Defamation Suit and a New Income Fund: Partners Group’s Two-Front Defense

The Swiss private markets giant is fighting on two fronts. Even as it sues a short seller for calling it “worse than Wirecard,” Partners Group has quietly rolled out a new product designed to pull in yield-hungry institutional capital. The stock, meanwhile, is down more than 17% since the start of the year, trading at €905.20 — barely above its 52-week low of €870.80 from March.

Chairman Steffen Meister confirmed to the NZZ am Sonntag that legal proceedings have been filed against Grizzly Research, the US-based short seller whose April report triggered a sharp sell-off. Grizzly claimed the firm’s software exposure was inflated and likened its valuation practices to Germany’s biggest corporate fraud scandal. Partners Group rejected the allegations as “frivolous, defamatory, and highly misleading,” and has reported possible market manipulation to regulators in Switzerland and the US.

To back its rebuttal, the firm pointed to two recent exits that cleared above book value: 90% of its stake in STADA Arzneimittel was sold in the first quarter of 2026 above the last published valuation, and the Icelandic data center atNorth was fully realized at a premium. Management also disclosed that actual software exposure stands at 9.9% of its private credit platform — below the industry average, contrary to Grizzly’s claims.

Alongside the legal counterattack, Partners Group has launched a “Total Return Strategy” aimed at investors who want both regular income and long-term capital appreciation. The fund will take majority stakes in companies from what it calls foundational sectors — industrials, logistics, healthcare, consumer goods and services — using a more conservative capital structure with lower leverage than a typical buyout vehicle. The target return sits in the mid-teens, with an initial dividend yield of 5% to 8% on the strategy level. The focus is on market-leading businesses with high free cash flow and resilience to technological disruption.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Partners Group?

The new fund is seen as an attempt to broaden the investor base at a time when the core business faces headwinds. At the annual general meeting on May 20 in Baar-Zug, shareholders overwhelmingly approved a dividend of CHF 46 per share, a 10% increase from the prior year. Steffen Meister was re-elected, and Gaëlle Olivier was appointed Lead Independent Director. The ex-dividend date was May 22, with payout on May 27.

Yet the stock continues to struggle. On a weekly basis it has lost another 3.33%, and the gap to the 52-week high of €1,213.50 now exceeds 25%. The 50-day moving average sits at €931.91, suggesting any rally above that level would be the first technical stabilization signal. The relative strength index at 58 points to neutral territory, offering little directional clarity.

Management has acknowledged that under normal market conditions, 5% to 10% of portfolio companies may face operational difficulties. Going forward, it plans to be more cautious about investing in “socially exposed” areas — a nod to the reputational risks highlighted by the Grizzly episode. Performance fees for 2026 are expected at the lower end of the long-term target range of 25% to 40% of total revenue, after a spike of 60% to CHF 819 million last year when several large transactions were pulled forward.

Partners Group at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.

The next big test for both the legal strategy and the new fund will come on July 15, when the firm releases an AuM update. Investors will be looking for early capital commitments to the Total Return Strategy. The half-year report on September 1 will then show whether the more selective investment approach is bearing fruit — and whether the fundamentals can finally silence the short sellers.

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