Key Takeaways
- • Deutsche Bank has launched its first evergreen private markets fund in collaboration with DWS and Partners Group, available for subscription in Q3 2025, exclusively to qualified private clients in the European Economic Area and Switzerland with a low minimum investment threshold.
- • The fund provides diversified exposure across private equity, private credit, infrastructure, and real estate through direct investments, co-investments, primary and secondary opportunities, and Partners Group-led solutions.
- • Partners Group serves as strategic partner and portfolio manager, leveraging its track record as a global private markets innovator with experience launching one of the industry's first evergreen funds in 2001 and the first private markets ELTIF in 2017.
- • The offering is structured as a European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF) 2.0, providing simplified access to private markets with regular entry and exit flexibility under normal market conditions, subject to initial holding and notice periods—differentiating it from traditional closed-ended private markets vehicles.
- • The initiative represents a deepening of collaboration between Deutsche Bank and DWS Group to strengthen investment implementation capabilities for high-net-worth private clients by combining their respective core competencies with Partners Group's portfolio management expertise.
Summary
Deutsche Bank has announced the launch of its first evergreen private markets fund, developed in collaboration with DWS and Partners Group. The fund became available for subscription in the third quarter of 2025 and is designed exclusively for the bank's qualified private clients, with a particular focus on investors in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. A key feature of the offering is its low minimum investment threshold, broadening accessibility to private markets investments traditionally reserved for larger institutional or ultra-high-net-worth investors.
The fund structure provides comprehensive exposure to multiple private markets asset classes, including private equity, private credit, infrastructure investments, and real estate. The vehicle will accommodate various investment strategies including direct investments, co-investments, evergreen commitments, primary fund investments, and secondary market opportunities. Notably, the fund will invest in both Partners Group-managed solutions and opportunities sourced from other leading private markets managers, ensuring portfolio diversification and manager selection flexibility.
Partners Group has been appointed as the strategic partner and portfolio manager of the fund, a role that positions the global private markets firm as the primary architect of the investment strategy and day-to-day portfolio management. Partners Group brings substantial institutional credibility to the arrangement, having pioneered one of the private markets industry's first evergreen funds in 2001 and launching the first private markets fund structured under the ELTIF regulatory framework in 2017.
The fund is structured as a European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF) 2.0, a regulatory vehicle designed to simplify private markets access while offering operational flexibility compared to traditional closed-ended structures. Under ELTIF 2.0 rules, investors benefit from regular subscription and redemption opportunities under normal market conditions, subject to compliance with an initial holding period and notice period requirements. This hybrid approach aims to balance the stability of long-term private markets investing with the liquidity preferences of individual high-net-worth clients.
The partnership represents a strategic deepening of Deutsche Bank and DWS Group's existing collaboration, consolidating their combined capabilities in investment implementation and private client advisory with Partners Group's portfolio management expertise and institutional private markets relationships.
The fund structure provides comprehensive exposure to multiple private markets asset classes, including private equity, private credit, infrastructure investments, and real estate. The vehicle will accommodate various investment strategies including direct investments, co-investments, evergreen commitments, primary fund investments, and secondary market opportunities. Notably, the fund will invest in both Partners Group-managed solutions and opportunities sourced from other leading private markets managers, ensuring portfolio diversification and manager selection flexibility.
Partners Group has been appointed as the strategic partner and portfolio manager of the fund, a role that positions the global private markets firm as the primary architect of the investment strategy and day-to-day portfolio management. Partners Group brings substantial institutional credibility to the arrangement, having pioneered one of the private markets industry's first evergreen funds in 2001 and launching the first private markets fund structured under the ELTIF regulatory framework in 2017.
The fund is structured as a European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF) 2.0, a regulatory vehicle designed to simplify private markets access while offering operational flexibility compared to traditional closed-ended structures. Under ELTIF 2.0 rules, investors benefit from regular subscription and redemption opportunities under normal market conditions, subject to compliance with an initial holding period and notice period requirements. This hybrid approach aims to balance the stability of long-term private markets investing with the liquidity preferences of individual high-net-worth clients.
The partnership represents a strategic deepening of Deutsche Bank and DWS Group's existing collaboration, consolidating their combined capabilities in investment implementation and private client advisory with Partners Group's portfolio management expertise and institutional private markets relationships.
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