The Bellwether team is deep with investment experience. The unique skills of each member work together to provide clients with a strong foundation for our “Disciplined Dividend Growth” process and client service. The team has an average of 25 years experience in the investment industry.
- Bob Sewell, President and CEO
- Steve Meehan, Chairman
- Michael “Pinball” Clemons, Senior Vice President, Business Development
- Wayne Wiggins, Vice President and Portfolio Manager
- Craig Ellis, Vice President and Portfolio Manager
- Diana Bristow, Vice President
- George Stanchev, Manager, Client Service and Transitions
- Sharron Summerton, Manager, Corporate Operations
- Alex Campeis, Manager, Portfolio Administration
Bob Sewell, CFA, CPA, CMA, CFP – Oakville
President and CEO
Bob has over 20 years of experience in the discretionary investment management and brokerage business and has established a reputation as a turnaround specialist and business builder. Prior to founding Bellwether, he led TD Waterhouse Private Investment Counsel, the TD Bank’s discretionary investment management division. Under Bob’s leadership Private Investment Counsel grew from $8 billion to $15 billion in assets under management.
Bob has been responsible for managing and building a wide range of Wealth Management businesses including: establishing the Royal Bank’s financial planning group; a private fund family; creating an offshore investment program; a Barbados chartered Bank that provided family office services; and a client base with responsibility for global equities and fixed income management. In each case, Bob has focused on serving the needs of affluent families in Canada and internationally.
Bob completed his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Toronto. He is a CFA charter holder which is awarded by the CFA Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. The CFA Institute is the global association of investment professionals that promotes the highest ethical standards and on-going education for investment managers. Bob is also a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) , Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Certified Investment Manager (CIM). Bob is registered as a Portfolio Manager and Chief Compliance Officer with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). Bob resides in Mississauga with his two daughters.
Steve Meehan – Oakville
Chairman
Steve has been in the financial industry for over 20 years, during which time he co-founded and was the Chief Executive Officer of Investment Planning Counsel Inc. (IPC) which was sold to IGM Financial in 2004, a member of the Power Financial group of companies. After IPC’s purchase, Steve carried on as CEO and continued to guide the growth of the company. He left IPC at the end of 2010 to pursue his interests in venture capital and philanthropy prior to his joining Bellwether Investment Management in October 2011.
During Steve’s tenure, IPC grew from two small offices with approximately 30 Advisors to a fully integrated wealth management organization which, at the time of Steve’s departure, had 18 billion in assets under administration and 3 billion in assets under management.
Over the past few years, Steve has been active in the venture capital world and has utilized his past experience in growing IPC, and raising capital, to assist young North American companies grow their business. His experience in raising capital spans the entire range of possibilities within the capital markets, including: private equity; venture capital; public markets; strategic partnerships; and both on and off balance sheet debt financing.
Steve believes integrity and ethics are an essential component in business and private life. A key element in his vision is to make a difference in the lives of others. That vision involves a two pronged approach of helping those that are less fortunate, and inspiring others to help those less fortunate. He has participated in events such as the Canadian Iron Man, to raise funds and awareness for the MS society of Canada; ran the Honolulu Marathon in support of The Canadian Diabetes Association and The Make-A-Wish Foundation. He led a group of climbers up Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds and awareness for the Make-A-Wish Foundation where he served as President of the Toronto and Central Ontario Chapter. Steve is also an active board member and supporter of the Michael “Pinball” Clemons Foundation. All of these initiatives have one goal in mind, to raise funds for good causes and to inspire others to take on personal challenges in an effort to help others.
Steve is responsible for client relationship management, marketing and Bellwether’s distribution strategy. Steve resides in Mississauga with his wife Nadine.
Michael “Pinball” Clemons – Oakville
Senior Vice President, Business Development
Michael “Pinball” Clemons is an icon of sporting excellence, community leadership, personal character and integrity. The Economics graduate is the pro-football world record holder in all purpose yards which earned him induction into the CFL Hall of Fame. He also has the second best coaching record in Argo history.
Known for a personality that is as electric as his style of play on the field was, Mike redefines the meaning of community involvement and has been recognized by many organizations for his tireless work with charities, schools and other community groups. In 2007, he fulfilled a long time ambition by launching The Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons Foundation to quicken academic excellence, infuse depth of character, promote health and vitality, and inspire generosity in our youth. The foundations most noteworthy project to date is building 131 schools in third world countries over five years. The author, philanthropist and entrepreneur is also currently the vice-chair of the Toronto Argonauts and a member of the distinguished Order of Ontario.
Mike resides in Oakville with his wife, Diane and daughter’s Rachel, Raven and Rylie.
Mike is the ideal person to lead business development at Bellwether as he is the personification of our core tenants of integrity and transparency.
Wayne Wiggins, CFA – Oakville
Vice President and Portfolio Manager
Wayne has over 25 years of experience in the investment industry. Prior to joining Bellwether, he was Head of HSBC Global Asset Management (Canada) Private Client investment business and a member of the Board of HSBC Trust Company (Canada).
Wayne developed an avid interest in the markets while completing his university education. This avid interest led him away from his initial education in Forestry and into the investment industry. He started his career in the emerging mutual fund industry and moved on to brokerage with Merrill Lynch and then discretionary portfolio management with Royal Trust. He has extensive experience managing portfolios and advising High Net Worth individuals and their families. Wayne believes an integrated holistic wealth management approach is best suited to helping clients preserve and grow their wealth.
Wayne completed his Bachelor of Science Forestry at the University of New Brunswick. He is a CFA charterholder which is awarded by the CFA Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. The CFA Institute is the global association of investment professionals that promotes the highest ethical standards and on-going education for investment managers.
Wayne resides in Oakville, is married to his wife Lori with 2 children. He is an avid golfer and member of the Glen Abbey Golf Club. Wayne is an active member of the Chimo Ryu Jiu – Jitsu club in Oakville and holds a 3rd degree black belt.
Craig Ellis, CFA, HBA – Oakville
Vice President and Portfolio Manager
Craig has been managing discretionary investment portfolios for affluent families, trusts and foundations since the early nineties. Prior to joining Bellwether, Craig was Head of Portfolio Management for the private client business at HSBC Global Asset Management (Canada). In his role, Craig led a national team of portfolio managers responsible for managing roughly $2.5B in assets. He was instrumental in developing Canadian and global investment strategies that focused on generating tax effective income, reducing portfolio volatility, and preserving capital during challenging markets.
Craig’s career in the investment industry began as an Investment Counsellor with Royal Trust and later he joined Charles Schwab (Canada) where he built their discretionary investment service as well as a team of portfolio managers and analysts that provided investment strategy and stock research for the firm.
Craig completed two degrees at the University of Western Ontario: a Bachelor of Arts (Honours Business Administration) from Ivey as well as a Bachelor of Arts (English Literature) from Huron College. He is a CFA charterholder, which is awarded by the CFA Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA. The CFA Institute is the global association for investment professionals that promotes the highest ethical standards and on-going education for portfolio managers. Craig is also a registered Portfolio Manager with the Ontario Securities Commission.
Craig lives with his wife and three children in Georgetown. While he enjoys playing golf and hockey, Craig’s true enjoyment comes from coaching his two boys in hockey, baseball and basketball.
Diana Bristow – Oakville
Vice President
Diana brings over 30 years of experience in the investment industry to Bellwether, with the majority of her career spent as an investment advisor most recently with Raymond James Ltd. Diana joined Bellwether in early 2016.
Diana began her investment career in 1983 working with her father, an industry veteran. She has held numerous positions in the industry including being a branch manager and several years as an Assistant Portfolio Manager with a boutique portfolio manager. Diana’s career has been marked by numerous accomplishments including being one of the top female advisors at BMO Nesbitt Burns and being promoted to Vice President.
Her experience ranges from consulting businesses regarding benefit plans (insurance, profit sharing, pensions, etc.), to helping individuals whether they are just starting a family or managing the great wealth they have accumulated.
Personally, Diana’s family is the highlight of her life. In her free time she enjoys genealogy, baking and giving back to the community. Charities she currently supports include The Darling House, Milton District Hospital, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba.
George Stanchev – Oakville
Manager, Client Service and Transitions
Sharron Summerton – Oakville
Manager, Corporate Operations
Alex Campeis – Oakville
Manager, Portfolio Administration
Alan Cameron – North York
Vice President
Alan has been a practicing financial advisor since 1993. Prior to moving to Toronto in 1999, he was the Branch Manager and owner of the London office of Investment Planning Counsel, which included eleven other investment professionals. Prior to that he spent more than two years as an index option trader. He also operated several small business corporations in Toronto.
Alan attended the University of Waterloo and York University, where he studied economics and political science. He completed the Canadian Securities and the Conduct and Practices Courses and has life insurance qualifications from the Life Underwriters Association of Canada. He also taught the Retirement Planning section of the CFP at London’s Fanshawe College as part of their Financial Planning Certificate Program.
Alan has appeared on local and national television broadcasts, and has appeared often on ROBtv’s Talking Tax program. For the past 15 years, he has been a feature of Toronto radio hosting a weekend financial program. Alan currently hosts the Sunday Money Show on Newstalk 1010. The Sunday Money Show is a live, call-in radio program airing every second Sunday morning from 11 am – 12 noon covering a wide variety of investment and financial planning topics.
Alan leads a team committed to providing complete and comprehensive financial planning services to clients. Clients are assured of receiving the broadest and most responsive planning information and consulting possible.
Listen to Alan Cameron on Sundays from 11am to 12pm EDT on The Sunday Money Show.
Sharon Campbell – North York
Operations Manager/Executive Assistant
Sharon oversees the office operations and works closely with Alan to meet client service needs and expectations. She manages the team services and is responsible for developing and maintaining a strong on-going client relationship to ensure a first rate client experience.
Lucy Cutting – North York
Marketing Assistant
Lucy manages the marketing, client relations and communications activities of the office. Her objectives are to provide excellent client support. She works continuously to ensure that we provide informative, interesting and useful support for our clients.
Jacques Beaudoin, CPA, CA – Montreal
Vice President and Associate Portfolio Manager
Jacques has over 35 years of experience in the Global Financial Service industry, Private Banking and Discretionary Investment Management. He has extensive experience in Europe where he established new operations for a large Trust Company and also built strong expertise in restructuring the operations of a Private Bank in Switzerland. He led the operations of TD Waterhouse Private Investment Counsel Eastern Canada and RT Private Investment Counsel, Eastern Canada, and in both cases under Jacques’ leadership assets were doubled within 5 years.
Jacques has been responsible for establishing, managing and restructuring businesses in Europe and Canada and and has extensive experience serving the needs of affluent families in Canada and internationally.
Jacques is a Chartered Professional Accountant – Quebec CPA and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from HEC Montreal (University of Montreal). He is also registered as a Portfolio Manager and regularly attends Chartered Financial Analyst training around the world.
Jacques loves the outdoors and spends his time between the Laurentians and Chambly with his partner Ginette. He has lived in Toronto, Amsterdam and Zurich and has transmitted his love of travelling to his children. His daughter lives in London, England, his son in Melbourne, Australia, and his step daughter has accompanied him and Ginette on a number of holidays. Jacques loves the outdoors and spends as much time as possible on the ski hills during the winter season. In the summer, he enjoys fishing and kayaking.
Tony Bufo – Montreal
Vice President
Tony has held a number of executive and senior management positions in the financial service industry for over 28 years. Tony has a proven management track record in leading teams of sales and service professionals to grow business, build relationships and provide legendary customer service. Prior to joining Bellwether, Tony was Vice President and Manager Private Banking Quebec for TDCT bank, responsible for all Quebec business development activities for affluent families and was instrumental in opening a new Private Banking Center in Quebec City. At RBC Insurance as Vice President, Investment and Insurance Eastern Canada, he spearheaded the development and execution of all sales and service strategies for a new insurance and investment platform for Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada growing sales 24% year over year.
Previously, he served as Sales Manager, Financial Planning at RBC Wealth Management, where he established a holistic approach in serving clients through coaching, partnering and developing team work. This resulted in achieving the number one ranking for financial planning in Canada. He spent the prior 16 years at RBC Bank, holding various Branch Manager positions across Quebec.
Tony has served on the board of directors for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Big Brother Big Sister of West Island and coached hockey for 15 years in his community. He earned a MBA degree at Université du Québec à Montréal and a BBA at John Molson School of Business. He holds a FICB designation which is the highest award given by the Institute of Canadian Bankers for achieving educational excellence in his studies with honors. Tony is also a certified financial planner with the Institut Québécois de planification financière in Quebec. Tony lives in Pointe Claire Quebec, is married and has 2 children. He enjoys being with family, friends, playing golf and travelling.
Alan Fustey – Winnipeg
Vice President and Portfolio Manager
Jeff Palles – Winnipeg
Vice President and Portfolio Manager
Darlene Chubak – Winnipeg
Operations Manager
Ken Serbu – Calgary
Vice President and Portfolio Manager
Gordon Ross – Vancouver
Vice President and Portfolio Manager