What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after Switzerland's Partners Group disclosed it had capped quarterly redemptions on its $8.6 billion Global Value SICAV private equity fund, as withdrawal requests surged.
Partners Group shares fell approximately 17% in Zurich, their biggest intraday drop on record. The contagion spread immediately: Blackstone fell more than 5%, KKR dropped more than 5%, Ares Management lost approximately 4%, and Blue Owl Capital declined nearly 5%.
A separate $31.3 billion Cliffwater private credit fund reported that 17% of investors requested withdrawals in the quarter, also capped at 5%. Partners Group's CEO attributed the pressure to "macroeconomic shifts and geopolitical uncertainty" rather than underlying fund performance. But with Apollo and BlackRock also reported to have capped redemptions recently, the liquidity question across the private markets complex was no longer isolated.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Asset Management company Blackstone (NYSE: BX) fell 5.1%. Is now the time to buy Blackstone? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Asset Management company Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) fell 5.1%. Is now the time to buy Carlyle? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Blackstone (BX)
Blackstone’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 8 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 20 days ago when the stock gained 2.6% on the news that optimism improved supported by the U.S.-China trade summit and solid U.S. economic data.
President Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping fueled investor confidence, reducing fears of geopolitical and economic uncertainty. A de-escalation in trade tensions is typically seen as a positive for cyclical sectors like financials, as it can lead to increased global economic activity and market stability.
This optimism was further supported by a 0.5% climb in April retail sales, signaling a resilient consumer. While U.S. import prices saw their largest surge in four years, the market appeared to interpret this as a sign of strong demand rather than a significant inflationary threat.
Blackstone is down 31.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $108.98 per share, it is trading 42.2% below its 52-week high of $188.68 from September 2025. Despite the year-to-date decline, investors who bought $1,000 worth of Blackstone’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,180.
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