Our Team

Phil Sawyer is the President of Sawyer & Associates Financial Services Ltd. He began his career in the financial industry in 1983, right after graduating from Laurentian University with a degree in Economics.  In 1996, Phil earned his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER designation and has continued to guide his clients through retirement and estate planning issues. Phil now specializes in money management and retirement planning, doing extensive analyses of a client’s current situation and projecting their retirement needs and abilities as they prepare for retirement.   Phil and his team strive to find the right product to suit each client’s individual needs.   Phil has also earned the Certified Executor Advisor (CEA) designation.  This designation allows him to work with executors and help guide them through the orderly disposition of an estate, such as navigating the complicated financial, legal and taxation issues they will encounter. More importantly it allows him to look into a client’s situation and determine if there are estate obstacles that should be dealt with before someone passes away.

Over the past 35 years, Phil's commitment to creating a superior financial planning experience for his clients has been evident by the growth in his knowledge and practice as a Financial Planner and by the quality of the people he has chosen to represent his company. Phil’s daughter Karen joined Sawyer and Associates Financial Services Ltd. and Investment Planning Counsel in 2010 and together they offer Estate and Retirement planning along with Personal Financial Planning and are assisted by a dedicated team of highly qualified assistants, Bonita Rams, Debbie Paguandas as well as Phil’s wife Lise Sawyer. The team works together to provide timely and accurate planning advice necessary to meet the client’s needs and expectations within a successful practice. Honesty and high ethical standards have guided Phil throughout his career. This standard has helped set him and his team as one of the top Financial Offices in Sudbury.

He has been happily married to his wife Lise for over 35 years, and they have two children, Cathy and Karen. Phil and his wife enjoy travelling, golf and boating on Georgian Bay on their boat named "Current Sea".

Insurance products available through Sawyer & Associates Financial Services Ltd.

Karen is a Financial Planner and Vice-President at Sawyer and Associates Financial Services Ltd. In 2010, she graduated from Laurentian University with an Honors Bachelor of Commerce degree. She focused her studies in the areas of financial management which included obtaining an in-depth knowledge of accounting, taxation and finance. Karen continued learning valuable skills by gaining experience at two local accounting firms. These positions allowed her to gain additional knowledge and experience in the areas of accounting and taxation which have proven to be invaluable assets when dealing with more complex issues, as well as in identifying tax saving strategies for clients.

After building a solid foundation in finance, Karen began her career in financial planning working alongside her father Phil.  In this position Karen has had the opportunity to develop relationships and enhance her knowledge base in an advisory role. She has gained extensive knowledge and expertise managing investment portfolios, with a strong focus on comprehensive retirement planning, as well as estate and tax planning beginning in working years through to retirement and death. 

Having a young family herself, she understands the balance required to plan for the future while also enjoying life and our families while possible. She helps to guide clients through the planning process and explains the importance of ensuring their family is protected in the event of an unexpected death or illness with the use of insurance solutions.  

With many successful years still ahead of her, Karen looks forward to continuing her work with current clients and welcomes the opportunity to meeting with new clients. In a world that is always changing, Karen looks for opportunities to further develop her knowledge in order to adapt and stay ahead of the changes. Karen works with individuals of all ages, and with the use of our eight step client engagement process, will develop a customized solution to meet your financial goals. 

Insurance products available through Karen Sawyer.

Bonita has been an integral part of the Sawyer and Associates team with 35 years of experience working in the financial industry. At Sawyer and Associates she is responsible for all aspects of the administrative side of the business. She works hard to ensure that every client receives the highest level of care when it comes to meeting preparation, executing and reconciling trades and all other services we provide. Bonita and Debbie work together to ensure that current regulatory and client service standards are met.  

With over 35 years of experience in the financial industry, Debbie has been part of our team since 2010 with a diverse scope of responsibilities. Debbie provides administrative support and assistance to the team with coordinating and booking client meetings and ensuring smooth and efficient day to day operations. Together with Bonita she ensures current regulatory and client service standards are met and is always available to provide administrative or account assistance to all our clients. Please feel free to contact Debbie for assistance.  

Lise joined our team at Sawyer and Associates Financial Services after a 30 year career in social services helping families with children and adults with developmental disabilities. 

Lise is responsible for administrative duties including organizing client events and seminars, coordinating travel and educational events, as well as, various office duties. Lise also acts as our office bookkeeper. We are happy to have Lise as part of our team.