Small Business Award winner spotlight: SANDSTONE Asset Management Inc.

Nearly 20 years ago, Sharon Watkins and Brent Pickerl came together to start SANDSTONE Asset Management Inc. With Sharon as the CEO and Brent as the President, they set out to be more than just another wealth management firm. With a mission to “create possibilities” for their clients, employees and community as a whole, the pair focused on providing personalized service par excellence to every individual, foundation and family they served.

Social impact became a key focus for the pair of founders, as they committed SANDSTONE to social entrepreneurship and making a difference. Sharon believes it is a responsibility for their business to give back to the community—this commitment was recognized at the 40th Calgary Small Business Awards when SANDSTONE won the CPA Alberta Social Entrepreneurship Award.

Thinking outside the box

As a boutique wealth management firm, the team at SANDSTONE offers discretionary investment services to high-net-worth entrepreneurs, inheritors and family trusts. But they don’t just manage money: “We help with all aspects of our clients’ lives,” Brent says.

“We do financial planning, educate the next generation and help with philanthropy through creating targeted donation strategies or family foundations. Bottom line: we manage risk, returns and relationships.”

A testament to the success of the firm is the fact that many clients are now in the second and third generation of family members looking to SANDSTONE for guidance in managing their financial and personal affairs.

Brent takes pride in his team’s creative ability to problem-solve and offer customized approaches for each of their clients’ needs.

He gave an example from a meeting with the board of a large foundation they manage. “When we were looking at solutions, their board chair said to us ‘I’m not sure if you constantly think outside the box, or if you even know there is a box,’” Brent explains.

SANDSTONE’s unique approach can be traced to CEO Sharon Watkins’ impressive investment background. Throughout her lengthy career, Sharon enjoyed tremendous exposure to an international culture that greatly shaped her own investment philosophy and practice. Driven by her curiosity, Sharon, who is also the chief investment strategist at SANDSTONE, looks at global trends, geopolitical issues and behavioral aspects of investors around the world to stay informed and deliver integral insights.

In 2004, Sharon partnered with Brent to create SANDSTONE Asset Management Inc., in the process becoming the first female CEO of a securities listed (CIRO) firm in Canada, and they “haven’t looked back since,” Brent says.

Acting as a force for good

From the outset, the founding duo decided social entrepreneurship was going to be one of the cornerstones of the company. SANDSTONE’s commitment to acting as a force for good sees a percentage of profits going towards what they call “building the Commons”.

Without their city, clients, community and team, none of this would be possible. It really takes a village. Sharon believes they have a responsibility as a business to give back to the community, and the very fact that a financial firm won this award—typically regarded as one of the most capitalist companies on the block—really sends a message. She appreciates the recognition and hopes that it will serve as a catalyst, showing other companies you can be successful and still socially responsible.

“At the heart of capitalism is liberty,” says Brent. “Even though it can be great to make money, we have a commitment to making a positive change and staying steadfast to our triple bottom line—people, profits and planet.”

SANDSTONE practices creating this impact through numerous community collaborations.

“One of our latest initiatives is our partnership with Calgary Surge, the city’s new professional basketball team, as their Champion sponsor to send about 400 kids who could not afford it to go to the basketball games,” Brent remarks. Additionally, every year, SANDSTONE hosts a well-supported Christmas donation drive to collect essential items for Calgary’s Drop-In Centre over the holidays.

“We also have our annual CONNECTS speaker event, where we bring in experts to talk about various issues around the world,” says Sharon. “We want to bring everyone together, from students to our clients to politicians, whether we agree or not, to discuss contentious issues and realize that, at the end of the day, we’re all human.”

For several years now, the firm has been a sponsor of InterGen’s Top 7 over 70 Awards, an event that brings immense pride to both Sharon and Brent. SANDSTONE is the largest investor in InterGen—an economic ecosystem that connects seasoned Calgary business leaders with emerging entrepreneurs, fostering invaluable mentorship and network introductions.

SANDSTONE’s values and legacy of work contributed to them becoming the first wealth management firm in Canada to achieve a Certified B Corp designation several years ago. On top of their B Corp status, SANDSTONE has received further recognition from the group.

“Each year, B Corp announces a Best for Workers category and we’re proud to have scored in the top 5% out of more than 5200 companies, 156 industries and 83 countries for the past five years,” Brent says. Moreover, as an Imagine Canada 'Caring Company', SANDSTONE demonstrates their commitment to community investment by donating a percentage of pre-tax domestic profit to support charities and not-for-profit organizations.

Valuing connection in recognition

On the cusp of their 20-year anniversary and after the challenging and unusual past three years the world has collectively faced, Sharon and Brent have worked with their team to define SANDSTONE’s purpose for the next two decades.

As proponents of lifelong learning, the firm is filled with optimism for the future. “We’re 20 years young; we’re just getting started!” says Brent.

“Service is the lifeline of our organization, but we believe first in supporting our employees—the people within the organization. They can be positioned to support our clients, the business and the community,” notes Brent. “We were built on the philosophy that we have a responsibility to all our stakeholders. It is engrained in our fabric that the more successful you become, the greater your responsibility is.”

SANDSTONE not only appreciates the reward recognition but values the connections they were able to build along the way.

“The Calgary Small Business Awards was a great opportunity to talk to these small businesses that we’ve collaborated, partnered and done business with for the last 20 years,” recalls Brent. “Recognition is great, but it was also great to connect with all these people and realize that we’re all in this together to influence the wonderful city we live in.”

When reflecting on their journey, Sharon prizes the strong, trusting and even emotional connections she’s built with clients and community partners, recounting how those have shaped her and stuck with her throughout the years. “Ultimately, social entrepreneurship comes down to the people. They share their lives, and that really makes it worthwhile.”

“We hope that this ‘little engine that could’ mentality we have at SANDSTONE inspires other small businesses and helps them realize they can prioritize people and profit too,” Sharon says.

To learn more about SANDSTONE Asset Management Inc., visit sandstoneam.com. See the full list of winners from the 40th Calgary Small Business Awards.