Key Takeaways
- • Partners Group formally launched a dedicated special opportunities strategy in January 2026, led by Joshua Hartz (formerly of Bain Capital), marking the firm's expansion into a new standalone investment vehicle alongside its existing private equity, infrastructure, private credit, real estate, and royalties platforms.
- • The special opportunities strategy targets flexible capital solutions across three transaction types: corporate assets, real assets, and other liquidity-driven opportunities, designed to capitalize on market dislocation and balance-sheet stress generated by macro-economic uncertainty and economic transformation.
- • The strategy is positioned to offer asymmetric upside with heightened downside protection and shorter duration than traditional private markets investments, filling a distinct gap on the risk/return spectrum for institutional portfolios.
- • Partners Group's royalties strategy, launched in late 2024, complements the special opportunities rollout by providing cross-sector exposure to pharma, entertainment, sports, brands, energy transition (US natural gas, green metals, carbon), with stated objective of delivering stable, attractive returns with low correlation to public and private market investments.
- • The dual strategy expansion positions Partners Group to capitalize on what management characterizes as significant untapped market opportunity emerging from economic transformation over the coming decade, leveraging the firm's existing private markets expertise across its multi-strategy platform.
Summary
Partners Group, one of the largest firms in the global private markets industry, formally launched a special opportunities strategy in January 2026 as a dedicated, standalone investment program. The initiative represents a strategic expansion of the firm's multi-strategy platform, which now encompasses private equity, infrastructure, private credit, real estate, royalties, and the newly established special opportunities vehicle. The strategy is led by Joshua Hartz, who joined Partners Group as a Partner from Bain Capital, bringing institutional experience in opportunistic investing.
The special opportunities strategy is designed to address liquidity-driven market dislocations and balance-sheet stress by providing flexible capital solutions across three primary transaction categories: corporate solutions, real assets, and other liquidity-driven opportunities on a global basis. According to Partners Group President Juri Jenkner, the firm believes economic transformation amplified by continued macro-economic uncertainty will generate significant untapped opportunities for special opportunities investments. The strategy aims to create asymmetric upside while protecting from downside risk, offering a distinct portfolio characteristic profile that includes heightened downside protection, upside potential, and shorter duration relative to traditional private markets investments—thereby addressing a specific gap on the risk/return spectrum for institutional investors.
Complementing the special opportunities launch, Partners Group's royalties strategy, introduced in late 2024, provides scaled cross-sector exposure across existing sectors (pharma, entertainment, sports, brands) and energy transition sectors (US natural gas, green metals, carbon). The firm's royalties offering is structured to deliver stable and attractive returns with low correlation to traditional public and private market investments, integrating portfolio stability while retaining yield and upside potential. Partners Group positions royalties as anchoring to its private markets platform, reflecting the emerging asset class's role in diversified institutional portfolios.
The dual-strategy expansion reflects Partners Group's conviction that the coming decade will present significant transformational investing opportunities as macro-economic conditions create cyclical dislocations. By building dedicated teams and leveraging the firm's full breadth of private markets expertise, Partners Group aims to establish both special opportunities and royalties as material components of its multi-strategy offering, targeting institutions seeking tactical opportunities and return enhancement in an uncertain economic environment.
The special opportunities strategy is designed to address liquidity-driven market dislocations and balance-sheet stress by providing flexible capital solutions across three primary transaction categories: corporate solutions, real assets, and other liquidity-driven opportunities on a global basis. According to Partners Group President Juri Jenkner, the firm believes economic transformation amplified by continued macro-economic uncertainty will generate significant untapped opportunities for special opportunities investments. The strategy aims to create asymmetric upside while protecting from downside risk, offering a distinct portfolio characteristic profile that includes heightened downside protection, upside potential, and shorter duration relative to traditional private markets investments—thereby addressing a specific gap on the risk/return spectrum for institutional investors.
Complementing the special opportunities launch, Partners Group's royalties strategy, introduced in late 2024, provides scaled cross-sector exposure across existing sectors (pharma, entertainment, sports, brands) and energy transition sectors (US natural gas, green metals, carbon). The firm's royalties offering is structured to deliver stable and attractive returns with low correlation to traditional public and private market investments, integrating portfolio stability while retaining yield and upside potential. Partners Group positions royalties as anchoring to its private markets platform, reflecting the emerging asset class's role in diversified institutional portfolios.
The dual-strategy expansion reflects Partners Group's conviction that the coming decade will present significant transformational investing opportunities as macro-economic conditions create cyclical dislocations. By building dedicated teams and leveraging the firm's full breadth of private markets expertise, Partners Group aims to establish both special opportunities and royalties as material components of its multi-strategy offering, targeting institutions seeking tactical opportunities and return enhancement in an uncertain economic environment.
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