Bradenton financial planners merge firms and dreams

Friends with the same dreams and ambitions, Gardner Sherrill and Danny Wood merged their two firms in January as Shoreline Financial Partners.

A little more than six months after Sherrill and Wood launched the new endeavor, the company was named a finalist for the Manatee Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year awards.

Indeed, the long-time Bradenton residents and veteran financial planners are deeply committed to serving the community outside their business.

Prior to their merger, their two companies were Sherrill Wealth Management and Wood Investment Management.

Before starting his own company, Sherrill worked as a team leader and wealth manager for some of the leading brokerage firms and trust banks in the country. A certified financial planner, he has long experience advising families, entrepreneurs and women.

In 2012, he founded Sherrill Wealth Management and doubled his business every year for five years. Sherrill believes that level of growth, as well as involvement with not-for-profits, helped Shoreline Financial Partners be selected as a finalist in the category for businesses with $250,000-$1 million in annual revenue.

“I wanted to go out on my own and create something,” Sherrill said. “The dream was to build a legacy in the community, maybe something that I could leave my children.”

Wood started out by working for John Hancock, Northwestern Mutual and Edward Jones Investments before launching Wood Investment Management.

“When the market crashed and burned, it was an opportunity to reassess,” Wood said of the Great Recession.

“We were both running the same race,” Wood said of his new business partner. “We are really aligned the same way.”

Rather than working for a larger company, where they would be responsible to shareholders and have to worry about sales quotas, Sherrill and Wood said they wanted to make building a personal relationship with their clients their top priority.

“We care about the long-term relationship,” Sherrill said. “Our duty and loyalty is to the customer and not the shareholder. We really enjoy working and living here in Bradenton and Manatee County.”

Added Wood: “We are aiming at providing the client with more services going forward and improving the experience.”

Outside of work, Wood has been involved with Youth for Christ, Young Life and the U.S. Sail and Power Squadron. Sherrill has served on the boards of Just For Girls, the Anna Maria Island Community Center and the New College Foundation.

Located at 2520 Manatee Ave. W. in Suite 200 of the Synovus Bank building, Shoreline Financial Partners is open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. For more information, call 941-745-2201 or visit shorelinefinancialpartners.

This story was originally published August 27, 2017 at 8:30 AM with the headline "Bradenton financial planners merge firms and dreams."