Shane Kinahan is an investment manager and principal who has built a long career by combining Wall Street training with the focus of a boutique firm. He grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, attended Stamford Catholic High School, and went on to study finance at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. There he earned a BA in Finance, setting the foundation for his work in markets and investing.
After college, Shane moved into high level finance roles. He joined Goldman Sachs in New York and rose to the role of Vice President, working there from 2006 to 2011. That experience gave him a deep view into institutional standards, risk, and how large firms manage complex portfolios.
Shane then shifted toward building and leading his own firms. In 2009, he founded JMR Partners, LLC and has served as Founder and Managing Partner. In 2011, he became Co Founding, Managing Partner at Lake Avenue Capital, LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut. At Lake Avenue Capital, he focuses on alternative investments and class action claims, areas that call for careful analysis and patience.
He also serves as an Investor and Board Advisor at Drawbridge Partners, LLC. Across these roles, Shane’s work centers on clear decision making, disciplined research, and long term client outcomes.
Outside the office, he enjoys golf and ice hockey and supports charities through donations. His path reflects steady progress rather than shortcuts. Education, sustained effort, and a focus on quality have defined his success in business and life.
When you think about success, what is the first chapter of your story that comes to mind?
I usually go back to Stamford, Connecticut. I grew up in a regular neighborhood, went to Stamford Catholic High School, and spent a lot of time trying to understand how things worked. I liked numbers and patterns from a young age. It was not about wanting to be “on Wall Street” yet. It was more about being curious about systems.
Going to Bentley University was the next clear step. Studying finance there from 1990 to 1994 gave me structure. I learned how to think in balance sheets and cash flows. More importantly, I learned how to put discipline around that curiosity. Success for me started as the habit of doing the work, even when nobody was watching.
How did your time at Goldman Sachs shape your view of success?
Goldman Sachs was a real filter for me. I joined in 2006, and worked there as a vice president until 2011. Those years included both good markets and the financial crisis, so I saw how fast things can change.
Success in that environment meant being prepared all the time. You could not fake it. If you walked into a meeting without knowing the details, it showed. I watched people who were brilliant but not consistent. I also watched people who were steady, maybe quieter, but always ready. I took a lot from that.
One specific lesson came during a stressful week in 2008. A client wanted to move fast on a complex structure. The pressure was high. Instead of rushing, I spent extra hours that week walking through each risk scenario, line by line. The deal ended up being reworked, not because anyone panicked, but because the details did not support the first version. That stuck with me. Success is often choosing to slow down when everyone else speeds up.
What made you leave a large firm and move into building and leading your own firms?
By 2009, I had spent enough time in large institutions to know what I valued and what I wanted more control over. Founding JMR Partners was a way to test that. I wanted to build something where the link between the work and the result was more direct.
In 2011, when I became co founding, managing partner at Lake Avenue Capital in Greenwich, that idea got clearer. At a boutique firm, you cannot hide behind layers of structure. Every choice shows up quickly. That can be uncomfortable, but it is also very honest.
For me, success is not only about title or scale. It is about ownership. If a strategy works, you own it. If it fails, you own that too. Running JMR Partners and Lake Avenue Capital gave me that kind of accountability.
You focus on alternative investments and class action claims. How does that connect to your idea of success?
Those areas fit how I think. Alternative investments and class action claims are not simple or clean. There is often imperfect information and a lot of noise. Many people avoid that. I leaned into it.
At Lake Avenue Capital, we might spend months reviewing data and legal context for a claims portfolio. There was one situation where we walked away from a large opportunity after a long review, because a small detail in the claims structure did not line up with our risk standards. On paper, it looked attractive. In practice, it did not match our threshold.
Success in that world is not about finding the flashiest deal. It is about building a process that protects you when the story sounds better than the facts.
How do you personally define success in your career today?
I think about three things: clarity, patience, and outcomes.
Clarity means I understand exactly what we are doing and why. If I cannot explain an investment or a decision in simple language, I treat that as a problem to solve before moving forward.
Patience means being willing to wait. In alternative assets and class action strategies, timelines are not always smooth. Success is often staying aligned with the original thesis when short term noise tries to push you off course.
Outcomes are both financial and relational. It matters that the numbers work. It also matters that clients understand what we are doing and feel informed and respected. That is part of success too.
What role have sports like golf and ice hockey played in your idea of success?
Golf taught me humility and focus. You can prepare, pick the right club, feel good about the swing, and still come up short. When that happens, you have to adjust and move on. That translates directly into investing. You can do all the work and still be wrong. The key is how you respond.
Ice hockey is different but related. It is fast and physical. You do not have time to overthink. You read the play, make your move, and accept the result. On the ice, you see how small mistakes compound quickly, and how a smart position can save you from a bad bounce.
Both sports remind me that success is not a straight line. It is a mix of preparation, awareness, and recovery.
If a younger professional asked you how to build a successful career in finance, what would you tell them?
I would start with this: do not rush the foundation. Learn the basics very well. Understand balance sheets, risk, and how to read agreements. Then seek out environments that stretch you, even if the title is not perfect at first.
Second, pay attention to your judgment. Tools and models are everywhere now. What stands out is your ability to weigh tradeoffs, ask better questions, and say no when something does not feel right.
Finally, think long term about your name. Your reputation is your real resume. How you handle pressure, how you treat clients, and how you own mistakes will matter more than any single win. If you take care of that, success has a way of following over time.