An office that is a home

Many of his clients are scientists and engineers, but Frank Levy has come to find that even nuts-and-bolts types appreciate a softer approach to financial planning. Committed to making his Wilmington, Del.-based Diversified Financial Consultants a firm that makes clients feel at home, he purchased a 100-year-old house several years ago and spent six months renovating it into his firm's offices. The main client meeting room, on the second level in a converted bedroom, has comfortable furniture and a variety of antique radios and vacuum cleaners that serve as conversation pieces, Mr. Levy said. “I tell the client that I don't drop by for dinner, but we've got to be friends,” he said. “People have to feel like family. We talk about social wealth as well as personal wealth,” Mr. Levy said. When a client comes to the firm, he uses the first three or four meetings to talk about nonfinancial topics just to get to know them better. His attention to providing a consistent personal experience, as well as the firm's sound financials, were all factors in the firm's being named practice of the year this month by John Hancock Financial Network in its first competition among its 1,900 independent advisers. After the competitors were narrowed down to the top 10, John Hancock hired independent practice management consultant Business Health to conduct site visits for each of the finalists to evaluate their office space and business operations. Mr. Levy likes that the competition focused on factors such as the firm's physical environment, not just “who can sell the most.” — Lavonne Kuykendall