Partners Group's chief executive David Layton has dismissed concerns about artificial intelligence's impact on portfolios and private credit as "wildly overdone" during the firm's annual results presentation in London. Layton argued that even worst-case scenarios for AI disruption would only cause minimal return erosion across the firm's diversified holdings.

Despite industry-wide worries about AI's effect on tech portfolios and rising redemptions from open-end private credit funds, Layton emphasized that Partners Group maintains minimal exposure to software at less than 2 percent of assets under management. The firm has deliberately reduced direct tech holdings while increasing investments in infrastructure related to power generation that benefits from AI-driven demand.

The executive also addressed concerns about private credit redemptions, noting that Partners Group's evergreen business model differs significantly from industry peers. With only 10 percent of evergreen assets in private credit and the majority being equity-focused, the firm reported five times more inflows than outflows in its private credit evergreen segment. Partners Group ended December with $53 billion in evergreen assets and $185 billion total under management.