Even the rich worry about going broke, Christopher Rommel has learned.
The chief wealth management adviser for Wells Fargo in Orange County recalled one client who has $100 million net worth and $40 million in liquidity.
“The client’s No. 1 concern is running out of money,” Rommel said.
It’s the job of him and his team of 140 to make sure their clients don’t fall into the poorhouse. They’re preparing for the next decade, when they predict an astounding amount of wealth will be transferred from one generation to the next.
“As families create more wealth, there can be challenges,” he said. “We’re looking at how to advise multigenerational families on topics like transitioning wealth, family mission statements and philanthropic ventures.”
The Business Journal’s list of financial advisers ranks Wells Fargo as the largest, with 460 advisers in Orange County, many of whom are in other departments and not part of Rommel’s unit (see story on list, page 23).
His group encompasses three distinct lines of business: brokerage; trusts and private banking for high-net-worth individuals. Its services include investment management, trust and estate consultations and financial planning.
Teller Beginnings
Rommel grew up in the Antelope Valley in Los Angeles County when his father was in the Air Force. As a student at Loyola Marymount, he worked as a teller at Crocker Bank, a predecessor of Wells Fargo. He liked the industry so much, he switched majors from engineering to business.
“I never expected to be in banking for 31 years,” Rommel recalled in his 20th floor office overlooking the San Diego (I-405) Freeway in Irvine. “You get to meet so many people and are exposed to so many things.”
After college, he spent 19 years on the retail side of the bank, working his way from teller to business banker to branch manager to district manager to regional president.
He switched to wealth management in 2005, becoming a senior director of the brokerage unit in the greater Los Angeles area, and later took on the same role covering the entire state. He took his current position almost five years ago.
Rommel serves on the boards of directors of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County Found- ation. He lives with his wife, Julie, in Villa Park, where they raised three children.
Speaking Candidly
The banking side of Wells Fargo in recent years experienced well-publicized problems of tellers opening accounts without customers’ permission.
Rommel said his department wasn’t involved in the activities and that his unit’s communications have helped clear misconceptions with candid conversations.
“We’re a relationship business. We build long-standing relationships with clients.”
Wealth Trends
Recent years have produced a dramatic change in the wealth of Orange County residents, he said. A generation ago, much of it was inherited or came from real estate.
“We’ve seen great diversity,” Rommel said. “There are a lot of corporate headquarters here and apparel companies. There’s a tech boom. There are the regional headquarters for international companies. The Chinese segment is rapidly growing.”
Wells Fargo is preparing for what it projects will be a transfer of $30 trillion in wealth by individuals in the U.S. in the next 10 years, he said.
The bank has estimated that about 40,000 U.S. companies with annual revenue of $20 million to $100 million will change hands during the decade through a transfer to the next generation or a sale of the business.
Some parents worry their children have too much wealth, Rommel said.
“We’re seeing many wealthier clients who don’t want to leave all their wealth to their children. They want to make sure they are standing on their own and not on their parents’ wealth.”
Other clients want “socially responsible investing” by avoiding certain industries, such as tobacco.
Some even want their family to have a mission statement. Wells Fargo is implementing a new approach that involves “family dynamic specialists” who work with a family to plan its future, and that sometimes includes arranging two-day retreats at places like Napa Valley. Rommel said Orange County should roll out the concept in the coming year.
He said each generational transfer requires financial expertise in taxes and wealth management. The bankers provide clients with analysis in a variety of areas, including expenditures, inflation rates and even life expectancy rates.
“We take a team-based approach,” he said. “We are not just one person. We have a team of four or five, which includes a banker, an investment strategist, a wealth adviser and others. For our clients, it’s a great resource.”
