Urs Wietlisbach on Building a USD 185B Private Markets Firm
Executive Summary
Partners Group grew from three founders in Switzerland into a global private-markets investment firm. Its story offers lessons in entrepreneurship, product innovation and building for the long term.
In this episode of the GloryHouse Podcast, GloryHouse Managing Director Cathy Ding speaks with Urs Wietlisbach, Co-Founder of Partners Group, about the firm’s development, private-market asset allocation and wealth management for entrepreneurs.
Urs recalls leaving Goldman Sachs with his co-founders to establish an independent investment platform. He discusses the ideas that supported the firm’s growth, including capital-protected private-equity products, evergreen structures, customised institutional accounts and a publicly listed company model.
The conversation also explores diversification across private equity, private debt, infrastructure, real estate and royalties. Urs highlights less-correlated areas such as insurance finance, litigation finance and royalties, while noting that each requires specialist underwriting and disciplined portfolio construction.
On artificial intelligence, Urs sees long-term effects on corporate competitiveness but also recognises the risk of excessive public-market valuations. For first-generation entrepreneurs and high-net-worth families, his central message is to combine growth ambitions with genuine diversification and a portfolio built to endure different market environments.
About Urs Wietlisbach
Urs Wietlisbach is a Co-Founder of Partners Group. Before establishing the firm, he worked at Goldman Sachs and has since helped build Partners Group into a global private-markets platform.
About Partners Group
Partners Group is a global private-markets investment manager with capabilities across private equity, private debt, infrastructure, real estate and other specialist strategies.
About the GloryHouse Podcast
GloryHouse Wealth Management produces the GloryHouse Podcast for high-net-worth families, business owners and globally connected families, exploring wealth management, private markets, entrepreneurship and long-term asset allocation.
Disclaimer
This video has been prepared by GloryHouse Wealth Management Pty Ltd (ACN 690 671 606), Corporate Authorised Representative (CAR) of GloryHouse Investments Pty Ltd (ACN 690 671 553, AFSL 700198). The content in this video is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal or tax advice. This material is intended solely for wholesale clients as defined under section 761G of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and is not intended for retail clients. Any views expressed are general in nature and do not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. All investments involve risk. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
