David Basten is putting together his billion dollar team.

So, who's David Basten? You might ask.

Well, he is managing director of Yorktown Management and Research, sponsor of the six product API Funds lineup.

His family is kin to that of Chip Mason, founder of Legg Mason, and fill many of the major roles at Yorktown.

David's role is primarily chief honcho of sales and distribution, and his obsession right now is to finally grow the AUM of the six API funds beyond $1 billion.

And he's putting together this billion dollar dream team right now.

For example, Basten has just hired Hernaldo Rivera to serve as a regional sales director for the funds in Texas and Louisiana. Previously, Rivera had worked five years as a regional vice president for roughly the same territory for Dreyfus.

While at Dreyfus, Rivera won the President's Club Award twice and was also named Southern Wholesaler of the Year in 2013.

"He has been in the top five of sales at every firm he's ever worked," Basten said of Rivera in an interview with MFWire. "He is going to beef up our distribution, bringing a level of professionalism and knowledge and ideas on how to better execute our distribution strategy."

With Rivera, Basten's sales team now consists of six externals and three internals. By October, he expects to hire two more externals. He says he is close to hiring for the first opening. Basten will conduct interviews for internal hires in December when all of the firm's externals meet at the firm's headquarters in Lynchburg, Virginia. He wants all of the externals to take part in these interviews.

Basten then plans to hire a national accounts executive early next year.

Yorktown has been working with UBS for the past six months to sell API Funds.

"I've been very impressed with the firm. They have done a great job in execution," Basten said. "I couldn't help but notice that the firm's production numbers are going up."

Basten said that Yorktown is working to build up relationships with the independents like LPL band Commonwealth as well as shore up its existing relationships with regionals like Raymond James by which API Funds were first able to generate momentum. 

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