By ALLISSA KLINE
akline@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1612

A longtime executive of HSBC Bank USA N.A. who at one time oversaw  bank operations between Buffalo and Albany has a new gig in town.

Brian Keating, who retired from the bank in 2007, returned to the workforce this summer as one of two managing directors at Dopkins Wealth Management LLC in Amherst. He will work on boosting the amount of assets under management from $500 million to $1 billion, using the group's long-term investment strategy.

"(Dopkins) has an excellent product, but not many people know about it," he said. "What I'd like to do is grow the book here. I have to ask, 'Would I offer this product to my grandmother?' and (the answer) has to be yes."

Keating, 64, is a Buffalo native who built a 37-year career in banking, first at Marine Midland Bank and then at HSBC after its parent company, HSBC Holdings PLC, acquired Marine Midland in the 1980s. He retired from the bank in 2007, following nearly two decades as regional president, and spent his free time traveling and serving on various boards in the community.

The one thing he wasn't doing: looking for a full-time job. But the opportunity to work for the financial advisory group, an offshoot of Dopkins & Co. LLC accounting firm, arose in the spring and he didn't turn it down. The group uses a long-range, "academic" investment strategy rather than the stock-picking approach.

"I've always been interested in investments," he said. "This was offered to me and, quite frankly, it came out of the blue. I wasn't bored."

The wealth advisory group was formed in 1998 for Dopkins' tax and audit clients who sought financial-planning assistance. The group, which now has six advisers on staff, manages portfolios for high-net-worth individuals, corporations and foundations. It draws customers from Western New York into Rochester, plus Florida residents.

Part of Keating's appeal for Dopkins' managing partner, Thomas Emmerling, are the deep relationships he forged professionally and personally in the community, Emmerling said. Historically, the 13-year-old group has assisted Dopkins' tax and audit clients with financial planning, but it now wants to broaden its client base and expand its reach in Western New York.

Emmerling, a longtime associate of Keating who has prepared the banker's personal tax returns, first talked to him about the job in April. Keating mulled it over and decided to join, as long as he could maintain his involvement with groups such as WNED-TV and HSBC's local advisory board.

"I know Brian has deep roots in the Western New York community. He's well-respected in the community and his opinion would be taken very seriously by leaders and businesses in the area," Emmerling said. "I asked Brian to take a close examination of the strategies we use and ... he was very impressed with the way we do things. We're not market-timers, and we don't make predictions about what will happen tomorrow."

Keating is working full-time for the group. He said his experience in trust investments at HSBC means the new job "isn't a new business" for him, but the process is different. He's trying to find clients who don't already have relationships with Dopkins' accounting business - a sometimes difficult task because most people with money to invest already have help managing those funds.

"Getting the business is not easy," he said. "It's a simple concept, but it's not easy."