Paul started in financial planning in 1974 by teaching classes on financial planning, estate planning, and real estate at American River College. These classes were taught while he was in banking. In 1984, He went into financial planning full-time and has been a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) since 1986.

He received his Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of San Francisco, an AA in general business from American River College, and teaching credentials at Sacramento State University. He graduated from the University of Colorado Graduate School of Business.

He is a principal at Pennington Financial Group in Gold River, CA, specializing in estate planning, retirement planning, tax planning, and portfolio management.