Having been raised in an entrepreneurial family Shawn was instilled with the importance of hard work, trust and compassion. Working in two family businesses from a young age he became well aware of the challenges that many small business owners and professionals face in Saskatchewan.
Shawn graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a bachelor's degree in commerce, majoring in both finance and business economics. Upon graduation he moved overseas, gaining valuable work experience in finance in Tokyo as a foreign exchange "day trader". This international experience set him up for various opportunities back in Canada where he accepted a position as a small business lender with a leading Canadian bank. This experience further reinforced his passion for assisting small business owners and professionals to succeed but his true passion still lied within the investment industry where he felt he could add even more value to his clients.
Soon after, Shawn became an Investment Advisor with a leading full service brokerage firm where he worked closely with clients and guided them through the very tumultuous 2008 financial crisis. Lessons learned from that time shaped his outlook on financial markets and guided him to further advance himself by gaining his Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation; allowing him to provide discretionary portfolio management to his clients.
In the summer of 2015 he joined the National Bank Financial along with Dave Dutcheshen, whom he partnered with at BMO Nesbit Burns for several years; as well as Brenda Serfling, their own in-house certified financial planner. Together they built a team focused on providing exceptional solutions to exceptional clients.
Shawn is married to his amazing wife Lara, and together have two incredible children, Dylan and Bryn. Shawn is actively involved in his children's lives and enjoys coaching Dylan's hockey team. Together as a family they enjoy many sports and spending time outdoors whether it be at the lake or in the Rocky Mountains.