Johns, a former financial management executive at Time Warner, faced homophobia as an investor. His broker, he says, once moved to the other side of the room when Johns mentioned his longtime partner. Johns closed his account.

With those experiences in mind, Johns jumped at the chance to buy Christopher Street Financial, a New York-based investment and advisory firm, then a small firm focused on gay men, after its founder died. Johns, president and CEO, embarked on an aggressive growth plan, investing in new technology, expanding investment services and growing revenues by 35 percent in 1998 from the year earlier

The investment needs of gays and lesbians are no different from those of heterosexuals, he says, although tax issues and estate planning are far more complicated for same-sex couples. In addition to Christopher Street's expertise in dealing with the legalities of same-sex couples, the firm's ownership is important to its clients.

As a gay person, you want to do business with people who understand you and aren't going to judge you. A quarter of the firm's clients, attracted by the personal service, are straight. He wants people to be aware they're supporting a gay-owned business - when new vendors call, he makes no bones about the firm's mission.