But Valley National Advisers takes the concept further than most financial service companies. Besides developing a branch network in Allentown, Bethlehem, Center Valley and Phillipsburg, it offers an especially wide array of services.

Clients not only can get financial planning advice and brokerage services, but they can have their taxes done by certified public accountants. They can buy insurance there and even set up financial trusts.

Allentown attorney Bruce Weida has used the firm for his own family financial planning since 1987 and refers his estate-planning clients to Valley National.

''Valley National is the only one that does income taxes, securities, accounting, insurance and tax work,'' he said. ''It does everything.

''I found that if you have an adviser who can speak to you on each of those areas, it makes the client more comfortable.''

Behind Valley National is its president Thomas M. Riddle, a certified public accountant and certified financial planner. The 51-year-old Bethlehem resident, who first came to the area to play football at Lafayette College, saw a need for comprehensive services when he was doing income tax returns for people in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

''A number of issues kept coming up that weren't necessarily tax-related,'' Riddle said. ''People started asking about estate planning, financial planning, how to save for college funding.

''I looked around in the early '80s and said, 'Gee, there's a big demand for this, and there's actually a profession called financial planning.'''

So, in 1985 he left a comfortable job as vice president of finance at Hospital Central Services in Allentown to start a financial planning company.

''My wife thought I was crazy walking out on a great job as a vice president of finance,'' he said.

The business started to grow, but Riddle noticed a problem.

''One of the issues that came up was that you do this great financial plan and do all this analysis, and you tell the client to take this down to see their broker or their insurance guy,'' he said.

And often clients would buy the wrong products.

''Clients would come back after seeing their broker and instead of buying municipal bonds, they would buy a municipal bond fund,'' he said. ''Or instead of buying term insurance, they got talked into buying whole life or universal life.''

He decided that if he was going to do the job right, he'd have to do it himself.

Today, Riddle and partner Mary L. Nothelfer own five companies under the Valley National name. The companies are specifically for investment advice, brokerage services, insurance, taxes and retirement benefits. And the firm is also a shareholder of a national company through which it can provide trust services.

''Every time Tom sees a need, it seems he develops another company,'' said one of the firm's advisers, Laurie A. Siebert.

The firm employs 14 financial advisers and about 14 other support personnel.

''It's the single factor that distinguishes our firm from any other — the level of services and the breadth of services that we supply,'' Riddle said.

Valley National is in the process of rearranging its offices. In December, it will move its headquarters from its current location at 1908 Allen St. in Allentown to Valley Center Parkway near Bethlehem. It plans to keep an Allentown presence, although it doesn't have a specific location yet, Riddle said.

The firm's clients are generally upper middle-income people, not the usual super-rich clients many firms target.

''When we envisioned this back in the '80s, we envisioned it for individuals who were not getting attention. High net worth individuals get a lot of attention, but it's the next level down that we're working with,'' Riddle said.

''But that's not the first thing we ask when someone walks in the door, what's your net worth? We ask what your concerns are.''

The foundation of Valley National's approach is a series of three meetings that help create what Riddle calls a ''financial road map.''

''We lay out this 20- or 30-year forecast for you,'' he said.

And it's not from some off-the-shelf commercial software product. The analysis is run through Riddle's own analytical tools he developed.

''In 1986, when I developed this Financial Road Map, there was nothing else out there in the marketplace that could do what we wanted to do. So, I just created an Excel spreadsheet to do 'what-ifs.'''

What-ifs allow clients to work with different financial scenarios.

''Let's say you're going to retire in five years and buy a $60,000 motor home to do extensive traveling. Can you afford that?'' Riddle said. ''We can tell them right there in the meeting what the result is.''

While Valley National offers a wide range of services, clients aren't obligated to get their insurance, stocks, or tax advice through the firm. Some people simply get the financial plan.

But Riddle estimates more than 80 percent of clients are comfortable enough to use Valley National for most or all of their financial needs.

''We're just not high-pressure,'' he said. ''We're not into cold-calling. We're not out there soliciting like that. We don't send lots of mailings.''

In fact, Riddle concedes the firm does little in the way of direct marketing. Instead, it relies on referrals from existing clients and from other professionals, such as attorneys and accountants.

Riddle thinks the firm's low-pressure atmosphere builds trust with clients.

''We're looking for long-term relationships with our clients,'' Riddle said. ''That's why we do this 20-year forecast. We expect to be sitting here in 20 years talking about whether it worked out.''

gregory.karp@mcall.com

610-820-6643

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