Why Banks Are Increasing Private Market Exposure—A Manager Research View from PNC Bank

Retail and wealth management platforms inside large banks are increasing exposure to private markets—but not through hype, shortcuts, or “democratization” headlines.

They’re doing it through institutional-grade manager research, governance, and due diligence.

In this episode of Dakota Live, host Robert Morier sits down with Scott Lavelle, Managing Director and Head of Investment Advisor Research & Product Management at PNC Bank, to unpack how one of the largest U.S. bank platforms evaluates, selects, and monitors investment managers across public and private markets.

Scott oversees the teams responsible for sourcing, vetting, and monitoring external managers—while also determining how private market strategies are structured, governed, and delivered to retail and wealth clients at scale.

What this episode covers

• Why retail bank platforms are expanding private market allocations—and why most clients are still under-allocated relative to policy targets
• How banks are introducing evergreen private market structures cautiously, selectively, and with fiduciary discipline
• The manager research process behind private equity, private credit, venture, and hedge fund strategies inside a regulated bank environment
• Why due diligence—not product demand—drives platform decisions
• The role of operational due diligence in private markets (and why it’s risk you never get paid to take)
• How banks think about fees, access, and manager skill when evaluating private strategies
• Where fund-of-funds still make sense (and where they no longer do)
• How institutional governance changes the pace—but improves the durability—of private market adoption

Rather than relying on industry buzzwords, Scott explains—step by step—how PNC has selectively added private market strategies, expanded alternatives exposure, and evolved its platform only where investment merit, manager capability, and client outcomes align.

This is a rare look inside how retail banks actually make private market decisions—from the perspective of the people accountable for getting them right.