Investment professional Levi Pettit has announced the launch of Dornick Wealth Management, a boutique wealth management firm designed to provide highly personalized financial services to clients seeking comprehensive investment guidance and financial planning.
After completing his MBA at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, Pettit found clarity about his long-term career goals and decided to establish his own registered investment advisory firm rather than joining an existing company.
“Going into business school, I really wanted clarity around what I wanted to do, not just in the next three to five years, but for the next 30 years,” Pettit explains. “I’ve been in finance my whole career. I had done the CFA program prior to business school, so I was pretty committed to staying in finance.”
Family Office Experience Shapes Client-Centered Process
Pettit’s vision for Dornick Wealth Management draws heavily from his experience working at a family office, where he gained firsthand insight into how high-net-worth individuals deal with their finances and investments.
“Working at a family office, you really get to have a front row seat to high-net-worth individuals, how they go about their day-to-day, how they view their finances, their portfolios, their priorities in life,” Levi Pettit says. “That was an extremely invaluable experience for me.”
That engagement proved particularly valuable in understanding alternative investments such as private equity, venture capital, and commercial real estate — knowledge he plans to incorporate into Dornick’s service offerings.
“If my clients are interested in private deals, I want to make sure that they have that opportunity and I’m presenting them unique opportunities that they may not be able to find on their own,” he adds.
Limiting Client Numbers To Ensure Quality Service
A cornerstone of Dornick Wealth Management’s roadmap is a commitment to maintaining favorable adviser-to-client ratios. Pettit plans to limit each advisor to no more than 50 client households — ideally between 30 and 40 — to ensure that every client receives exceptional attention.
“It’s important to us that each and every client feels important. They don’t feel like they’re bothering their adviser if they need money wired tomorrow,” Levi Pettit emphasizes. “That’s why you pay us — to be able to get you what you need and provide you that peace of mind.”
This stands in contrast to what Pettit describes as commission-driven sales models prevalent in parts of the industry.
“Unfortunately, I think that a lot of advisers in the financial advisory space or wealth management space are really just salesmen. And they’re motivated by a commission structure that encourages them to go acquire as many clients as possible,” he observes.
The Concierge Doctor Approach to Financial Health
Levi Pettit likens his firm’s tactics to that of a concierge doctor compared to self-diagnosing medical issues online — a philosophy that stresses professional guidance over do-it-yourself financial planning.
“We’ve all been on WebMD before trying to … You wake up with a cough, you’re feeling a certain way. You immediately go to Google or ChatGPT and you’re like, ‘What is wrong with me?'” Pettit says. “Because everyone has access to so much information these days, financial planning or investing advice being one of them, they can go on the internet and try to really DIY it.”
The problem, according to Pettit, is that generic online information isn’t tailored to individual circumstances and needs.
“What you’re seeing on the internet isn’t customized and tailored to your specific need. There’s considerations that the computer, or your Google search, or your ChatGPT search isn’t going to be taken into consideration,” he explains.
Building Trust Through Process, Not Promises
Rather than asking clients to transfer assets before seeing a comprehensive plan, Dornick Wealth Management takes a trust-first path.
“We don’t charge a fee for the upfront financial plan. Our clients won’t actually move their assets until they’ve seen the financial plan that we’ve put in place,” Pettit says. “We’ve thoroughly discussed it, they’ve agreed to an investment policy, they’re comfortable with the allocation presented.”
This process-oriented method aims to ensure clients have complete confidence in the firm before committing their assets.
“Very rarely, or really in no case at all, will a client move assets over before we’ve sat down and had a discussion about a financial plan, what that looks like, what their goals are,” he adds. “We’re not just going to blindly put their money to work.”
As Dornick Wealth Management establishes itself in the market, Levi Pettit remains focused on building a firm that values relationship quality over client quantity, with personalized service and peace of mind as the ultimate measures of success.
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