Pendleton Financial

Pendleton Financial

Pendleton Financial was launched in Raleigh in 1976 by Gary Pendleton, who built the firm on insurance strategy and planning. The practice remains family-led, with Gary Pendleton now serving as Director of Insurance and Gray Pendleton, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, holding the dual role of Chief Executive & Investment Officer. The ownership is independent and the firm operates as a fiduciary, aligning its interests with those of its clients through a primarily fee-based asset management model. The firm’s investment posture centers on long-term, diversified portfolio construction for individuals, families, and retirement plans. It combines fee-only financial planning with fee-based investment management, and also offers retirement plan consulting and estate planning. Gray Pendleton functions as the chief investment officer, designing strategies that emphasize cost efficiency. The firm works alongside 401(k) and 403(b) plan administrators as a fiduciary, sharing risk and providing tailored investment recommendations to plan participants. Its client base stretches across retirees, pre-retirees, and business leaders. A lean team of five professionals operates from a single office on Oberlin Road in Raleigh. In addition to the Pendletons, Diane Leighton manages planning and operations, bringing a background from private equity and hospitality. The firm’s website identifies a minimum client threshold of $500,000 in investable assets, though it also provides pro-bono financial guidance through community organizations and nonprofit partners for those who do not meet this level. There is no publicly disclosed figure for total assets under management or deployment. Unusually for a firm of its size, Pendleton Financial publicly details an inclusion and service mission: it is a Christian-led practice that states it affirmatively supports the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, people with disabilities, and clients across a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. This explicit positioning functions as a differentiator in a wealth management industry where firms of this scale rarely codify a social stance so prominently in their client-facing materials.