Shirl Penney, Founder & CEO of Dynasty Financial Partners
In February 2019, the New York City-based wealth management and technology provider, Dynasty Financial Partners, announced the relocation of its headquarters from Manhattan to St. Petersburg, Florida. Founder & CEO of Dynasty Financial Partners, Shirl Penney shares why St. Pete proved to be the perfect fit for the high-growth financial services firm.
What were the other cities of consideration and what was the ultimate standout factor about St. Pete?
Moving our headquarters out of Midtown Manhattan was not something we took lightly. We spent over a year in due diligence and made over 20 trips to various cities, including Albany, Charlotte, Lexington, Nashville, and West Palm. We came to the St. Pete and Tampa area 5 times during the process. While all of the cities had unique benefits and we were hosted fantastically in every location, we ultimately chose St. Petersburg because it clearly checked the most boxes for us.
The area has fantastic infrastructure to support its growth, including airports to support our satellite locations, a very business-friendly climate, excellent talent availability and relative affordability of that talent, a supportive tax environment, walkability and access of the city, prime office location, and ultimately, the community.
Employees of Dynasty Financial Partners explore St. Pete’s arts scene during a relocation exploration visit.
I tell people we had a total community bear hug from the Mayor and his team, the EDC, many business owners in town of all different sizes and industries, the Rays and Rowdies, restaurant owners, hotel operators, real estate professionals, right down to our drivers when in town; everyone had such great pride in St. Pete and where it’s going and collectively led a team-based sale to make us feel like they all really wanted Dynasty as part of that growing and thriving community. We couldn’t be more excited with our decision.
How did the local financial services industry impact your decision?
The financial services sector is the largest employment sector in St. Pete and I don’t think that is widely known around the country. What this equates to is fully built out infrastructure and exceptional community support for businesses in that sector. We have already found great local talent and in turn are moving some fantastic talent into the city. We hope to help attract, recruit, and grow the sector in the area and see no reason why it can’t become one of the top regions in the country for finance professionals that want to work hard and play hard. I also think there is something tangible about living in a place where so many people come to vacation and refresh, especially when you work in a high stress industry such as financial services.
How did the affordability from a business standpoint and from a cost of living standpoint for your employees impact Dynasty’s decision?
The delta in savings for our employees and company in terms of real estate (both residential and commercial), talent, taxes, and overall cost of living were all important items on our evaluation list. For a business that is growing quickly like us, being able to add operating margin by lowering expenses while also enhancing the quality of life for our employees is a win-win for everyone. And as a kicker, the sunshine was free!
How did access to talent play a role in the relocation?
Availability of talent is paramount to a quickly growing firm and a good feeder system from local colleges is a major plus. With 25 percent of bachelor’s degrees from the local colleges and universities being awarded in concentrations related to finance, we are already seeing an abundance of interest from local talent.
Dynasty employees at 3 Daughters Brewing during a visit to St. Pete in advance of relocating.
On top of that, with the city having such a high quality of life, we see the ability to draw talent from across the nation to join us in St. Pete. As more and more businesses realize the benefits of the area and locate here, the talent pool will continue to grow and become increasingly dynamic. With it already starting at such a high level, we are excited to see how the talent pool evolves in the years to come.
What was it about the 200 Central building that you found to be appealing?
We are very excited about our new office at 200 Central and can’t wait to move in. Our younger employees love how close it is to the action of downtown and the dozens of great apartment communities. Many of our executives enjoy how easy it is to commute to, given the 2-hour commutes some of them experience daily in Manhattan.
Dynasty Financial Partners will occupy the full 15th floor of the 200 Central building in downtown St. Petersburg
