Interact Financial

Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) in Victoria, British Columbia

Work directly with Dan Anders, a CFP® professional and TEP with more than 40 years of experience.

By Dan Anders, CFP®, TEP · Updated October 2026

A Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) is a professional certified by FP Canada™ to provide comprehensive financial planning, covering retirement, tax, investments, insurance and estate planning, under a code of ethics that requires putting the client’s interests first. If you’re looking for a certified financial planner in Victoria, British Columbia, you’re looking for someone qualified to see your whole financial picture, not just one product.

I’m Dan Anders, a CFP® professional and Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) based in Victoria. Since 1983, I’ve helped families, retirees and business owners build clear, written financial plans. On this page, I explain what a CFP® does, how to choose and verify one, and how I can help. We guide, you decide.
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Why clients choose a CFP® professional in Victoria
  • Certified expertise: CFP® certification from FP Canada™, plus TEP certification through STEP Canada
  • 40+ years of experience with retirement, tax, estate and business succession planning
  • Client First standard: bound by FP Canada’s Code of Ethics to put your interests first
  • Your choice of how you pay: fee-only or commission-based, explained in writing before any work begins
  • Serving Greater Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Alberta and the Northwest Territories
On this page:

What Does a Certified Financial Planner Do?

A certified financial planner looks at all of your finances together and builds a written plan to help you reach your goals. Instead of focusing on one product or one account, a CFP® professional connects the decisions that affect each other: when to retire, how to draw income, how to reduce tax, how to protect your family and how to pass on your estate.

Key facts about CFP® certification in Canada

  • Granted by: FP Canada™
  • To earn it: approved education, the national CFP® exam, and three years of qualifying experience (new candidates also meet a degree requirement, with exemptions)
  • To keep it: 25 hours of continuing education every year, including two hours on professional responsibility
  • Ethics: FP Canada’s Code of Ethics requires putting the client’s interests first
  • Verify any CFP®: FP Canada’s “Find a Planner” directory (fpcanada.ca/findaplanner)
  • In BC: the title “financial planner” isn’t restricted by law, so the CFP® designation is a useful, verifiable signal

A certified financial planner typically helps with:

  • Retirement planning: how much you need, when you can retire, and how to turn savings into reliable income
  • Tax planning: structuring income, withdrawals and investments to reduce tax over your lifetime
  • Investment planning: making sure your investments match your goals, timeline and comfort with risk
  • Insurance and risk management: reviewing life, disability, critical illness and long-term care coverage
  • Estate planning: wills, powers of attorney, beneficiaries and strategies to pass on more of your estate
  • Business owner planning: succession, paying yourself and preparing a business for sale

Why Hire a Certified Financial Planner in Victoria?

Many financial decisions can’t be undone, and they affect each other. Taking CPP early, selling a business, or naming the wrong beneficiary can have lasting tax, income and estate consequences. A CFP® professional helps you see those connections before you decide.

Who needs a certified financial planner?

A CFP® professional is most helpful if you:
  • Are within 10–15 years of retirement and want to know if you’re on track
  • Own a business and are thinking about succession or a sale
  • Have received, or expect to receive, an inheritance
  • Want to pass on an estate with less tax and probate cost
  • Have a mix of RRSPs, TFSAs, pensions, property or corporate assets to coordinate
  • Want an independent second opinion on your current plan, portfolio or insurance
I work with clients throughout Greater Victoria, including Saanich, Oak Bay, Langford, Colwood and Sidney, across Vancouver Island, and throughout British Columbia, Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

Is a certified financial planner worth it?

For most people with real complexity in their finances, yes. A good plan helps you avoid costly mistakes, make confident decisions and see how today’s choices affect your future. If your finances are simple (one income, a workplace pension, no property or business), a short consultation may be all you need, and a good planner will tell you that honestly.

CFP vs CFA vs Financial Advisor: What's the Difference?

These titles are often confused, but they mean different things:
CFP® (Certified Financial Planner) CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) "Financial advisor"
Granted by FP Canada™ CFA Institute No single body. It's a general title
Focus Comprehensive personal financial planning: Investment analysis and portfolio Varies widely, from planning to product
retirement, tax, insurance, estate, investments management (earned by passing three exam levels) sales
Typical client Individuals, families and business owners Institutions, investment firms and portfolio clients Varies
Ethics standard FP Canada's Code of Ethics (Client First) CFA Institute Code of Ethics Depends on the person's licences and credentials
Best for A complete financial plan Professional investment management Ask what credentials and licences they hold
CFP® (Certified Financial Planner)
CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)
"Financial advisor"
Granted by
FP Canada™
CFA Institute
No single body. It's a general title
Focus
Comprehensive personal financial planning:
Investment analysis and portfolio
Varies widely, from planning to product
retirement, tax, insurance, estate, investments
management (earned by passing three exam levels)
sales
Typical client
Individuals, families and business owners
Institutions, investment firms and portfolio clients
Varies
Ethics standard
FP Canada's Code of Ethics (Client First)
CFA Institute Code of Ethics
Depends on the person's licences and credentials
Best for
A complete financial plan
Professional investment management
Ask what credentials and licences they hold
In short: a CFA focuses on investments, while a CFP® professional focuses on your whole financial life. “Financial advisor” on its own tells you very little, so always ask what credentials a planner holds. FP Canada also grants the QAFP® (Qualified Associate Financial Planner), an entry-level designation with a narrower scope than the CFP®.

How to Find and Choose a Certified Financial Planner in Victoria, BC

Ontario and Saskatchewan have passed laws that restrict who can call themselves a “financial planner.” At the time of writing, British Columbia has not passed similar legislation, so anyone in BC can use the title. That’s why the CFP® designation, which you can verify, matters.

Where to find a CFP® in BC: FP Canada’s official “Find a Planner” directory (fpcanada.ca/findaplanner) lists every certified planner in Canada, including Victoria. It shows each planner’s certification, status and location, and any disciplinary history with FP Canada.

How to choose the best certified financial planner for you:
  • Verify the credential: search the planner’s name in FP Canada’s “Find a Planner” directory.
  • Check their experience: look for years of experience with situations like yours.
  • Ask about specialties: retirement, estate, tax or business planning, or all of them.
  • Ask how they’re paid: fee-only, commission-based or fee-based, in writing.
  • Ask about standards: which professional and regulatory rules apply, and how they handle conflicts of interest.
  • Expect clear recommendations: you should understand what’s recommended and why.
  • Look for no pressure: a good planner gives you time to decide.
Estate Planning

How I Can Help: My Financial Planning Services

As a CFP® professional and TEP, I bring planning and estate expertise together in one place. (See all my financial planning services.)

Retirement income planning: a clear plan for when you can retire and how to turn your savings into income, including CPP and OAS timing and RRSP and RRIF withdrawals. Learn more about retirement planning in Victoria.

Estate planning: as a Trust and Estate Practitioner, I help you organize wills, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations and trusts, so more of your estate reaches the people you care about. Learn more about estate planning in British Columbia.

Tax planning: strategies to reduce tax over your lifetime, from income splitting to the order you draw on your savings.

Insurance review: an independent look at your coverage and any gaps. You can act on it with me or with anyone else. Learn more about life insurance in Victoria.

Business owner planning: succession, paying yourself tax-efficiently, employee benefits and preparing a business for sale.

The Smith Manoeuvre™: as a Smith Manoeuvre Certified Professional™, I can assess whether converting your mortgage into investment debt, where the interest may be tax-deductible under Canada Revenue Agency rules, makes sense for you. It involves borrowing to invest, so the risks are real, and we’ll weigh them honestly.

How You Pay: Fee-Only or Commission-Based

You choose how to work with me. With fee-only planning, you pay me directly and I earn no commissions. With commission-based advice, there’s no direct fee, and the product provider pays me if you buy insurance or investments through me. Either way, your first consultation is free, and you’ll know exactly how I’m paid before you commit to anything.

See costs and compare both options on my fee-only financial planner page.
Find Out Which Option Suits You

How the Process Works: "We Guide, You Decide"

  • A free first conversation. You meet with me, a CFP® professional, to talk about your goals and how you’d like to work together. No obligation.
  • Your financial picture. You share statements, pension details, tax returns, insurance policies and your will, if you have one.
  • Your written financial plan. I connect your retirement, tax, insurance and estate decisions into one clear roadmap.
  • Walking through the plan. We review every recommendation and the reasoning behind it. You decide what to act on.
  • Putting it into action. Act on the plan yourself, with your existing advisor, or with my help, coordinating with your lawyer or accountant as needed.
  • Keeping it current. I monitor your progress and update the plan as your life and the tax rules change.
Start With a Free Discovery Consultation
Interact Financial Stand Out

What Clients Say

I really like Dan's patient and thorough approach. We were in the room for 2 1/2 hours while going over every detail and question that my clients could possibly ask. The financial planning process made this decision easy for them.
R.H., Vancouver, BC
I was very impressed by the concise manner Dan dealt with my estate planning… You were attentive to my concerns and addressed them in your recommendation.
V.L., North Vancouver, BC
Dan was able to assess the client's situation with a knowledge and confidence that really resounded with my clients.
E.P., Vancouver, BC

Meet Your Planner: Dan Anders, CFP®, TEP

Quick facts
  • Planner: Dan Anders, CFP®, TEP, Smith Manoeuvre Certified Professional™
  • Experience: In financial planning since 1983, first in Alberta and on the West Coast since 1999
  • Office: 3450 Uptown Blvd, Victoria, BC V8Z 0B9
  • Clients served in: Greater Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Alberta and the Northwest Territories
  • Ways to work together: Fee-only or commission-based
  • First consultation: Complimentary, no obligation
  • Phone: +1 (604) 318-9161
I entered financial planning in 1983 in Alberta and moved my practice to the West Coast in 1999, keeping many of my Alberta clients. Over four decades I’ve worked with successful families, small business owners and the professionals who advise them, mostly on the hardest problems: excess taxation, estate preservation and business succession. Read more about me.
My credentials and standards:
  • CFP® (Certified Financial Planner): certified by FP Canada™, which sets education, exam and experience requirements for certification, and requires 25 hours of continuing education every year to keep it.
  • Client First: as a CFP® professional, I’m bound by FP Canada’s Standards of Professional Responsibility, whose Code of Ethics requires CFP professionals to put the client’s interests first, whether I’m working fee-only or on commission.
  • TEP (Trust and Estate Practitioner): granted through STEP Canada, part of the international professional body for trust and estate specialists.
  • Smith Manoeuvre Certified Professional™

As heard on: Tax Talk Podcast, Episode 29, “Better Mortgage Insurance Protection” (September 2023).

Verify me yourself. You shouldn’t take any planner’s word for their credentials, including mine. Search my name in FP Canada’s “Find a Planner” directory to confirm my CFP® certification, and in the STEP Canada member directory to confirm my TEP designation.

Frequently Asked Questions

A Certified Financial Planner is a professional certified by FP Canada™ to provide comprehensive financial planning. To earn the designation, candidates complete approved education, pass the national exam and gain three years of qualifying experience. To keep it, CFP® professionals complete 25 hours of continuing education every year and follow FP Canada’s Code of Ethics.
A certified financial planner builds a written plan that connects your retirement, tax, investment, insurance and estate decisions. Instead of focusing on one product, a CFP® professional looks at your whole financial picture and how each decision affects the others.
For most people with real complexity, such as retirement income decisions, a business, property or an estate to pass on, yes. If your finances are simple, a short consultation may be enough, and a good planner will tell you honestly.
People approaching retirement, business owners planning a sale or succession, families with significant assets or an inheritance, and anyone who wants an independent second opinion on their plan, portfolio or insurance.
A CFP® professional, certified by FP Canada™, focuses on comprehensive personal financial planning. A CFA charterholder, certified by CFA Institute, focuses on investment analysis and portfolio management. If you want a complete financial plan, a CFP® professional is usually the better fit.
“Financial advisor” is a general title with no single certifying body, and it can describe anyone from a planner to a product salesperson. CFP® is a specific, verifiable designation with education, exam, experience and ethics requirements.
Use FP Canada’s official “Find a Planner” directory at fpcanada.ca/findaplanner to find certified planners in Victoria and across BC. Then check each planner’s experience, specialties and how they’re paid before you decide.
Search the planner’s name in FP Canada’s “Find a Planner” directory. It shows their certification, status and any disciplinary history with FP Canada. If a planner also claims other designations, such as TEP, check the issuing body’s directory too.
The CFP® designation itself doesn’t make someone a legal fiduciary, but FP Canada’s Code of Ethics requires every CFP® professional to put the client’s interests first. Advisors registered under securities law must also address material conflicts of interest in the client’s best interest under the Client Focused Reforms. For more on how planners are paid and conflicts are handled, see my fee-only financial planner page.
It depends on what you need and how you choose to pay. With me, the first consultation is free. Fee-only work is quoted in writing before it begins, and commission-based advice has no direct fee. Compare both options on my fee-only financial planner page.
Yes. As a CFP® professional based in Victoria, I work with clients across Vancouver Island and throughout British Columbia, Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
It’s a free, no-obligation conversation with me, a CFP® professional. We’ll talk about your goals and your situation, I’ll explain how comprehensive financial planning could help, and we’ll discuss whether you’d prefer fee-only or commission-based advice.

Ready to Talk?

Book a complimentary, no-obligation consultation with a certified financial planner in Victoria. We’ll look at your situation, talk through your goals, and you can decide whether working together makes sense.
Book Your Free Consultation
Call +1 (604) 318-9161
3450 Uptown Blvd, Victoria, BC V8Z 0B9
Sources (accessed October 2026): CFP® certification requirements, continuing education, Code of Ethics and the “Find a Planner” directory from FP Canada. CFA charter from CFA Institute. The TEP designation from STEP Canada. Title protection from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA). Conflict-of-interest rules from the Canadian Securities Administrators (Client Focused Reforms). CPP, OAS and RRIF rules from the Government of Canada.
This page is general information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Tax rules and government benefits change, so get advice for your own situation before acting. Insurance and investment products are provided through licensed product providers, and any commission is disclosed before purchase.