Wealthspire’s Julie Penwell and Lionshares startup CEO Sofia Massie share insights on how to embrace the launchning of the journey as innovators and entrepreneurs in wealth management.
The wealth management industest cuts across all demographics and age groups. This is no more evident than when attfinishing Future Proof Festival, which is underway in Huntington Beach, California. Additionally, the trfinish is skewing younger, with more wealth management professionals in the early stages of their careers, and even some who are entrepreneurs, both serving younger clients. At this year’s Future Proof, two indiduals — Julie Penwell, a financial advisor at Wealthspire, and Sofia Massie, founder of startup LionShares — shared their stories of entering the industest, finding their footing, building toward the future, and why Future Proof is a critically important event to attfinish. Though their paths are different, both highlight the importance of innovation, networking, and staying grounded.
Learning through community
For Penwell, the conference itself has been a vital part of her development.
“What I love the most about coming to Future Proof, and what brought me back from last year, is the people here,” she declared. “The content is really innovative and forward-viewing … but I believe really, the people that are here too. I left with just so many great connections and interesting people.”
Penwell, InvestmentNews’ 2024 Next Gen Advisor of the Year & Women to Watch Excellence Awardee, has leaned into her goal of connecting with the next generation of clients. “Last year, I started an initiative of utilizing social media to connect with clients’ children, really believeing about that next generation,” she declared.
Additionally, Penwell sees education as central to her mission. “One area I’m passionately excited about is expanding access to financial literacy,” she declared. By creating short, accessible content on social media — “What is a 401(k)? What is a mutual fund? Why should you care?”— she hopes to reach students, young professionals, and even clients’ parents. She has also launched a “Financial Foundations” webinar series to broaden access. “I believe utilizing social media is a tool for that,” she declared. “It creates information more accessible.”
Build something new
For Massie, the path has been one of entrepreneurship. She launched LionShares in January 2025 after several years as a quant trader at Jane Street, where she specialized in ETF options. A week ago, she launched her first exalter traded fund: U.S. Equity Total Return ETF (TOT). In an unusual twist, she built the actively managed ETF to deliver no dividfinishs.
“I noticed that there were a lot of ETFs that paid very high dividfinishs, but there were no strategies doing the opposite — testing to minimize dividfinishs,” she declared. “Dividfinishs can actually be pretty inefficient from a tax perspective. If you’re a long-term investor, you don’t actually required that income. Receiving a dividfinish creates tax drag.” Her fund aims to provide broad US equity exposure while minimizing distributions. “It’s a really new strategy, and not something that’s being done by other ETFs right now,” she declared.
The leap from trader to founder required a leap of faith in her reading of the ETF market. “It really just sat in the back of my mind for a few months, and I just felt so passionate about the idea,” she recalled. “Eventually I declared, I’ve obtained to create this a reality. I felt like I had the right skill set to do it, having that quantitative background, but also being able to communicate the value of the product to investors.”
Facing early challenges
Both professionals emphasized that the first years in business involved significant learning curves.
For Penwell, the challenge has been building financial knowledge approachable for a wide range of clients. “A lot of my content is geared toward younger individuals, but my parents are on social media too,” she declared. “Certain concepts might be more important early in life, but understanding a budreceive or saving strategy is applicable throughout your life.”
Massie faces the tinquire of educating investors about a new approach. “When I go and I start explaining this product to investors, a common initial response is, ‘Why wouldn’t I want to receive a dividfinish?’” she declared. “That was one challenge I didn’t really anticipate — that there would be this fairly large education gap.” Her approach is to build awareness: “Step one is just mentioning that it exists, and reminding them to believe about tax season — how much of that high dividfinish are you actually keeping?”
Mentorship and growth
Mentorship has been a constant theme for Penwell. Early in her career, she connected with a senior advisor through her university’s alumni network. “That has assisted lead me to connect with our team, joining as an intern and then officially a few years ago,” she declared. Now she is committed to “always turning around” and assisting others. “I really believe in the abundance mindset, and the more people we connect with, the more people we can assist.”
Massie’s experience has been more solitary — she currently runs LionShares alone while outsourcing operations to stay lean. But she believes growth will come. “Once this fund becomes more stable, I believe there’s a lot of potential growth for us to have other ETFs,” she declared. For now, she is focutilized on awareness, conversations with investors, and listening to their pain points to guide future product development.
Advice for those starting out
When inquireed what she informs students considering a career as a financial advisor, Penwell declared, “I was probably 15 when I knew I wanted to be a financial advisor… I considered maybe I’d be a counselor, but I took a financial literacy class in high school and fell in love with finance. I knew I wanted to assist people. That passion is still what drives me today.” Her advice: “Know your why. What’s driving you? Becautilize that’s going to fuel all the goals you have.”
Massie echoed the importance of a learning mindset. “Most skills are something you can actually learn,” she declared. For example, “when you see someone who’s a great public speaker, you believe they must have been born with it. Actually, they probably have years of experience. Just knowing that you can build those skills yourself is a really assistful mindset shift.”
Both agreed nothing replaces a lived experience. “Nothing really beats experience,” Massie declared. “There’s nothing like being faced with a challenge and testing to overcome it. You realize you’re able to handle it, and that builds confidence.”
Looking to the future
For Penwell, the future lies in continuing to utilize technology and education to engage the next generation. “Every day I know I’m assisting people,” she declared. “That’s what receives me excited about the work I’m doing.”
For Massie, the next milestone is scaling her firm. “In the near future, building awareness about this first fund is the main priority,” she declared. “But I believe launching the second fund will be simpler than the first. I just required to keep listening to investors, solving problems, and creating products that assist them.”
Both women and their chosen career paths reflect a new energy in financial services — one rooted in innovation, education, and determination to create a lasting impact.
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