Pinnacle Trust Services Expand to Mobile With Three-Person Wealth Team

MOBILE, Ala. — Pinnacle trust services are now available closer to home for South Alabama and Florida Panhandle clients. Pinnacle Financial Partners has expanded its trust business into the region, adding a three-person trust team to its Mobile office to help clients manage, protect and transfer wealth.

The Nashville-based bank said the new team will work with clients on long-term financial, estate and legacy plans. The group brings decades of combined experience in trust administration, investment management, estate planning and client counsel.

Meet the team

The Mobile trust team includes two trust and wealth advisors and a trust portfolio manager:

• Jennifer Kemp, trust and wealth advisor. Kemp has held trust advisory roles with several banks over a career of more than 25 years. She also provided support for a Memphis law office focused on tax and estate planning.
• Shannon McClure, trust and wealth advisor. McClure has spent 16 years at various investment and financial firms as a private wealth advisor and trust officer, focusing on personal trusts and estates.
• Rob Wilson, trust portfolio manager. Wilson joins the firm with more than 20 years of experience in investment management and trust work.

Together, the three cover the main pieces of a trust relationship: advising clients and families on how their plans should work, administering trusts according to their terms, and managing the investments held inside those trusts.

What trust services are

A trust is a legal arrangement in which one party, the trustee, holds and manages assets for the benefit of others, known as beneficiaries, according to written instructions set out by the person who created it. Trusts are commonly used to pass wealth to children or grandchildren, provide for a spouse, support a family member with special needs, give to charity, or manage assets for someone who cannot manage them on their own.

Families can name a relative or friend as trustee, but many choose a bank or trust company instead, especially for larger or longer-lasting trusts. A corporate trustee is expected to provide continuity, professional investment management, recordkeeping and impartial administration, and it acts as a fiduciary, meaning it is legally required to act in the beneficiaries’ best interests.

The roles on Pinnacle’s new team line up with that work:

• Trust and wealth advisors typically work directly with clients and their attorneys and accountants to understand family goals, explain options and coordinate the administration of trusts and estates.
• Trust portfolio managers oversee the investments held in trust accounts, balancing growth, income and risk according to the trust’s terms and the needs of its beneficiaries.

Why it matters locally

Pinnacle describes the move as an expansion of its trust services into South Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Placing a dedicated team in Mobile gives clients across the region, from Mobile and Baldwin counties to Northwest Florida, local access to trust professionals.

Coastal Alabama has become one of the most competitive banking markets in the state. Baldwin County has been among Alabama’s fastest-growing counties for years, drawing retirees, new residents and businesses, while Mobile’s economy is anchored by the port, aerospace, shipbuilding, health care and logistics. Growth on both sides of the bay means more wealth to manage and, eventually, to pass on, which is driving demand for estate and trust services.

Pinnacle’s growth after the Synovus merger

The trust team arrives during Pinnacle’s first year as a combined company with Synovus. Pinnacle, founded in Nashville in 2000, and Synovus, a Columbus, Georgia, bank with roots dating to 1888, announced an all-stock merger in July 2025. The deal closed at the start of January 2026. The combined company has operated under both names during the transition and has said it plans to complete its systems conversion and move to the single Pinnacle name in early 2027.

Pinnacle reported last month that it held $8.2 billion in Alabama deposits as of June 30, based on federal deposit data, and said it was the fastest-growing financial institution in the Mobile market, with nearly $200 million in deposit growth across the Mobile and Baldwin County markets. The bank also said it had added 12 new revenue-producing employees in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle through mid-July.

Pinnacle’s business model has long emphasized hiring experienced local bankers and advisors and letting them build relationships in their home markets, an approach reflected in the addition of a trust team with long careers in the field.

Estate planning basics for families

For residents thinking about their own plans, estate planning professionals generally recommend starting with a few core documents and conversations:

• A will that names who will receive property and who will serve as executor.
• Powers of attorney for financial and health care decisions if you become unable to make them yourself.
• Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance that are up to date, since these generally pass outside a will.
• A trust, when appropriate, to manage assets over time, provide for minor children or a family member with special needs, or keep certain matters private.
• Regular reviews after major life events such as marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, a move to another state or the sale of a business.

Because trust and estate law is complex and varies by state, families typically work with an estate planning attorney to draft documents, and with a financial or trust advisor to carry out and manage the plan over time.

What comes next

The new team is based in Pinnacle’s Mobile office and will serve clients across South Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Clients and prospective clients with questions about trust services can contact the bank’s Mobile office.