Richard Vetter

BA, CFP®, CIM®, CEPA®, CEA
Certified Financial Planner® | Associate Portfolio Manager

Richard is a CFP, CIM & co-owner of WealthSmart Inc., with 40+ years of experience cutting through financial noise to deliver evidence-based advice.

Work With Richard

Richard is a Certified Financial Planner, Chartered Investment Manager, Certified Exit Planning Advisor, Certified Executor Advisor and co-owner of WealthSmart Incorporated. He is also a Portfolio Manager with WealthSmart Securities of Aligned Capital Partners Inc.* Richard has instructed many financial seminars since 1994, including Financial Strategies for Successful Retirement and The WealthSmart Workshop series. You will regularly hear him and Matthew Vetter on The WealthSmarts Podcast. Richard and Matt also publish the weekly WealthSmarts Newsletter.

Through experience since 1985 he has also learned to cut through financial industry noise and to embrace financial evidence over speculation. Richard has engaged investment partners whose interests are aligned with our clients.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, his heart is in Metro Vancouver, where he has lived since 1970. He and his wife, Zinha, have three awesome sons and four adorable grandchildren.

Richard has a love for family, learning, the outdoors and photography.

Explore Blogs

More From This Author

More perspectives and insights from this author on wealth planning, tax strategy, and everything in between.

A car side mirror reflects a thriving storefront in sharp focus, while the road ahead stays blurred — representing a business owner's blind spot around retirement funding
Retirement

The Owner's Blind Spot

A thriving business doesn't guarantee a funded retirement. See the coordination gaps that keep business owners from seeing their own blind spot.

Richard Vetter
July 13, 2026
Hands holding a closed, worn folder on a wooden desk, representing an estate plan that hasn't been revisited in years
Planning

Estate Plans Go Stale

Wills and beneficiary designations don't age well on their own. See the common gaps that mean your estate plan hasn't kept up with your life.

Richard Vetter
July 13, 2026
A hand hovers above three glass jars of coins and folded cash on a table, representing the choice of which retirement account to draw from first
Retirement

The Withdrawal Order Myth

There's no universal rule for which account to draw from first in retirement. See why the common instincts can backfire — and what actually matters.

Richard Vetter
July 12, 2026
Business owner sitting at a barn table, watching a goose nesting with golden eggs — illustrating the Golden Goose Problem for business exit planning
Planning

The Golden Goose Problem

A thriving business doesn't guarantee a funded retirement. See the blind spots that cost owners at exit — and how to close them.

Richard Vetter
July 11, 2026
Bicycle mechanic adjusting a wobbly wheel in a truing stand
Planning

The Wobbly Wheel

A financial plan can wobble when investments, tax, retirement, estate, and risk strategies are not coordinated. Learn why alignment matters.

Richard Vetter
July 11, 2026

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Family of four outside grilling burgers on a patio grill surrounded by trees and mountains.