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Pensionmark Financial Group
Pensionmark Financial Group, led by CEO Troy Hammond, runs a national RIA and retirement-plan consulting network from Santa Barbara.
Pensionmark Financial Group
Pensionmark Financial Group was founded in 1988 and has since evolved into a nationwide network of retirement-plan specialists and wealth advisors, headquartered in Santa Barbara. Troy Hammond leads the firm as CEO, overseeing a structure that blends a centralized retirement-plan consulting and fiduciary outsourcing business with a decentralized network of independent financial advisors operating under the Pensionmark brand. The wealth origin is institutional corporate services, not a single-family fortune. The core strategy rests on providing fiduciary retirement-plan consulting to small and midsize corporate clients, covering plan design, investment selection, and participant education. On the wealth management side, advisors offer holistic financial planning, portfolio construction, and insurance services to individuals and families. Confirmed service areas include employer-sponsored retirement plans, executive benefits, private wealth management, and insurance solutions. The geographic footprint concentrates on the United States, with a particularly dense presence across California and the Western US, though the advisor network spans multiple states. Pensionmark operates through a partnership model, giving independent advisors access to institutional-grade retirement-plan infrastructure, compliance support, and an open-architecture investment platform. The firm does not publicly disclose total assets under advisement or total advisor headcount. In September 2023, Pensionmark announced the acquisition of a retirement plan advisory practice in the Midwest, continuing its strategy of consolidating regional retirement specialists into the national platform (per PlanAdviser, September 2023). Structurally, Pensionmark differentiates by targeting the intersection of employer-sponsored retirement plans and the private wealth of the executives and employees behind them. By first winning the corporate retirement mandate, advisors gain a natural entry point to manage the personal assets of plan participants—a flywheel that a pure-play RIA or pure-retirement shop typically cannot replicate. The firm operates as an affiliate of World Investment Advisors, adding an additional layer of institutional backing while allowing local offices to maintain entrepreneurial ownership stakes.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
1988
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Santa Barbara
Corporate office
Santa Barbara, CA, United States
Principals
Troy Hammond
CEO
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Pensionmark Financial Group?
CEO Troy Hammond leads the firm's overall strategy. Investment decisions for corporate retirement plans are typically made at the plan-consulting level by the firm's retirement-plan advisors using an open-architecture menu of institutional funds. For private wealth clients, individual financial advisors within the Pensionmark network construct portfolios based on client goals and risk tolerance, drawing on centralized due-diligence resources but retaining discretion at the local office level.
How does Pensionmark source its corporate retirement-plan clients?
Pensionmark sources corporate retirement-plan business through its network of independent advisors, who typically maintain local referral relationships with accountants, benefits brokers, and business owners. The firm also acquires established retirement-plan advisory practices—as it did with a Midwest practice in September 2023—to deepen its geographic presence. The national brand and back-office infrastructure serve as a conversion tool for advisors considering joining the platform.
Is Pensionmark a single family office or an asset manager?
Pensionmark is neither a single family office nor a traditional asset manager. It operates as a retirement-plan consulting and wealth management firm structured as a network of independent advisory offices. The centralized entity provides fiduciary outsourcing to employer-sponsored retirement plans, while individual advisors deliver financial planning and investment management to private clients.
Does Pensionmark manage proprietary investment funds or use third-party managers?
Pensionmark uses an open-architecture platform, drawing on third-party institutional funds and separately managed accounts for both retirement-plan menus and private-wealth portfolios. The firm does not publicly offer its own proprietary mutual funds or ETFs. This fiduciary-first, open-architecture posture is central to its messaging to corporate clients.
What types of corporations does Pensionmark typically serve?
Pensionmark focuses on small to midsize companies seeking outsourced fiduciary oversight for their 401(k), 403(b), and other employer-sponsored retirement plans. The firm also serves the executives and owners of those businesses through private wealth management, executive benefits consulting, and insurance strategies tied to the corporate structure.
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