Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy
Peter Lacaillade - Backing The Best Managers In Private Markets - [Invest Like the Best, EP.437]
12 Aug 2025
My guest today is Peter Lacaillade. Peter is the Chief Investment Officer for Private Investments at SCS Financial and has built a notable private equity allocation platform within the wealth management industry. He shares his insights on how SCS's pooled vehicle structure has enabled them to compete with institutional giants, avoiding the adverse selection that plagues most wealth platforms. Peter shares his investment philosophy across lower middle market buyouts, emerging independent sponsors, and investing with what he believes to be category-defining managers. We discuss what separates high-quality private equity managers, the evolution of the industry toward AI-powered strategies, and private markets going mainstream. Please enjoy this conversation with Peter Lacaillade. For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here. ----- This episode is brought to you by Ramp. Ramp’s mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to Ramp.com/invest to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. – This episode is brought to you by Ridgeline. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Head to ridgelineapps.com to learn more about the platform. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com). -- The views expressed reflect personal views of participants at the time of recording and not necessarily any third party and are subject to change. The information provided is for informational and illustrative purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer to buy or sell any securities. Assets under management is an estimate that reflects total assets managed and advised on. This recording contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the participants’ current views. These statements are subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors which may cause future events to be materially different from these statements. Statements that reference past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will necessarily continue in the future. The investment strategies and any performance discussed are strictly intended to be for illustrative purposes only and are not meant to be representative of any entire investment program. Investments risk loss of capital and there is no guarantee that an investment will achieve its investment objective. Private investments in particular involve significant risks and are intended for experienced and sophisticated investors. -- Show Notes: (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like the Best (00:04:31) Advantages of Private Equity Over Public Markets (00:08:59) Talent Acquisition and Growth at SCS (00:10:28) SCS's Wealth Management Strategy (00:12:42) Trends in Private Equity (00:20:14) Challenges and Risks in Private Equity (00:26:06) The State of the Wealth Management Industry (00:35:07) Lower Middle Market Buyouts and Independent Sponsors (00:49:38) Introduction to Long Lake and Its Innovative Approach (00:54:26) The Rise of Holding Companies (00:57:03) Emerging Trends in Venture Capital 01:05:44) The Role of Endowments and Liquidity Solutions (01:10:40) Jake and Frank's Partnership (01:13:57) The Kindest Thing Anyone Has Ever Done For Peter
Full Episode
The best operators have a relentless focus on leverage, finding ways to multiply their impact rather than just working harder. But here's what I see happening in finance teams everywhere. Brilliant people getting buried in expense management busywork. If you think about it, you become a finance leader because you love strategic work.
modeling scenarios, optimizing capital allocation, finding the insights that actually move the business forward. But instead, you're chasing receipts and categorizing transactions. It's the opposite of leverage. This is exactly why I'm so bullish on what the team at Ramp has built.
Kareem and Eric understood that every minute spent on manual expense management is a minute stolen from high leverage work. So they automated all of it. Automatic categorization, receipt matching, spending controls that actually work. Check out ramp.com slash invest and see what happens when you eliminate the busy work. Cards issued by Sutton Bank, member FDIC. Terms and conditions apply.
To me, Ridgeline isn't just a software provider, it's a true partner in innovation. They're redefining what's possible in asset management technology, helping firms scale faster, operate smarter, and stay ahead of the curve. I want to share a real-world example of how they're making a difference. Let me introduce you to Brian.
Brian, please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your role. My name is Brian Strang. I'm the Technical Operations Lead, and I work at Congress Asset Management.
How would you describe your experience working with Ridgeline?
Ridgeline is a technology partner, not a software vendor, and the people really care. I get sales calls all the time and I ignore them. Ridgeline sold me very quickly. We went from 7 billion to 23 billion and the goal is 50 billion. Ridgeline was the clear front runner to help us scale. In your view, what most distinguishes Ridgeline? They reimagined how this industry should work.
It was obvious that they were operating on another level.
It's worth reaching out to Ridgeline to see what the unlock can be for your firm. Visit RidgelineApps.com to schedule a demo. Hello and welcome, everyone. I'm Patrick O'Shaughnessy, and this is Invest Like the Best. This show is an open-ended exploration of markets, ideas, stories, and strategies that will help you better invest both your time and your money.
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