Shirl Penney - Champions and Breakouts

Today's guest is Shirl Penney, founder and CEO of Dynasty Financial Partners, which is a comprehensive platform that allows wealth advisors to go independent and form their own RIA.  Shirl's story starts with a thrift store suit and a bus ticket and leads to the helm of this billion-dollar firm.  We start off talking about the inefficiencies and economics of horseracing, Shirl's passion outside of work.  We then go through the formation story of Dynasty post-GFC, their early challenges with technology and data, what the decision is like for a team to break out and start their own firm, their M&A advisory business, and the current hot market for RIAs, and his lessons learned.   Shirl Penney is the founder, CEO, and member of the Board of Directors of Dynasty Financial Partners, one of the leading advocates and platforms for independent wealth advisor firms. Since its launch in 2010, Dynasty has grown to support more than 500 financial advisors across 55 independent firms that collectively manage more than $120B assets under management.   Prior to Dynasty, Shirl worked at Citi Smith Barney in various leadership roles, including director of private wealth management and head of executive financial services.   Shirl is from Eastport, Maine, and graduated from Bates College. He and his family live in St. Petersburg, where they are active in numerous charitable causes focused on education, poverty, ALS, and veteran services.   Please enjoy my interview with Shirl Penney.   Dynasty Partners:  https://dynastyfinancialpartners.com   If you like these discussions, please subscribe or leave a review. NOTE: This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Anything said by the guests or host should not be construed as legal or investment advice. Thanks for listening. Joe Reilly is the head of Circulus Group, a family office network, and the host of The Inheritance Podcast. FOLLOW JOE: https://twitter.com/joereillyjr WEBSITE: https://circulus.substack.com/ INHERITANCE PODCAST:   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-inheritance-podcast/id1644964   If you like this show, leave us a rating or review.  I appreciate it.   S4E12 ©2025 Joe Reilly