited). Adjusted EBITDA reflects normalized earnings (recurring and operational, including inorganic growth).

[3] CAGR: compound annual growth rate for net assets for the period 31 December 2017 – 31 December 2022.

[4] Partners Group reports fee-paying AuM. Most of the firm's evergreen programs base fees on NAV. The portfolio performance during the period impacts the NAV of these products and this translates to a corresponding change in firm-level AuM. As always, calculations for annual AuM numbers for evergreen programs are based on 30 November 2022 NAV valuations.

About Partners Group

Partners Group is a leading global private markets firm. Since 1996, the firm has invested over USD 195 billion in private equity, private real estate, private debt, and private infrastructure on behalf of its clients globally. Partners Group seeks to generate strong returns through capitalizing on thematic growth trends and transforming attractive businesses and assets into market leaders. The firm is a committed, responsible investor and aims to create sustainable returns with lasting, positive impact for all its stakeholders. With USD 135 billion in assets under management as of 31 December 2022, Partners Group provides an innovative range of bespoke client solutions to institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and private individuals globally. The firm employs more than 1,800 diverse professionals across 20 offices worldwide and has regional headquarters in Baar-Zug, Switzerland; Denver, USA; and Singapore. It has been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 2006 (symbol: PGHN). For more information, please visit www.partnersgroup.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Shareholder relations contact
Philip Sauer
Phone: +41 41 784 66 60
Email: philip.sauer@partnersgroup.com

Media relations contact
Jenny Blinch
Phone: +44 207 575 2571
Email: jenny.blinch@partnersgroup.com