ICG PLC (LSE:ICG) and Bridgepoint Group PLC (LSE:BPT) were among several fund groups to see their shares fall after Swiss investment firm Partners Group capped withdrawals from a major private equity fund.
Partners Group’s decision to limit redemptions from its private equity Global Value SICAV fund sent its own shares down 17% on the day.
The move stirred what Reuters described as “broader market jitters over private credit exposures” across listed private market names.
ICG was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100, dropping 5.4%, while St James’s Place PLC fell 2.6% and M&G fell 1.3%.
London’s big banks also declined, adding to a broad-based sell-off prompted by the Swiss firm’s decision.
Among mid-cap stocks, Bridgepoint fell 9.4%, Molten Ventures PLC (LSE:GROW) dropped 5.7%, and Partners Group Private Equity Limited fell 2.4%.
Partners told investors in a letter that withdrawals from the fund would be limited to 5% of net asset value per quarter, after requests reached an estimated 9.8% in the second quarter.
The firm said there had been volatility across the industry in open-ended evergreen funds since late last year.
Partners described limiting redemptions as an “indispensable feature of private markets investing to protect long-term investors in an inherently illiquid asset class.”
Analysts at Tickmill Group said: “The read-across was negative for listed private-market and asset-management names, where investors remain sensitive to fund flows, redemption pressure and valuation risk.”
A day before the withdrawal cap announcement, Partners published a Q1 update for its $15bn Private Equity LLC fund, where redemptions ticked down but net flow trends were relatively weaker.
Analysts at Citi estimated that “this implies higher redemptions from Partners’ scaled global evergreens”, adding further concern to an already unsettled market.
The Citi analysts also said “it is plausible flows could further deteriorate” given “spillover effects and… broader uncertainty following software and private credit concerns.”