Profile
William Chan began his career pulled in two directions: establishing a successful wealth advisory practice or climbing the ranks of corporate leadership. For a time, it was the latter that prevailed – shaping strategy and developing talent from the inside. When he made the break to independent advising, it was with clarity and conviction: to build what he believed advice should be. He brought something rare: an inside understanding of the very world he had stepped away from. That tension, and that choice, is the story behind Modern Vision Planning.
Those years in corporate leadership gave William a granular understanding of how financial products are designed, positioned, and whether they align with a client’s best interests. Today, he uses that insight to translate complexity into plain language, clarifying fees and incentives; helping clients evaluate portfolio construction, risk management, and real-world trade-offs with genuine confidence. A plan’s value is measured by how clearly a client can understand and act on it.
6733 Mississauga Rd, Unit 700, Mississauga, ON, L5N 6J5
416 464 7760
williamchan@modernvisionplanning.com
linkedin.com/in/williamchancfp
modernvisionplanning.com
William Chan
Founder and Principal Financial Planner
Modern Vision Planning
Sterling Mutuals Inc.
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Milestones
2011–2014
2014–2017
2017-2018
2018-2021
2021-Present
Started career as a financial advisor with Sun Life Financial
2011–2014
Transitioned to Freedom 55 as a Financial Security Advisor, attaining: Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Life Underwrite (CLU), and Certified Health Specialist (CHS) designations
2014–2017
Regional Financial Planning Specialist with IG Wealth Management
2017-2018
Sales Manager for Sun Life Financial
Awarded 2019 Peel District Rookie of the Year and Gold Order of Merit
Business Development Partner with Sun Life Financial
2018- 2021
Founder and Principal of award-winning firm Modern Vision Planning Sterling Mutuals Inc. - CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and Branch Manager Attained Certified Executor Advisor (CEA) designation.
2021- Present
Milestones
It is a values-driven approach that shapes not only how he advises, but how he leads. Early in his career, someone told William that it is not how much you know, but how much you care that matters. He has cited that line ever since – not as a platitude, but as an operating standard – and it shows in how he advises and mentors. The quality he looks for, he says, is “heart”: the instinct to put the client first, communicate with candour, and treat every recommendation as a responsibility rather than a pitch.
“At this stage in my career, I’m not trying to impress clients with technical language. I’m focused on helping them make better decisions,” he explains.
William describes his ideal role as that of a “player-coach”: an advisor who delivers at a high level while developing the next generation of practitioners. Success is measured not only in the confidence his clients feel, but in the calibre of advisors who follow the path he has helped lay – and the standards of advice they carry forward.
Delivering that kind of clarity is harder than it sounds. William points to the single biggest challenge of his role: helping clients move past preconceived notions shaped by prior advisors, friends and family, headlines, social media, and increasingly, artificial intelligence. More information, he is careful to note, is not the same as better information. His response: slow the conversation down, filter the noise, so that what remains is a conversation that is honest, focused, and entirely about the client.
He puts it plainly: “A message is only as strong as the receiver’s ability to understand it. Good intent isn’t enough if the client can’t clearly see the benefits and trade-offs.”
That clarity extends across a deliberately broad practice. Where many advisors narrow their focus to a single niche, William has resisted that instinct. His book spans young professionals, real estate investors, business owners, medical professionals, and corporate retirees – built through referrals rather than targeted marketing. The common thread is not demographics, but disposition: clients who want thoughtful guidance across the full picture, from cash-flow strategy and tax efficiency to retirement and long-term estate planning.
“At this stage in my career, I’m not trying to impress clients with technical language. I’m focused on helping them make better decisions”
William Chan,
Modern Vision Planning, Sterling Mutuals Inc.
“A message is only as strong as the receiver’s ability to understand it. Good intent isn’t enough if the client can’t clearly see the benefits and trade-offs”
William Chan,
Modern Vision Planning, Sterling Mutuals Inc.