Pennington, Bass & Associates

Founder Lee Pennington (retired) began his career in the financial services industry in 1953 in the specialty of life insurance. Mr. Pennington’s vision led him to the larger field of “financial planning” in 1967 and many consider him a pioneer in the industry. He was the second CFP® practitioner in Texas and retired in 2010. Mark Bass, CFP®, CPA, AIF® began his career with Mr. Pennington part-time while in college in 1971 and then full-time after graduating in 1973. They are thought to have the longest running financial planning partnership in the country. Mr. Bass, a Lubbock native, is a graduate of Baylor University (BS in Economics) and Texas Tech University (BS in Accounting). Jennifer Coe Dever, CFP®, CRC®, AIF® began her career with the firm in 1995. Ms. Dever, a native of eastern New Mexico, is a graduate of Texas Tech University (BS in Personal Financial Planning). PBA is a comprehensive financial planning firm and manages in excess of $350 million. PBA provides advice and services in the areas of investment planning, retirement planning, tax planning, insurance planning (life, health, long term care, disability), education planning, and estate planning. Clientele include primarily individuals and families not only in Lubbock and Texas, but across the US. PBA is also honored to work with several non-profit organizations and churches.

The clientele of PBA looks very similar to the upper-middle class demographics of Lubbock, Texas, and the US today—many retired or about-to-be retired self-starters, small business owners, farmers, ranchers, teachers, professors, and physicians. The firm has long-tenured relationships with many of its clientele which has led to their children and grandchildren becoming clients. In our opinion, multi-year relationships are indicative of our honesty, integrity, confidentiality, and compassion, as well as meeting and/or exceeding client expectations—whether that be in the form of portfolio performance, cost of service, or quality of service delivered.

The #1 criteria for working with a client—whether it be an individual, 401k plan, 501(c)3, or church—is whether or not we would be willing to have that client to our home for dinner. We are relationship focused—we want to have lasting and meaningful relationships with our clients, and enjoying being with the people we work with is of utmost importance. We believe that this type of relationship also raises the level of candor for both parties, which ultimately helps us do our job better and our clients to have more positive outcomes.

About Cetera Advisors

Our independent business model ensures we have the autonomy and discretion to put you at the center of all investment strategies and business decisions. Just as we stand behind you to help you pursue your financial dreams, we have teams standing behind us and supporting our business. These firms also strengthen our relationship with you by providing the resources we need to better serve you. We think it’s important for you to know who these partners are and why we have chosen to work with them.

Our Broker-Dealer: Cetera Advisors

We are affiliated with Cetera Advisors, one of the premier broker-dealers in the industry. As our broker-dealer, they are responsible for executing trades on your behalf. Like all broker-dealers, they must undergo regular auditing, and are required to meet specific net capital requirements to ensure it can meet its obligations to investors like you.

But their support for our relationship goes well beyond its function as trade executor. Our affiliation means that we am not held to a sales quota or tied to selling only proprietary products. We have the independence and freedom to recommend the financial solutions that best suit your needs, ensuring your objectives are what drive all decisions, while Cetera Advisors’ network of people and resources help us pursue your unique goals and vision for the future.

Their Parent Company: Cetera Financial Group

Cetera Advisors is part of the family of independently managed firms of Cetera Financial Group (Cetera). For the past 30 years, Cetera’s family of companies has grown to manage over $110 billion in client assets, delivering award-winning* advisory products and solutions and sophisticated trading and technology platforms to us and other advisors across all 50 states. You can be confident that their tools, technology and support help make us more effective in our relationship with you.

Our Custodians: Pershing and Cetera Investment Services

While a broker-dealer helps supervise and facilitate the trading that converts your cash into invested assets, those assets are actually held by a custodian. Cetera Advisors works with two custodians. Cetera Investment Services LLC custodies individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Pershing LLC custodies brokerage accounts, including the brokerage accounts within IRAs.

Pershing is a subsidiary of the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, which is the nation’s oldest continuously operating bank and one of the world’s leading providers of securities services. Cetera Investment Services is an affiliate of Cetera Advisors, providing brokerage and other services to its own clients in addition to providing IRA custodial services to Cetera Advisors’ clients. Both Pershing and Cetera Investment Services have to meet certain net capital requirements and are subject to regular audits, both internally and by independent firms, to ensure the appropriate handling, segregation and protection of investors’ assets.

Our Most Important Connection: With You

While the firms behind me play important roles in our day-to-day servicing of your needs, the most important relationship we have is undoubtedly with you. We work with these firms to make it easier for us to work for you. Anytime you would like more information about the above firms, please do not hesitate to ask. We want you to feel confident that you understand, to your satisfaction, how we work with and through these firms, why we have chosen to work with Cetera Advisors, and the absolute priority both Cetera Advisors and we place on our relationship with you.