KKR takes the crown in Europe's evergreen private markets

What changed

There's a new leader on Europe's evergreen leaderboard. KKR says it moved ahead of Partners Group in the first quarter based on assets in European-domiciled evergreen vehicles, tallying €13.6 billion to Partners Group's €13.4 billion. Markus Egloff, a KKR managing director who heads global wealth solutions international, shared the update in Zurich, pointing to figures from Novantigo. In his words, "We recently became the largest manager of evergreen private markets funds in Europe. Previously the number one was a Swiss company."

How we got here

In May 2023, KKR rolled out its initial evergreen vehicle domiciled in Europe aimed at the wealth channel, aligning with a broader push by alternatives managers to set up in Zurich and work with private banks. With big institutions nearing their private market allocation limits, private equity firms have been courting wealthy retail investors to keep inflows coming. "We have been doing this business for three years, so it goes to show that at least in the private wealth space we have clearly been winning significant market shares," Egloff said.

The strain points

The pivot to retail money has been bumpy. This year, worries over debt quality and the potential impact of AI on software businesses held in private equity portfolios prompted investors to request withdrawals from private credit funds, including certain vehicles managed by KKR. The pressure put Partners Group in the spotlight after it limited withdrawals at its $14.5 billion flagship evergreen fund after a wave of requests. That incident underscored a broader crunch hitting evergreen private market funds, with notable asset-liability mismatches and liquidity pressures drawing intense regulatory scrutiny and prompting managers to make sweeping changes to their methods for processing retail investor exits.

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Why it matters for your money

Markets do not move in straight lines, and that can create openings for firms that adapt quickly. As Egloff put it, "There are lot of our competitors, private asset managers, and traditional asset managers also trying to get into that space. So the number of evergreen funds and access points have hugely increased." Translation for your portfolio: structure matters. If you own or are considering evergreen private funds, watch how redemption caps work, how liquidity is sourced, and how managers respond to tighter oversight.

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