What is Partners Group Global Value Fund (AUD)?

A managed investment scheme which aims to provide investors with: 

• An alternative to global equities, while attempting to minimize exposure to the volatility of the stock market

• Exposure to a diverse portfolio of private companies and other assets that are not normally available to private investors

• Monthly liquidity, subject to certain restrictions

Who will the Fund appeal to?

• Investors seeking long-term equity growth returns

• Investors who are uncomfortable with the volatility of a portfolio comprised entirely of listed equities

• Investors who are prepared to have an element of illiquid assets in their portfolio

Where does it fit?

The Fund can be incorporated into an existing portfolio as:

• Part of the allocation to alternative investments

• An alternative to global equity managers

About the Fund

Partners Group Global Value Fund (AUD) is an Australian unit trust with the objective of achieving capital growth over the medium- and long-term by investing in private equity. It provides investors with a broad diversification across geographies, financing stages and investment types, while using Partners Group's relative value investment approach to systematically overweight those segments and investment types that offer attractive value at a given point in time, in order to significantly enhance risk adjusted returns (see Private Equity Market Overview').

Private Equity Market Overview

Private equity is a common term for investments that are typically made in non-public companies through privately negotiated transactions. Private equity investments may be structured using a range of financial instruments, including common and preferred equity, convertible securities, subordinated debt and warrants or other derivatives, depending on the strategy of the investor and the financing requirements of the company.

Private equity funds, often organised as limited partnerships, are the most common vehicles for making private equity investments. In such funds, investors usually commit to provide up to a certain amount of capital as and when requested by the fund's manager or general partner. The general partner then makes private equity investments on behalf of the fund, typically according to a pre-defined investment strategy. The fund's investments are usually realised, or "exited after a four to seven year holding period through a private sale, an initial public offering ("IPO) or a recapitalisation, and the proceeds are distributed to the fund's investors. The funds themselves typically have a duration of ten to twelve years.

The private equity market is diverse and can be divided into several different segments, each of which may exhibit distinct characteristics based on combinations of various factors. These include the type and financing stage of the investment, the geographic region in which the investment is made and the vintage year.

Investments in private equity have increased significantly over the last 20 years, driven principally by large institutional investors seeking increased returns and portfolio efficiency.

How we invest your money

Investments held

The Fund is a feeder fund that invests in Partners Group Global Value SICAV ("Underlying Fund), a company organised as a société anonyme under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg which qualifies as a société d'investissement à capital variable ("SICAV). The Fund will invest in an AUD denominated share class of the Underlying Fund around SICAV.

How the Investment Strategy seeks to Produce Returns: relative value investing via an integrated approach.

Investment strategy

The Fund aims to provide investors through its exposure to the Underlying Fund with broad diversification, using the ability to invest throughout the full range of private equity opportunities: primary, secondary, direct and listed private equity investments, across financing stages and geographic regions. By systematically overweighting those segments and instruments that offer superior value at a given point in time, risk-adjusted returns can be significantly enhanced. This is referred to as the relative value investment strategy.

Partners Group AG ("Underlying Investment Adviser) intends to pursue 3 closely associated investment strategies when making investments in private equity, namely a top- down strategy, a bottom-up strategy (due diligence) and a commitment strategy.

The top-down strategy is the selection process used to allocate investment according to financing stage (venture capital, buyout, special situations) and geography.

The bottom-up strategy is a selection process with the goal to identify those private equity funds, listed private equity investments, and direct investments within the target sector that are expected to provide superior returns relative to their peers.

The commitment strategy is used for the purpose of managing liquidity and maintaining a high level of investment. The commitment strategy is designed to address the fact that commitments to funds are generally not immediately invested. Instead, committed amounts are drawn down and invested over time, as underlying investments are identified by the relevant fund manager - a process that may take a period of several years. During this period, investments made early in a fund's life are often realised (generating distributions) even before the committed capital has been fully drawn. As a result, without an appropriate commitment strategy a significant investment position can be difficult to achieve.

Accordingly, the commitment strategy aims to keep the Underlying Fund substantially invested where possible by making commitments based on anticipated future distributions from investments. The commitment strategy also takes other anticipated cash flows into account, such as those relating to new subscriptions, the tender of shares by investors and any distributions made to investors. To forecast portfolio cash flows, the Underlying Investment Adviser utilises a proprietary quantitative model that incorporates historical private equity data, actual portfolio observations and qualitative forecasts by Partners Group's investment professionals.