What Pennington Partners & Co does

Pennington Partners & Co is a privately-held, SEC-registered Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and multi-family office founded in 2016 and headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, with a secondary office in Houston, Texas (opened October 2022). The firm serves ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) entrepreneurial founders, CEOs, and multi-generational families of complex wealth, offering an integrated suite of investment management, tax and estate planning, exit planning, personal financial administration, private market access, and health and wellness services through its "Operating Partnership" platform-plus-modules architecture.

The firm's core technology stack is a multi-custodian platform integrating portfolio management, performance reporting, and client relationship management across Schwab, Fidelity, and Pershing, augmented by proprietary offerings including the Pennington Alternative Income platform (targeting 9–15% gross IRRs / 7–11% net IRRs), Pennington Private Access (curated private equity), Pennington Real Estate Partners, and a Personal Financial Administration platform with integrated general ledger accounting. It also operates co-founded investment platforms including PTM Partners (a $98M Qualified Opportunity Zone fund) and SaaS Ventures. The firm manages over $3–4 billion across advisory mandates, private funds, and affiliated entities with a staff of approximately 39.

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring AUM-based advisory fees, supplemented by structured product fees (Private Placement Variable Annuities and Private Placement Life Insurance at 0.4–0.65% per annum with $500K–$1M minimums). The go-to-market is a high-touch, direct enterprise sales motion targeting founders via relationship managers, client relationship officers, and a Founder Community platform including quarterly dinners — supported by content marketing, webinars, earned media, and referral relationships with tax attorneys and estate planners. The firm was co-founded by Brian Gaister (CEO) and Rodd Macklin (Senior Managing Director), with no external parent or private equity backing.

Name

Pennington Partners & Co

Legal name

Pennington Partners & Co.

Website

https://penningtonpartners.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pennington Partners & Co is a Bethesda, MD-based multi-family office and SEC-registered RIA founded in 2016 that manages $3–4B+ for ultra-high-net-worth entrepreneurial founders, CEOs, and multi-generational families, offering integrated investment management, tax/estate planning, exit planning, and personal financial administration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Multi-Family Office / Wealth Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Office Advisory & Outsourced CIO (OCIO) (FSAAADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Office Investment Platforms & Direct Investing (PE/VC/Co-Invest) (FSAAADAH), Family Office Advisory (Single/Multi-Family) (FSAEAAAI)

Keywords

• Multi-family office services
• Wealth management advisory
• Private equity access
• Estate planning services
• Alternative income investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Bethesda

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Assets Under Management (AUM) Advisory Fees: The firm operates as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) and multi-family office, generating revenue primarily through advisory fees based on assets under management. The firm provides investment management, wealth planning, and family office services to ultra-high-net-worth families and entrepreneurs.
2. Private Placement Life Insurance and Variable Annuities: Revenue generated through structuring and administering Private Placement Variable Annuities (PPVAs) and Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLIs) for high-net-worth families. PPVA fee structure of 0.4-0.65% per annum with minimums of $500,000.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pennington Partners & Co. is a multi-family investment office operating as a Registered Investment Advisor that provides investment management, wealth planning, tax and estate planning, personal financial administration, exit planning, and access to alternative investments for ultra-high-net-worth entrepreneurs, founders, and multi-generational families. The firm manages over $3-4 billion in assets through an integrated platform of six core services including the Operating Partnership (Multi-Family Office), Pennington Alternative Income, Exit Planning, Personal Financial Administration, Pennington Private Access, and Health and Wellness.

Product overview

Pennington Partners & Co is a multi-family investment office that operates as a unified platform-plus-modules architecture, offering six core integrated services: the Operating Partnership (Multi-Family Office) as the primary platform providing comprehensive investment and wealth management; Pennington Alternative Income for tax-advantaged alternative investments; Exit Planning for business liquidity events; Personal Financial Administration for daily financial operations; Pennington Private Access for exclusive private equity access; and Health and Wellness for holistic family support. Supporting sub-products include Private Credit, Private Placement structures (PPVA/PPLI), Qualified Opportunity Zone Investing, and the Founder Community network. The platform is intentionally designed to serve the complex needs of highly successful entrepreneurial founders and their families.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Pennington Alternative Income (PAI): Alternative investment firm focused on delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns through differentiated yield-oriented investments for the ultra-high net worth taxable investor
• Pennington Private Access (PPA)
• Pennington Real Estate Partners
• PTM Partners
• SaaS Ventures
• Pennington Markets Monthly

Products and services

• Operating Partnership (Multi-Family Office) A comprehensive multi-family office platform providing intelligent investment solutions for generational wealth, offering personalized investment management, wealth planning, and administrative services to entrepreneurial founders and their families.
• Pennington Alternative Income An alternative investment platform focused on delivering differentiated, tax-advantaged investment solutions targeting 9-15% gross IRRs and 7-11% net IRRs, with emphasis on capital preservation and current yield for ultra-high net worth taxable investors.
• Exit Planning

Quantifiable outcome

• Targeting 9-15% gross IRRs and 7-11% net IRRs on alternative income investments
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Walker & Dunlop Investment PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPennington hired a team from Walker & Dunlop Investment Partners to launch a structured equity-focused real estate platform. The new offering focuses on tax-advantaged investing including Opportunity Zones, structured equity, and senior secured lending.
• PTM PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded with experienced real estate professionals to form PTM Partners, which raised a $98M qualified opportunity zone fund (QOZF) in 2019 to build a portfolio of commercial properties on the east coast of the U.S.
• SaaS VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by Rodd Macklin, co-founder and Senior Managing Director of Pennington Partners, as one of the firm's investment platforms focusing on early-stage SaaS investments.
• Eric RosenminorOthersEric Rosen serves on the Advisory Board of Pennington Partners. He is an experienced investor with three decades in credit, trading, and special situations investing. Previously founded Reef Road Capital, a Credit Opportunities fund that managed nearly $850 million at its peak.
• Katherine FrattarolaminorOthersMarketing executive appointed to Advisory Board in November 2021 to provide strategic guidance as the firm navigates growth and expansion.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Bessemer Trust: One of the largest U.S. multi-family offices, serving multiple generations of ultra-wealthy families with combined investment management, wealth planning, and family office services — the closest direct competitor to Pennington in scope and target client.
• Glenmede: Privately-held wealth manager and multi-family office serving UHNW families and foundations with discretionary investment management and advisory services — directly comparable to Pennington in offering breadth and client profile.
• Pitcairn: Multi-family office founded by a wealthy family, serving UHNW and multi-generational families with holistic wealth management, alternative investments, and family governance services — same operating model and target market as Pennington.
• Pathstone: Independent, partner-owned multi-family office serving families, foundations, and endowments with OCIO and direct private market access — directly comparable OCIO function and emerging PE co-invest platform versus Pennington Private Access.
• Tiedemann Wealth Management: Multi-family office serving UHNW entrepreneurs, founders, and multi-generational families with bespoke investment, tax, and estate solutions — closely aligned with Pennington's entrepreneur-focused positioning and service model.
• Cerity Partners: Wealth management and multi-family office serving UHNW clients with integrated investment advisory, tax, and estate planning — directly comparable in delivering a comprehensive platform-plus-modules service suite.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: Large national RIA offering comprehensive financial planning and family office services to UHNW clients — directly comparable service breadth with greater geographic reach and scale.

Broad incumbents

• Brown Brothers Harriman (Wealth Management): Privately-held bank with a large wealth management division serving UHNW families across generations with investment management, private banking, and trust services — broader incumbent offering comparable capability at greater scale.
• BNY Mellon Wealth Management: Wealth management arm of a major custodian bank serving UHNW families with investment management, trust, and private banking — broad incumbent competitor with overlapping capabilities and significant scale advantages.

Emerging players

• Creative Planning: Large, rapidly-growing independent RIA expanding into comprehensive wealth and family office services for high-net-worth clients — comparable RIA registration with growing family-office-style offering, though broader and less UHNW-specialized.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/penningtonpartners

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pennington Partners & Co