Opening Doors of Opportunity

A Conversation with Shawna Perron

Recently nominated for the Avenue Living Award for Discretionary Portfolio Manager of the Year, Shawna Perron has built a practice shaped not only by investment performance, but by a strong commitment to education, stewardship, and long-term relationships.

Q: Let’s start with your nomination. What does this recognition mean to you?

Shawna Perron, MBA, CIM, FEA, TEP

It’s meaningful, of course! It supports our approach to investment management and is a positive indication of how we’ve chosen to build our practice.

Since co-founding Perron & Partners in 2013, and since we joined Cumberland Private Wealth Management over the past decade, our focus has been on independence and active decision-making. As discretionary managers, we’re not just recommending investments, we are supporting an overall strategy, backstopped by our fiduciary duty to act in our clients’ best interests with discipline, care, and transparency.

We’ve built our approach around these ideals, and this nomination reflects that consistency over time.

 

Q: You have a very deliberate philosophy. What sets your approach apart?

At its core, it’s about helping clients understand what’s happening with their wealth, not just managing it behind the scenes.

Every portfolio review is an opportunity to educate and build on a relationship of trust. We explain what decisions are being made, why they matter, and how they connect to broader market conditions in light of the client’s overall position and goals.

It’s about providing our clients with the knowledge and confidence to support long-term decisions.

Q: Education seems to be a recurring theme in your work, particularly with women. Why has that been a focus?

In many families, women are deeply involved in financial decisions and, over time, often become the primary stewards of family wealth. Whether that transition happens gradually or unexpectedly, our goal is to help women feel informed and prepared.

The Women & Wealth events we host are designed to create a comfortable, engaging environment to learn and have fun. We've done everything from investment discussions to estate planning sessions to a private self-defense class we called “Playing Defense: Defensive Portfolio Positioning.”

It’s about meeting people where they are and opening the door to conversations that might not otherwise happen.

Q: You’re also very active in the family office space. What are you seeing there?

As families grow wealth across generations, decision-making and overall structures often become more complex. What was once managed by one person may now involve siblings, trustees, advisors, and multiple generations working together, sometimes with competing priorities.

We’ve been involved in building forums for these families where they can learn, share, and evolve with an overall focus on thinking more strategically about both short- and long-term stewardship.

Wealth transfer often involves exercising strategies though corporate or trust structures, estate planning, and an understanding of how decisions are made by a family over time. Our role is to help bring clarity, coordination and a proactive approach to that process, so wealth can be managed with care across generations.

 

Q: Your work extends well beyond portfolio management. Can you talk about your community initiatives?

It’s something that’s not only very important to me, but is also a cornerstone of my family’s values, and it shows up in a few different ways.

One example is our Giving Forward Campaign. Each October, our family foundation matches client donations to local charity organizations. To further support building our community, we also give clients the opportunity to visit local businesses we've personally selected to financially support them and create awareness. The campaign is now in its sixth year and has become a meaningful way to give back more broadly.

Beyond that, I’m involved in Calgary’s startup ecosystem by supporting Platform Calgary, an organization helping entrepreneurs build connections to increase their success. This helps me stay close to what’s happening in business and technology, while also supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs and developing businesses.

For me, it’s all connected. Whether it’s clients, businesses, or community organizations, the goal is helping to build a stronger community through awareness, creating opportunities, and supporting long-term growth.

Q: How do you think about client relationships in a business that is often described as transactional?

A fundamental component of how I approach being a discretionary investment manager is the relationships I have with my clients, which is too often overlooked in the industry. We stay in close contact with our clients, whether that’s through regular reviews, phone calls, or social events. We are accessible, engaged, and pride ourselves on being educational and proactive.

Trust is built over time through consistency, transparency, accessibility, and through taking a genuine interest in the individuals and families I work with to understand what matters to them.

Q: Looking ahead, what’s next for you?

A big focus is on mentorship and leadership. We’re bringing on a summer student shortly and looking for ways to support the next generation of managers entering the industry. I’m also personally focused on continuing to grow not only as a leader but also in my personal life.

I continue to work with smaller charities, such as Trades Guild, which may not have the same visibility or access to funding as larger organizations, which is something I care deeply about. For me, it all comes back to opening doors and creating opportunity where we can.

With the Perron & Partners team at Cumberland Private Wealth, wealth management is not just about performance. It is also about perspective, education, and stewardship. Through her work with clients, families, and the broader community, Shawna Perron is helping build lasting confidence across generations.