Can you be a financial planner in Canada without a CFP?

Yes, you can be a planner without a CFP certification in every province except Quebec. Anyone can call themselves a financial planner, even if they have no certification at all, making it extra important to ask for certifications before paying anyone for advice. Of course, many financial planners learn the ropes on the job, so a lack of certification doesn’t mean they’re not trustworthy. But it’s worth having a word-of-mouth recommendation from a good friend before trusting a planner who isn’t certified.

Is it worth paying for a financial advisor?

With investment apps like Wealthsimple making it easy for people to learn about investing and manage their investments themselves, it’s easy to think the 1 percent fee most advisors charge isn’t worth it when you could do it yourself. This is likely true if you are younger, new to investing and have a small portfolio. But if you have a sizeable amount of money to invest, or particularly complicated investment needs around taxes, retirement and estate planning, a good advisor may well be worth their fee. The best advisors don’t take small accounts, so you have to have a large portfolio to work with them.

Lisa Lagace

Lisa Lagace's work can be found in a variety of international publications including NPR, USA Today, Paste Magazine, New Lines and more.

She has also contributed locally to Simplii Financial, Zolo, and Zoocasa, among others.

When she’s not busy writing about finance she can be found hanging out with all the dogs in the dog park, or binging her latest TV obsession.

She taught herself everything she knows about finance after graduating with significant student loans, and realizing her expensive education taught her nothing about the intricacies of money.

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Lisa Lagace

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