Edward Jones names Pennington managing partner to replace Weddle

May 07--Penny Pennington will be Edward Jones' new managing partner beginning Jan. 1, the company announced Monday.

Pennington will become the firm's sixth managing partner, replacing Jim Weddle, who is retiring. Weddle has served as managing partner of Des Peres-based investment firm Edward Jones since 2006.

Pennington, principal of the company's Client Strategies Group since 2015 and a member of the firm's executive, management and audit committees, joined Edward Jones in 2000 as a financial adviser in Livonia, Mich. She moved to St. Louis in 2006 to join Edward Jones' New Financial Advisor Training department, becoming a principal at the firm.

A Nashville, Tenn., native, Pennington graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in commerce with a concentration in finance. She received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

"Having served as a financial advisor, she has firsthand understanding of what our clients value and our mission to grow and serve more individual investors," Weddle said in a statement.

In 2006, Weddle, then a 28-year veteran of the firm, took over for Douglas Hill, who was forced to step down as part of a settlement with the U.S. attorney's office over mutual fund trading irregularities.

Under Weddle's leadership, Edward Jones grew its branches from approximately 9,000 to more than 13,000, and revenue more than doubled from $3.5 billion to $7.5 billion. Client assets under care and number of advisers -- two key metrics under Weddle's reign -- grew to $1.12 trillion and 16,000, respectively.

The company also grew its corporate footprint in the St. Louis area during Weddle's tenure, including opening its Maryland Heights campus to complement its Des Peres headquarters.

The Fortune 500 firm founded in 1922 by Edward D. Jones Sr. has more than 43,000 employes in the U.S. and Canada.

___

(c)2018 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Visit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at www.stltoday.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.