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Dynasty Financial Partners will trade New York City for St. Pete

The wealth management firm was courted for nearly a year by the Greater St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation.
 
Priatek Plaza, once known as the Bank of America building, stands at 200 Central Ave. in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg.
Priatek Plaza, once known as the Bank of America building, stands at 200 Central Ave. in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg.
Published Feb. 19, 2019

New York City wealth management firm Dynasty Financial Partners is relocating its headquarters to downtown St. Petersburg later this year.

The move comes after the Greater St. Petersburg Area Economic Development Corporation spent nearly a year courting the firm. Dynasty will relocate to the 15th floor of Priatek Plaza, the 28-story tower at 200 Central Ave.

J.P. DuBuque, president of the economic development corporation, called Dynasty a "rising star in the financial services world." The company's high salaries and promise of local hiring, he said, will be a significant draw.

"For us, they're going to come here and bring quite a few jobs," DuBuque said. "(They) really want to be a part of this community and invest in this community."

He said the company will not receive local subsidies. What clinched the deal was the community.

"St. Pete offers a great quality of life and a diverse workforce," Dynasty spokeswoman Sally Cates said. "It's a better tax environment and a lower cost of doing business in Florida."

She said the region's airports and low cost of living were also factors.

The company expects to have 35 to 40 employees by the end of the year, Cates said, which will be a combination of existing employees and new hires. She declined to specify how many would be new hires.

"It will be our primary growth hub for business," she said. Dynasty currently has 60 employees, located primarily in New York City, Miami, San Francisco and Chicago. It also works with 47 registered investment advisors in 11 states and "partners" with wealth management firms across the country.

The new hires will be in fields including compliance, client services, investments, operations, technology human resources, business development and relationship management.

"The visibility that comes with this is amazing," DuBuque said, because Dynasty's board of directors is "stacked" with influential financial industry executives.

Among those board members are Todd Thompson, former CEO of Citigroup's global wealth management division; William H. Donaldson, member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Systemic Resolution Advisory Committee; and Harvey Golub, former CEO and chairman of American Express.

Dynasty is slated to move in the spring.

"We're thrilled to have a company like Dynasty in our building," said Ken Jones, CEO of Third Lake Capital, which bought the Priatek tower for $65.7 million in 2017. But he said there are other companies in similar discussions with St. Petersburg, too, so he's looking for more big announcements to come.

"When I look at our investment in St. Petersburg, I think we're in the second or third inning of the game," Jones said. "I think there's a lot more to come."

Times staff writer Richard Danielson contributed to this report. Contact Malena Carollo at mcarollo@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2249. Follow @malenacarollo.