A $2.3-billion RIA in San Diego continues to grow as it hires talent from national powers -- this time a known Schwab quantity

Brooke’s Note: There is the old saying about business analysis: Follow the money. Certainly we do that everyday as we trace the path taken by client assets or by the investment of capital in the advisor business. See: The 19 ways private equity has juiced up the RIA business and how it’s working out. But no less important may be following the people — or the investment in human capital by RIAs. While staffing and compensation stories have their place, we find sometimes following a single case of a new hire can make a broad statement about what’s going on — and what works.

Dowling & Yahnke, LLC has a high class problem — and it continues to think big in the way it makes hires to solve that problem.

The $2.3-billion San Diego-based RIA with 900 clients finds that it continues to have slightly more assets and clients than it needs to not only provide top-notch service but also bring on new clients and assets.

It’s strategy is to have financial advisors that divide the labor between in-house and client-facing duties and it recognizes that a key skill for a person talking directly with clients is to be somebody who can think on their feet.

With that in mind, Dowling & Yahnke, LLC hired Angie Popek, a high-achieving businesswoman, formerly senior relationship manager with Schwab Institutional — with hardly a day’s experience as a financial advisor and no book of business — as its eight front-line financial advisors.

“We’ve had good success taking people who have been client relationship people and problem solvers who excelled at client service — [they] do well in this position,” says Mark Munoz, co-founder and chief operating officer of Dowling & Yahnke. “We need to add capacity to get ahead of the curve.”

No poaching, per se

Popek, who worked at Schwab for 10 years, handled RIA client relationships for Schwab in Northern California from the firm’s San Francisco office from 2007-2012 and before that spent a year as chief of staff for Debby McWhinney who had served as head of Schwab’s RIA business in the early 2000s. See: Citi advisors seek potential suitors after McWhinney’s tectonic pay shift. Popek also worked closely Charles Goldman who succeeded McWhinney.

Popek has made the move from San Francisco to San Diego.

Popek had long desired a move into the RIA sphere and work directly with investors. Before interviewing with Dowling & Yahnke, Popek completed an accelerated CFP course at University of California at Irvin and participated in a Spanish-language immersion in Mexico. This all happened during a sabbatical from Schwab.

“[Schwab] made the introduction,” Munoz says. “[Schwab] wasn’t annoyed at all. It wasn’t like we poached anybody.”

Schwab’s Greg Gable declined comment.

“I saw the value of the RIA model and all the RIAs were very passionate about what they did,” Popek says. “I knew this was what I wanted to do.”

Other executives at Schwab Advisor Services have gone on to serve clients from an RIA, including Gerald Graves (See: How Gerald Graves grounded a high-flying career trajectory to get back to basics — with a 6-foot-11 former NBA player at his side), Jeff Roush and Dennis Clark. See: Former wealth manager for Montgomery Securities and Presidio Financial is remaking his [big] practice in wine country as an RIA.

Meeting talent

Though the RIA isn’t poaching anybody per se, it is continuing to hunt trophy heads as it adds hundreds of millions in managed assets and looks for ways to properly serve its wealthy clients. Last August it hired Mike Brown, who had just achieved the plum position of Deloitte Touche partner. See: Why making partner at Deloitte Touche helped convince a CPA to join a $2 billion DFA RIA 2,300 miles away.

And Dowling & Yahnke also continues a trend of RIAs using Schwab and Fidelity as place to find, meet and help themselves to talent. See: “By hiring a Fidelity sales veteran, National Advisors Trust Company goes after the $1 million to $10 million client who use $500 million RIAs “:https://www.riabiz.com/a/14193001/by-hiring-a-fidelity-sales-veteran-national-advisors-trust-goes-after-the-1-million-to-10-million-client-who-use-500-million-rias.

Mariner Holdings made a similar move. See: Big Midwestern RIA hires away a Fidelity exec to realize its $50 billion plan. Banyan Partners is also on that list in hiring Scott Dell’Orfano from Fidelity.

And so did Banyan Partners. Scott Dell’Orfano lands at a $1.4 billion RIA with plans to deal its way to $10 billion. Dynasty Financial made a big hire from Schwab.

And Dynasty Financial Partners, too. Dyn Schwab strengthens its hand against Fidelity via hot NY startup.

Before working for Charles Schwab & Co., Popek spent two years working for The Boston Consulting Group in Chicago. She earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.