Levi Pettit Launches Dornick Wealth Management with Focus on Personalized Financial Planning

Levi Pettit, CFA®, CFP®, has launched Dornick Wealth Management, a boutique wealth management firm that challenges the industry’s traditional emphasis on raw returns in favor of comprehensive, goal-oriented financial planning.

Armed with an MBA from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School and experience managing portfolios at a single-family office, Pettit founded his firm on the principle that meaningful wealth management requires understanding each client’s complete financial picture rather than chasing market performance alone.

“Historically, so much of the wealth management industry has been focused on returns,” Pettit explains. “Returns are great, but the portfolio needs to align with your personal financial plan.”

Addressing Industry Gaps

Pettit identified what he sees as a fundamental disconnect in wealth management services. While many firms promote impressive performance numbers, he argues they often fail to consider whether those returns serve their clients’ actual objectives.

His approach incorporates everything from risk tolerance assessments to legacy planning conversations. Whether clients want to fund grandchildren’s education, establish charitable foundations, or plan early retirement moves to Florida, Dornick builds investment strategies around these specific goals rather than generic benchmarks.

“Those are all conversations that need to be had in the planning process so that we build a strategy that aligns with those goals,” Pettit notes. “It’s not just a return-focused plan.”

The Family CFO Model

Rather than functioning as traditional financial advisors, Dornick positions itself as an outsourced chief financial officer for client households. Pettit views his clients as CEOs of their families, with his firm providing the strategic financial guidance and execution support typically found in corporate settings.

This model represents a departure from what Pettit characterizes as the sales-driven approach common throughout the industry, where advisors face quotas for assets under management or client acquisition.

“We really want to be intertwined with our clients’ lives,” he says. “We view our clients as the CEO of their household or their family. They make the executive decisions, but our goal is to give them the plan and the strategies to achieve those goals.”

The firm accepts calls after hours and on weekends, treating client questions—whether about major investment decisions or everyday purchases—as legitimate concerns worthy of professional input.

Capacity by Design

Dornick deliberately limits each advisor to no more than 50 client households, with Pettit ideally targeting 30 to 40 clients per advisor to ensure the personalized attention his model requires. Many wealth management firms handle significantly larger client loads, but Pettit argues this dilutes service quality.

“We never want any advisor to be managing more than 50 clients or households,” he explains. “We believe that right there is a strong number for every client, every household to get the attention that they deserve.”

This approach means slower business growth in exchange for deeper client relationships. Pettit accepts this trade-off, believing that exceptional service to fewer clients creates more sustainable long-term success than rapid expansion.

Building Client Relationships

Dornick dedicates considerable attention to the initial client experience, focusing heavily on the first 90 to 100 days of each relationship. During this period, the firm establishes communication preferences, clarifies expectations, and ensures clients understand how the partnership will function.

Rather than delivering one-time financial plans, Dornick provides ongoing planning services that adapt as client circumstances change. Job transitions, relocations, family developments, and other life changes trigger plan reviews and strategy adjustments.

“Just because we put a plan in place tomorrow doesn’t mean that plan isn’t going to change 12 months from now,” Pettit acknowledges. “Our goal is to be proactive as opposed to reactive.”

The firm coordinates with clients’ existing professional advisors, including CPAs and attorneys, to ensure comprehensive financial management. This collaborative approach allows Dornick to consider tax implications, estate planning requirements, and legal structures when developing investment strategies.

Measuring Success Differently

Levi Pettit measures Dornick’s success through client goal achievement rather than traditional business metrics like assets under management growth or new client acquisition rates. He believes this client-first approach ultimately drives business success more effectively than aggressive expansion strategies.

“Our goals are our clients’ goals,” he states. “We measure our success by our clients’ ability to achieve their goals.”

Client referrals serve as the primary indicator of satisfaction, with Pettit viewing recommendations to friends and family members as the strongest validation of Dornick’s approach. He prioritizes this organic growth over marketing-driven client acquisition.

The firm’s limited capacity model supports this philosophy by ensuring existing clients receive full attention rather than competing with business development activities for advisor time.

Pettit’s background includes experience in commercial banking and private equity, providing him with perspective on both institutional and individual investor needs. His CFA® and CFP® designations reflect technical expertise, but he emphasizes the discipline and time management skills these credentials require as equally valuable for client service.

With Dornick Wealth Management, Pettit aims to demonstrate that prioritizing client relationships over rapid growth can create a more sustainable and satisfying wealth management experience for both advisors and the families they serve.