Mastering Change for Lasting Value: Ardian at the Swiss Finance Institute’s Annual Meeting 2025

Switzerland is an important market for Ardian. Being locally present in Zurich since 2008, Ardian today manages $15 billion of AUM for more than 70 Swiss investors, making it one of Ardian’s top five client markets worldwide. The Swiss team was actively represented at the SFI Annual Meeting, with Martin Kessi, Head of Ardian Switzerland & Co-Head of Ardian Customized Solutions -  Christophe Kuenzler, Head of Investor Relations Switzerland & Managing Director -  Benjamin Boller, Private Wealth Solutions & Investor Relations Director -  and Brian Willi, Investor Relations Associate — actively contributing to the discussions.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the global economy has faced inflation, supply chain shocks, rising interest rates, geopolitical tensions, and accelerating deglobalization. These are not temporary headwinds, but a structural reset. In this environment, Ardian’s approach – careful, value-driven, agile – is designed to anticipate change rather than react to it, focusing on resilient strategies and engaging a broader, more diverse investor base. 

Momentum for Europe

Europe is regaining strategic relevance in global capital allocation. Ardian has seen record investor interest in European assets, with its latest European infrastructure platform closing at $20 billion – 60% of capital coming from outside Europe, the highest proportion in 20 years.

The European middle-market is particularly attractive in today’s context. Ardian’s latest mid-cap private equity fund was heavily oversubscribed, underscoring the appeal of Europe’s scale, integration, and resilience. With deep roots in the region, Ardian is a trusted partner for global investors seeking opportunities in mission-critical SMEs and large-scale infrastructure. 

The evolution of secondaries 

Secondaries have developed from a small segment into a core driver of private market activity, offering flexibility and liquidity regardless of the macro cycle. Ardian’s $30 billion Secondaries platform – is the world’s largest private equity fund ever raised. This enormous demand is mainly driven by the unprecedented deal flow the industry is observing, and the lack of capitalization for this market.

The market is expected to reach $300–$400 billion annually in the next five to six years, driven by LP liquidity needs, portfolio rebalancing, and the growing adoption of secondaries as a core portfolio management tool. Ardian’s scale, proprietary database, and ability to execute multi-billion-dollar transactions position it at the forefront of this expansion. 

Infrastructure at the heart of progress 

Infrastructure has evolved beyond toll roads and power plants to become central to our society and economy, playing a pivotal role in the world’s energy transition, digital transformation, and ambitions to sustainable transport. 

Particularly in Europe, immense amounts of capital are required for the shift to renewables, to data centers, and to resilient transport networks. With governments constrained by public debt, private investors will be pivotal in achieving this transition, bringing patient capital and technical expertise alongside public initiatives.

Ardian’s most recent European infrastructure fund is one example – with a $20 billion platform, we are building a portfolio of resilient, large-scale European infrastructure assets and create lasting value within them. For example, we are now the largest shareholder in London Heathrow Airport, and will play a crucial role in expanding the airport’s capacity with a 3rd runway. We also invest enormous amounts in the digital and energy infrastructure all over Europe, such as Verne, a renewable-powered data center platform.

Most recently, Ardian invested in Energia, a leading Irish utility, with an innovative value creation plan combining renewable capacity with data center development.  

“It is an innovative approach to value creation that brings together both our expertise in digital infrastructure and the energy transition to create opportunities for the future.“ says Jan Philipp Schmitz, Executive Vice-President, Head of Investor Relations, Deputy Co-Head of Secondaries & Primaries.

Private wealth flueling market innovation

Private markets are opening to high-net-worth investors, reshaping the investor base. Ardian is accessing this channel through partnerships with leading private banks and wealth managers, including in Switzerland.

Product innovation is key in the private wealth space, but equally important is what these products actually invest in. We are convinced that Ardian’s large, multi-strategy platform is well-positioned for evergreen strategies, as we can leverage on our broad, diversified pool of deal flow, access to quality deals and regular liquidity coming from the portfolio. This shows in the strong demand for our evergreen programs we recently started rolling out for secondaries and infrastructure investments.

Looking ahead 

Periods of disruption test conviction but also create opportunities for renewal. Ardian’s focus on anticipating structural shifts, building resilient and flexible strategies, and engaging a broader investor base ensures it remains well-positioned to shape the next chapter of private markets.

As the pace quickens, progress belongs to those who can both envision and build. Jan Philipp Schmitz reminded us of Alfred Escher’s timeless counsel: “You first need to think the better idea – and then work for it.”