An argument certainly can be made that private wealth is a numbers game. But the numbers that matter are not always simply assets under management garnered or returns generated by client portfolios. Consider another yardstick, such as access to a very large pool of ready candidates, especially if they are already inclined to do business with your organization.

Such is the enviable situation that surrounds Mark Jordahl, head of private wealth at U.S. Bank. He points out about one in 17 U.S. residents do business with U.S. Bank, and pre-existing relationships with the $461 billion financial institution represent a big growth opportunity for the private-wealth division, as it seeks to become more central to the lives of U.S. Bank customers.

The group’s second-quarter financial results indicate Jordahl and his team have been successful in capitalizing on the situation. U.S. Bank’s Wealth Management and Investment Services businesses generated $720 million in second-quarter revenue from wealth management and investment services, up 7.1 percent year over year. Revenue was also up from the previous quarter, rising 1 percent. Profits from the businesses were even more impressive, climbing 15.2 percent to $205 million from $178 million in the same quarter a year ago.

For the first six months, wealth management and investment services earned $425 million on $1.4 billion in revenue. Profits for the first half of the year were up an impressive 27.6 percent, while revenue was up 9.1 percent.

Jordahl says one of the keys to winning that expanded level of business is, in a word: simplicity. Clients value simplicity, in Jordahl’s experience. It can be delivered in many forms, though one advantage he points to is the scale of U.S. Bank and the diversity of offerings under its banner make it possible for clients to have an integrated experience that simplifies their access and overall experience.

A HISTORY WITH HARD ASSETS

Jordahl’s affinity for and comfort level with alternatives and real assets date back to his experience as CIO at Reliastar Financial Corp. and FAF Advisors. At the former, he dealt with privately placed debt, commercial real estate and mortgages, and was an early participant in leveraged buyouts, made famous — and then infamous — by Michael Milken at Drexel Burnham Lambert. At FAF he worked with real estate, equity and fixed-income portfolios “across all style boxes.”

“It allowed me to have exposure to all the major asset classes,” he says. “I have been lucky that I have had jobs that focused me on a really broad range of asset classes and understanding of the capital markets and the way different asset classes relate to one another, and what drives success in those asset classes. It was enormously helpful.”

A TRIO OF CONSIDERATIONS

At U.S. Bank, the wealth team builds several dozen strategies and uses an open-architecture approach to customize and make them suitable for individual client objectives or circumstances. The process is triangulated using a three-stage process that revolves around asset allocation, product selection and portfolio construction. Another overlay is thematic considerations that seek to position the investor in the jet stream of a long-term tailwind capable of growing its value over the course of decades, such as rising middle classes around the world, particularly in Asia.

“There are ways to invest in that trend,” Jordahl says. He refers to the “reurbanization in America,” as people gravitate back to city centers. “It is things like that we find interesting.”

Jordahl is also an advocate of reinsurance because it is an asset that dampens volatility, performs reasonably and predictably, and is uncorrelated to other components of the portfolio.

Another example on the equity side is midstream energy, which has benefited from the U.S. energy renaissance, with demand for fossil fuels to be stored and shipped rising enormously.

“Companies involved in that space are very attractive,” says Jordahl. “Finally, in private equity, we are finding some niche opportunities there that we like quite a bit.”

THE PURPOSE OF WEALTH

Being that Jordahl’s operation is part of a commercial bank, the client base is “incredibly diverse.” On the very high end of net worth is the division’s Ascent Private Capital Management, which was established specifically for families.

“There you have multigenerational wealth that is much more interested in the fuller impact of wealth, going well beyond the family and thinking about supporting, in some cases, global missions that are important to them,” he explains.

That process leads wealthy families to contemplate the “purpose of their wealth,” Jordahl says, beyond sending their kids to college, feathering their nests for a comfortable retirement, and passing assets along to the next generation.

“The purpose of the wealth goes far beyond the family, and now they are venturing into philanthropic kinds of objectives,” he says. “Now we are facilitating conversations with people that have, in my view, the healthiest relationship to money. They want to make sure that they are good stewards of the wealth and [ask] questions such as: Does it enrich my family circumstances? Does it enrich my life directly? Does it enrich my community? Can I advance the causes that I care about? Those kinds of conversations are gratifying.”

AN INTRODUCTION BUSINESS

Jordahl and his team have been more oriented toward the traditional private-bank space, but one of its big initiatives is to become more focused on and attractive to the “affluent space.”

“It is a big priority for us to scale up into that space, be much more present for those kinds of clients,” he says. “Visibility is something that we are working hard at. If you go back five or 10 years, there were many people who would say, ‘I didn’t know U.S. Bank was in the wealth management business.’”

Wealth management tends to be an “introduction business,” he explains, because sending mailers and flyers does not typically move the needle. Rather, his team cultivates relationships with accountants, lawyers and other professional service providers whose clients might need financial management services. There are also introductions that come through current clients.

THE SLAPSHOT AND THE BACKHAND

Jordahl was a two-sport athlete throughout his college years, competing in both hockey and tennis. He observes it was an interesting combination of team and individual sports. Winning was something that dominated his mind.

“You are built a certain way and, in my case, I was competitive, I was achievement oriented,” he says. “I worked hard and everyday wanted to do more and wanted to do better and make a bigger impact. When you do that day in and day out, your career progresses based on opportunity, track record, and luck and circumstances.”

A career turning point came for Jordahl after college graduation, during a commercial-bank training program that he thought would be a temporary interlude on his way to law school and a career as an attorney. In those days, he says, a commercial banker did everything — the credit analysis, the loan, relationship management, etc. He recalls working with a family business that was struggling and teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Only 21 years old at the time, Jordahl agonized over protecting the bank’s business interests while simultaneously empathizing with the client and working to ensure the family business remained solvent.

“It showed me the enormous responsibility in these roles,” he says. “Then I got into investment management, and I was thrilled by the complexity and diversity of the markets. That is what started me down this path.”

It was an accidental way to get into financial services, and a stark contrast to most of the “extraordinarily plan-full kids” he sees coming into the industry today, with a step-by-step career path in mind.

When bringing new talent aboard at U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management, Jordahl starts from his own competitive stance.

“We happen to want people that want to win, people who are wired that way,” he says. “So it starts there. Next, I want to know if they’re the kind of person who has demonstrated in their lives that they want to do the right thing.”

Doing the right thing, under Jordahl’s management, is to be client focused, something he believes the industry, as a whole, can continue to improve upon.

Then job applicants must traverse one additional hurdle: They must be able to thrive in a team-based environment. “If they can’t do that,” he says, “they can’t work here.”

THE TECH DIVIDEND

One way Jordahl sees opportunity for the wealth industry overall to improve its client focus is by utilizing advancements in technology.

“Looking at it negatively, you would say, ‘Boy, technology has been disruptive.’ Looking at it positively, you would say, ‘Think about how technology has enhanced our ability as consumers to enjoy life and to get information.’ It’s a great time to be a client of wealth management because we continue to make improvements in our clients’ experience, the capabilities we deliver for their benefit, and the myriad of ways they can access us.” he says. “We are seeing clients that want to do more on their own.”

Take planning as an example, he says. Clients used to sit with a planner, and a hardbound book was produced for the client, and that book sat on a shelf. Using today’s technology, clients have the access and capability to engage with their plans in real time, if they care to do so.

“What hasn’t changed,” says Jordahl, “is that, ultimately, all these relationships are built on trust. And we seek to earn that trust each day, with each client.”

Mike Consol (m.consol@irei.com) is editor of Real Assets Adviser. Follow him on Twitter @mikeconsol to read his latest postings.