Pence Wealth Management

Pence Wealth Management

Pence Wealth Management was founded in 1980 in Newport Beach, California, by Dryden Pence, an economist and retired U.S. Army Colonel. The firm was reorganized in 2018 under the umbrella of Pence Financial Group, LLC, a structure designed to codify three decades of advisory experience into a repeatable process. The Pence family’s military heritage informs a discipline-driven culture that emphasizes process over product. The firm’s investment philosophy hinges on “CHOKE-POINT INVESTING,” a proprietary strategy grounded in the study of human behavior and its effect on supply chains. Pence conducts its own research to select individual companies and vehicles it believes will endure. The practice spans financial planning, investment management, and tax-efficient distribution strategies. Client assets are custodied at LPL Financial, though Pence Wealth Management, Inc. operates as an independent state-registered investment adviser under California jurisdiction. Dryden Pence leads a multi-lingual advisory team that speaks nine languages, reflecting a diverse client base. The firm is part of the larger Pence Financial Group ecosystem, which includes Pence Capital Management, an RIA that provides institutional portfolio consultancy to Unit Investment Trust sponsors and model management through the LPL Financial Manager Select program. The advisory practice has received industry recognition, including Barron’s Hall of Fame (2019) and Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors (2023). Current headcount is not publicly disclosed. Pence’s structural differentiator lies in its hybrid operating-company architecture. The holding company, Pence Financial Group, separates the retail wealth management unit (PWM) from the institutional consultancy arm (Pence Capital Management), allowing each to pursue distinct mandates under a shared research and culture framework. This design lets the firm serve individual retirees alongside UIT product sponsors without the conflicts of a single entity.