Ep 8 - From Childhood Poverty to Wealth Management Industry Pioneer

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And more to share fresh perspectives on making sound decisions that maximize your wealth. And now here's your host.[00:01:00]

democratization of freedom, [: 00:01:15

And, and, uh, while that may be appropriate, now, there's, there's a lot of choice and uh, Cheryl I think is one of the main reasons we have [00:01:30] that. So Cheryl, welcome today and thanks for joining us.

Shirl Penney: Thanks for having me, John. So great to see you. Always, always great to spend time with you. For sure.

a bunch of things in common, [: 00:01:45

You know, when people are successful, not just in career. [00:02:00] In, in family endeavors and, and charitable give back and all of that. Uh, hobbies. I know you're an equestrian. I know you love horses. Um, those, those usually are outcomes that are associated with narratives that don't really reflect the [00:02:15] narratives that one would find when they look into our.

how that all influenced, uh, [: 00:02:30

Shirl Penney: Yeah. No, I appreciate that. Um, you, so I'm originally from the state of Maine, uh, from a little fishing village, uh, called [00:02:45] eSport Maine. Uh, it's a town of about 1300 people. I. Uh, and I was raised there by my step grand grandfather. My mother actually had me when she was 16, which, uh, unfortunately is a bit common, uh, where I'm from, [00:03:00] uh, would've given me up for, uh, adoption, uh, which, you know, I think would've been the right thing for her to do, except my step granddad when he went to the hospital to check on her, said.

hink I'll take this kid, uh, [: 00:03:15

Uh, so for three years, between 11 and and age 14, uh, we were homeless, [00:03:45] uh, live with, uh, different neighbors. Uh, you know, we had to move around 'cause we didn't, everyone there is kind of poor, uh, so we didn't want to burden, you know, one, one family. Uh, and then I. The local Native American, uh, tribe, were [00:04:00] trying to teach, uh, their youth, uh, a skillset around carpentry.

uh, which was, uh, which was [: 00:04:15

That was the first time I actually had a shower in my life. I used to bathe out of a, a [00:04:30] pot, uh, you know, in the kitchen with a, with a washcloth. Um, but anyhow, that's how I grew up. And then went to Bates College, uh, in Maine. Uh, studied economics, was always fascinated, uh, with finance and wanted to go off and work on [00:04:45] Wall Street.

were up here. Yeah, it had a [: 00:05:00

Uh, or an escalator, uh, in my life. And I never, I had never [00:05:15] seen an elevator that went more than one story. Uh, so I navigated all of those things, uh, and just at the end of the day, I said, look, I, I'm not gonna be the smartest person in the room, but I can probably be the hardest, per, hardest working, uh, person in the room.

Uh, if you give me an [: 00:05:30

I talk about this, I [00:06:00] have two daughters, uh, 18 and, and 16. My wife and I talk to them a lot about not judging a book by its cover. Uh, and you know, sometimes, uh, and it's been a challenge for them, uh, in school, uh, at times where they've even been teased [00:06:15] about, you know, the perceived level of success, you know, that their family or parents have had.

his business from the ground [: 00:06:30

'cause he's traveling or working, whatever it might be. Um, so, you know, they have been, you know, witness firsthand to the level of [00:06:45] effort and sacrifice it takes as, as you well know, uh, to, to build a business, certainly to get it to a size and scale of where Dynasty is today.

have different stories, but, [: 00:07:00

Shirl Penney: Yeah, Clarence Townsend was my granddad. Yeah.

i King. He, he came from the [: 00:07:15

Um, and he taught himself, uh, English and I was never close with him growing up. I lost, [00:07:30] my dad had dramatic fever as a child, which today is not something we, we suffer from as a society. But then it was, and caused him to have a mitral valve issue, led to a, a blood clot stroke, paralyzed when I was 11, passed away when I was 13.

And my mom. [: 00:07:45

You know, he worked in a two by four. Basement with a brick oven and making Alis [00:08:15] and delivering 'em in his underwear. That's how he started.

Shirl Penney: Yeah.

Jonathan Blau: Um, so, so you learn from those things. Uh, and I, I relate that 'cause I'd love to make a connection before we talk a little bit more about Dynasty between what.

You know, you, you, you went [: 00:08:30

Shirl Penney: Certainly the, the hard work and integrity. Uh, I got a lot of that from my grandfather, uh, right. But I'm also a big believer in, uh, uh, mentorship by committee. Uh, I've always been fortunate, uh, to seek [00:09:00] out, uh, and have mentors across all different, you know, walks of life and, and, and industry. And, you know, to your point, you know about you as a, a child and.

with children in particular, [: 00:09:15

Uh, because I think it's so wonderful to help them live the American dream that they spent so [00:09:45] much of their life protecting. Uh, and I think that's, uh, that's, that's very powerful. But, uh, to your question, specific to, to financial services in large part. John, I was self-taught. Uh, I do think it takes a community to raise, to raise a child as well.[00:10:00]

ids. It's a very small rural [: 00:10:15

So we created a class where I was the only one in the class, uh, and I took micro and macroeconomics in high school. Uh, I [00:10:30] went on to Bates College, which has a very strong economics department. Uh, and candidly, uh, it was quite easy for me because I'd had the mentoring, uh, of, of taking, uh, you know, those classes, uh, in a non-accredited high school [00:10:45] because one person cared to take that, uh, level of interest in me, uh, back in Maine, which was great.

, not in enough schools, but [: 00:11:00

Six months old. Uh, so it wasn't so much about following the stocks as it was about learning the language. Uh, and I read a lot, uh, as a, as a [00:11:30] child, uh, and again, found mentors the best I could that would be available in, in eastern Maine. Uh, when I went to college, the first day on campus, they had a one week of freshman orientation.

was in the Office of Career [: 00:11:45

Jonathan Blau: No, that, that's, that's great. I mean, it reminds me of when I, when I was at Arthur Anderson as an accountant and I was 20, I started there I [00:12:15] guess at 26, and I had just gotten my master's in tax and MBA in accounting, spent my first year learning how to use a copy machine for $60,000 in salary. And, uh, and I perfected it.

But, uh, what, what I remember is, well, it was a different

Shirl Penney: time back in the early seventies, right, John?

Jonathan Blau: [: 00:12:30

And I, I recognized that I didn't wanted to cold call and just sell stuff to people. Um, I wanted to make a difference, and so that's why I went and pursued my, my degrees in tax and accounting. But when I was in Anderson at 29, I had clients that were at Sanford [00:13:00] Bernstein when it was still the largest privately owned money management firm.

was phenomenal and, uh, and [: 00:13:15

That I said I got, I would love to work for that firm. So I, I called, I called, uh, like you did, you know, you just instinctively, like you clearly instinctively, you knew you had to build some kind of network Right. To, to be [00:13:30] able to reach out and, and find opportunities. So I, I called all these recruiters and all these people and, and they said, now we don't have any relationship with Bernstein.

ed onto me and he called the [: 00:13:45

He relates, you gotta meet this guy. And they said, listen, we have this firm I and, and he, and he just. Called him three or four [00:14:00] times. And the fourth time, and I, the guy's name was Alan Feld, the managing director, who himself at 35 and then was a managing director at Bernstein, came at Anderson. He said, all right, fine, I'll meet with the guy.

and I can do business in the [: 00:14:15

You may, it was crazy. [00:14:30] And, and he said to me, uh, he asked me a bunch of questions. He said, all right, I, I don't have any more questions for you. Do you have any for me? And I said, I have one question for you. He said, what is it? I said, what concerns do you have about hiring me? And he looks at me, he says, I have none.

Now, that was something that [: 00:14:45

So one of, I wanna transition and you

ed and easy to walk through. [: 00:15:15

He was at Smith Barney Asset Management. He was a wholesaler who came through when I was interning in the Portland, Maine branch of Smith [00:15:30] Barney. And I asked, uh, if I could, uh, come see him in New York. Uh, and he said, yeah, sure. Uh, so I literally called him 20 times.

None: You know,

ng, uh, many of those times, [: 00:15:45

Uh, and I'm trying to get him on the phone to line up that meeting, that interview that I mentioned earlier in, in New York and. I got it, uh, you know, the [00:16:00] interview and ended up getting the job. Uh, and I was able to go back home and, uh, tell my granddad literally as he was dying in my arms that we did it.

ur dream to have a career in [: 00:16:15

Jonathan Blau: And that's wonderful. I love that story. I've heard it before with your grandfather at, at the end. Um, so I, I wanna transition a little bit to talk about Dynasty. And, um, by the way, thank you for everything you, you did for me.

met you, uh, as our, we, we [: 00:16:30

Um, and I, uh, when [00:17:00] we started, I know we were among the early teams, um. But it's the people you had that gave us the confidence. Yeah. Um, and so I'd like you to talk about what led you having worked at Smith, Barney City Group and senior positions at a very young [00:17:15] age. What led you to see far ahead? 'cause you did, um, uh, the need for people to have the resources from custodianship.

ve. We meaning went way back [: 00:17:30

It's the fact that, you know, the big [00:17:45] firms would say, oh, you have to do this, you have to sell that. We, we, we need you to do it this or that way, uh, and so forth. The incongruence with what the advisor wanted and what was mandated by the firm. There's now a freedom and a democratization. Right. What led you to see that?

Yeah. And how did [: 00:18:00

Shirl Penney: Yeah. And I, I, and I knew as an aside from the first time you and I sat down and started talking about your vision, that there were, that there was philosophical alignment for the why of why I started Dynasty to why you wanted to start your [00:18:15] own firm. Uh, because you talk so strongly about your advocacy for your clients, which is something that I've always really respected about you and your entire team, uh, thank you.

e where you give advice, uh, [: 00:18:30

And a big part of that job was to bring, uh, advisors in with some of their largest clients, largest prospects, uh, to [00:19:00] meet with the senior executives, whether it's Sandy Weill at the time, and, uh, other, you know, senior, senior team members. Uh, and I remember after, you know, a few hundred of those, uh, maybe it should have clicked sooner, but after a few hundred of them, uh.

Understanding [: 00:19:15

That family office [00:19:45] just works for them. Separately, uh, those families can custody their assets at any counterparty. Uh, where they feel, you know, is best record keeping, uh, record keeping safety of assets. So whether it's [00:20:00] JP Morgan, Goldman, Schwab, fidelity, Pershing, uh, they can house their assets anywhere they want.

ts, whether it's Blackstone, [: 00:20:15

What if we could aggregate, you know, over time and as we have now, well, north of a hundred billion dollars of buying power, uh, behind 60, uh, RIAs that we have on the platform today, over 500 advisors. So that [00:20:45] maybe there's an advisor in my, my home state of Maine, uh, that has, you know, a million dollar, uh, a client that's saved up over the course of their whole life.

, with, uh, someone you know [: 00:21:00

They can custody their, their assets wherever they want, and they can go out and shop the whole street from a product implementation standpoint. And Dynasty is the technology that ties that experience together. Uh, and that's what we built. Uh, and that was, uh, where the, [00:21:30] the early thinking and vision came from.

cial crisis, uh, back in, uh,: 2010

To help. Get the narrative out there of why it is what [00:22:00] we are doing with Dynasty. Uh, and it's really exploded. I'm very humbled, uh, to say that we're 120 billion today. We have 30 billion signed. Uh, not that you're looking to break some news on your show, but we have 30 billion signed. [00:22:15]

Jonathan Blau: Nothing wrong with that.

It's real. Yeah.

on the platform by the end of: 2025

It's fundamentally better for the client, for the consumer. It's also better for advisors. It's better for their staff. Uh, there's just a beauty in that alignment, which is why I think we're in the [00:22:45] early innings. Uh, and we're gonna continue to see massive acceleration of all roads for advisors and clients leading to the REA space.

ding of this very podcast, I [: 00:23:00

I mean, three of my six or so previous podcast guests, half of them, uh, have, have relation, uh, relationship to to, to the veteran, uh, community. One is my father-in-law who [00:23:30] was a sergeant in Vietnam. One is my friend Chad Ford, who, who is a level five special, uh, ops, uh, Blackhawk. Uh, helicopter operator in, in, uh, Afghanistan.

t, uh, before Mindy Diamond. [: 00:23:45

Maybe not as much as you are. Uh, but also I want to talk a little bit about the charities. Like we work with, um, one of our main charities called the Sunrise Organization, and you talked about mentorship and, and those sorts of things. So this Sunrise organization was, uh, [00:24:15] founded by a fellow who saw the need.

ng to look forward to in the [: 00:24:30

And so now the siblings and the, the children, uh, struggl with cancer. Gets sent to camp and it frees up the [00:24:45] parents and it's just as a wonderful kind of thing. And Amy and I not just give money. We, we volunteer, we put necklaces, candy, necklaces, kids, give you hugs and kisses. So I'd love to hear a little bit about some of the things you support in, in that, uh, vein.

And then lastly talk about [: 00:25:00

Shirl Penney: Yeah, yeah. The, the Dynasty Foundation as well as our, our, our family, the, the Penny Family Foundation. Uh, both, uh, support various military causes. Dynasty, uh, [00:25:15] in particular focuses a lot on the entrepreneurial, uh, aspect of helping, uh, veterans, uh, make the transition, you know, back into, uh, you know, the private sector and, and sometimes finding jobs, uh, you know, with, uh, entrepreneurial [00:25:30] based businesses.

fighter [: 00:25:45

We have quite a number. My chief of staff, uh, currently, uh, his name is Jeremy Gilbert. Uh, he [00:26:00] was a army ranger. Uh, so we, uh, we try every chance we get, uh, to, to hire here, but more than that, uh, to mentor and help connect, uh, veterans with other opportunities. Our family foundation, uh, you know, [00:26:15] spends, uh, time with, uh.

ng a, uh, I was part of a, a [: 00:26:30

Uh, we're gonna have four bands and it's just a big fundraiser. For the Navy Seal [00:26:45] Foundation, uh, we're planning for a Frog Band swim, uh, which will take place in the next couple of months. Uh, trying to get some elite Olympic swimmers, uh, as well to be a part of it. Uh, but a lot of retired seals show up in full gear, uh, and [00:27:00] swim essentially from St.

Pete to Tampa, uh, which is pretty incredible. Uh, I'm not even sure if. Uh, if you and I could, uh, swim out to the, to the first buoy, but

ak for yourself. Yeah, yeah. [: 00:27:15

Shirl Penney: Uh, but it's just,

Jonathan Blau: it's,

Shirl Penney: it's, it's

Jonathan Blau: inspiring. I could float, I could float to the buoy. Uh,

Shirl Penney: you, you, you have a lot of the gold star family members that are there, you know, telling stories about, uh, loved ones and it's just so.

and, and powerful. So again, [: 00:27:30

And we get to do that because of the incredible men and women in the armed services who to me, are the great protectors, uh, of the, of the American dream. So we're really passionate there. Uh, I would be remiss if I didn't mention, uh, we do a [00:28:00] lot, uh, around a LS. Uh, my, uh, wife Maryanne, who, you know, um, her mom, uh, Ann, unfortunately, we lost the a LS uh, yeah, so that's a, a cause that's very, uh, near and dear to our heart.

Uh, and we do a [: 00:28:15

Um, no, sure. But we, we try to, you know, focus our time, attention, uh, and, uh, some of our capital on things that have touched us, uh, and that are near and dear to us, you know, from, [00:28:45] from over the years.

Jonathan Blau: Now Harvey Radler, you may may not even know this, but his dad, uh, passed away, uh, as a result of a LS too. So it's very near and dear to him.

talk a little bit about your [: 00:29:00

Shirl Penney: Yeah, so I have, I have a podcast.

Uh, [: 00:29:15

I watched the,

Jonathan Blau: I watched the race for Yeah, when you, when you notify

ck plan, but a couple of our [: 00:29:45

It's a great community event, being involved in racing. But we have a podcast, uh, it's 15 minutes as I call it. Uh, the most exciting. 15 minutes and, and [00:30:00] wealth management playing off the derby being the most exciting. Two minutes in sports. Uh, it's eight rapid fire questions. Each one of the questions represents one furlong on the track.

it's eight furlongs, uh, in, [: 00:30:15

So the, the, the amount of, uh, views, uh, has continued, uh, to increase. Over time. I'm super appreciative of that. Uh, it's a, [00:30:45] like I said, it's a, it's a passion project and for me, uh, I get to sit in the chair and ask the questions, but I'm learning alongside of the viewers. In part, I, I ask questions, the things that I want to know, uh, the answers to as well.

been a lot of fun. Specific [: 00:31:00

Uh, but, uh, my, uh, personal email, uh, is [00:31:30] available and contact information on the LinkedIn website as well.

've created, because of how, [: 00:31:45

I mean, I know you and I, I know if I need to talk to you, usually 1130 at night is when I reach out. Yeah. So you and I have a similar work ethic, uh, whether for, for better or worse, we're both a little nutty that way, uh, but. [00:32:00] But, um, again, I thank you for everything. Yeah. And, and, uh, appreciate your friendship.

And I love that you came on today and we had a chance to talk about all this. I appreciate

ay I'm proud of you. Uh, I'm [: 00:32:15

What you guys have done is remarkable. And as I said, the passion and care for your clients, uh, is, uh, is admirable. Uh, and as a result of that, I'm not surprised that you've had the success, uh, that you've had. [00:32:30] And, uh, you know, I think I'd be remiss too if, uh, if I didn't say that you married way up with Amy.

Uh, and so I'd be lying

Jonathan Blau: if I didn't say it,

et another reason. You know, [: 00:32:45

Jonathan Blau: Likewise. And with that, send my love to Maryanne as we call her Map MAP. [00:33:00] Yes. And uh, and good luck and have fun at the Derby. You know, we, we went with you guys I guess seven years ago or so. We had a great time. Uh, and I, I know how much fun it is, so enjoy it and, uh, love to everybody.

wrap this up when, when you [: 00:33:15

Uh, we, we should highlight some of the photos of you in your, uh, outfits from that Kentucky Derby trip. I, I have those. I have no

Jonathan Blau: objection. No objection. I have those. If your

Shirl Penney: producer would like 'em, just have 'em reach out. I

Jonathan Blau: [: 00:33:30

Shirl Penney: Thank you for having me, John.

Thank you. You too. Alright.

r: Thank you for tuning into [: 00:33:45

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