Tax Planning Certified Professional® (TPCP®)
Tax Planning Certified Professional® (TPCP®)
Specialized Tax-Planning Knowledge Integrated Into Your Broader Financial Strategy
Taxes can influence nearly every major financial decision you make—from how you invest and generate retirement income to how you structure an estate, manage a business, or transfer wealth.
At Fortress Financial Strategies, tax considerations are evaluated as part of our broader Integrated Planning Process rather than treated as a separate issue.
Brett Andrews, CWS™, CEPA®, CExP™, NQPA™, CPFA®, Senior Wealth Manager, has earned the Tax Planning Certified Professional® (TPCP®) designation from The American College of Financial Services, adding specialized tax-planning education to the experience he brings to individuals, families, executives, retirees, and business owners.
What Is a Tax Planning Certified Professional®?
The Tax Planning Certified Professional® (TPCP®) designation is conferred by The American College of Financial Services and represents advanced applied education in tax planning.
The curriculum addresses areas such as:
Complex tax situations
Tax implications of investment vehicles
Retirement and investment strategies
Goal-oriented tax planning
Estate planning
Planning for individuals with special needs
Other financial situations in which tax considerations may influence long-term planning decisions
The American College describes the designation as demonstrating breadth and depth of knowledge in tax planning.
Brett’s TPCP® designation became official on July 1, 2026, after satisfying educational, ethical, and experience requirements established by the Board of Trustees of The American College of Financial Services. Continued use of the designation requires adherence to ethical, continuing education, and ongoing recertification requirements.
Why Tax Planning Matters
Financial decisions rarely occur in isolation.
An investment decision may have tax consequences. The timing of retirement distributions can affect taxable income. Estate planning decisions may influence how wealth is transferred. Business owners may face additional considerations involving succession, compensation, retirement plans, and ownership transitions.
That is why Fortress Financial Strategies considers tax implications as part of the broader financial planning process.
Rather than focusing solely on what may reduce taxes today, tax-informed planning considers how financial decisions may affect a client’s long-term financial strategy.
Areas Where Tax Considerations May Affect Your Financial Plan
Investment Planning
Different investment accounts, securities, withdrawal strategies, and transactions may carry different tax implications.
Tax-aware investment planning may consider factors such as:
Taxable versus tax-advantaged accounts
Asset location
Capital gains considerations
Investment income
Retirement account strategies
The potential tax impact of portfolio changes
The objective is not simply to make investment decisions based on taxes, but to understand how taxes may interact with investment decisions as part of your overall financial plan.
Retirement Planning
Retirement decisions can create important tax considerations both before and after retirement.
Planning may involve evaluating:
Traditional and Roth retirement accounts
Retirement income sources
Distribution strategies
Required distributions
Social Security and other income sources
The timing of withdrawals
Long-term income needs
The TPCP® curriculum specifically includes retirement distributions and retirement-related tax planning among its areas of study.
Estate Planning
Estate planning involves more than determining who receives your assets.
Financial and tax considerations can influence how assets are owned, transferred, distributed, and coordinated with a broader wealth strategy.
Fortress Financial Strategies can help clients evaluate the financial aspects of their estate strategy while working alongside their attorneys, CPAs, and other professional advisors when appropriate.
Business Owner Planning
Business owners often have financial decisions that overlap with both personal and business tax considerations.
These may include:
Business succession planning
Ownership transitions
Executive compensation
Retirement plans
Business continuity planning
Investment and liquidity decisions
Personal wealth planning
By incorporating these issues into the Integrated Planning Process, Fortress can help business owners evaluate how decisions involving their company may affect their broader personal financial strategy.
Tax Planning as Part of the Fortress Integrated Planning Process
At Fortress Financial Strategies, tax considerations are not evaluated in a vacuum.
Our Integrated Planning Process is designed to bring together the different areas of a client’s financial life, which may include:
Financial planning
Investment management
Retirement planning
Tax planning considerations
Estate planning
Insurance and risk management
Business owner planning
Business succession planning
Executive compensation planning
Wealth transfer considerations
The goal is to understand how these areas interact so that financial decisions can be evaluated within the context of the client’s broader objectives.
For Brett, earning the TPCP® designation provides additional specialized education that can be incorporated into that process.
“Tax considerations can influence nearly every part of a client’s financial plan, from investment decisions and retirement income to estate planning and business strategy. Earning the TPCP® designation allows me to deepen that knowledge and incorporate it into the Integrated Planning Process we use at Fortress, with the goal of helping clients make more informed financial decisions,” said Brett, Senior Wealth Manager at Fortress Financial Strategies.
Who May Benefit From Tax-Informed Financial Planning?
Tax considerations can become increasingly important as a person’s financial life becomes more complex.
This type of planning may be particularly relevant for:
Individuals approaching retirement
Retirees managing multiple income sources
High-net-worth individuals and families
Corporate executives
Business owners
Individuals with significant investment portfolios
Families considering estate and wealth-transfer strategies
Individuals experiencing major financial transitions
You do not necessarily need an unusually complicated tax situation for tax awareness to matter. Decisions involving retirement, investments, estate planning, or business ownership can all carry tax implications.
A Collaborative Approach
A TPCP® designation does not make a financial professional a CPA, tax attorney, or tax preparer.
Fortress Financial Strategies approaches tax planning as part of the broader financial planning process and may coordinate with a client’s existing CPA, tax professional, estate attorney, or other professional advisors when specialized tax preparation, accounting, or legal advice is required.
This collaborative approach helps keep financial decisions connected while allowing each professional to contribute within their respective area of expertise.
About the TPCP® Designation
The Tax Planning Certified Professional® designation is awarded by The American College of Financial Services, an accredited institution providing education and professional development for financial professionals.
The College requires designees to maintain ethical, continuing education, and recertification standards in order to retain the right to use the credential.
Verify Brett’s Credential
Brett’s TPCP® designation can be independently verified through The American College of Financial Services’ official credential platform:
Verify Brett Andrews’ TPCP® Credential
Readers can also learn more about the TPCP® designation directly from The American College:
What does TPCP® stand for?
TPCP® stands for Tax Planning Certified Professional®, a professional designation conferred by The American College of Financial Services
Is a TPCP® a CPA?
Not necessarily. The TPCP® is a professional designation focused on tax-planning education. It does not by itself make the holder a Certified Public Accountant, attorney, or tax preparer.
Can Fortress Financial Strategies prepare my tax return?
The TPCP® designation focuses on tax planning as it relates to financial decisions. Tax-return preparation, accounting, and legal services should be performed by appropriately qualified professionals. Fortress can incorporate tax considerations into financial planning and coordinate with a client’s tax and legal professionals when appropriate.
How can tax planning affect retirement?
Taxes may affect retirement account withdrawals, income strategies, investment decisions, estate planning, and other retirement-related decisions. Considering these factors as part of a broader plan may help clients better understand the tradeoffs associated with different financial strategies.
Does tax planning only matter for high-net-worth investors?
The TPCP® designation focuses on tax planning as it relates to financial decisions. Tax-return preparation, accounting, and legal services should be performed by appropriately qualified professionals. Fortress can incorporate tax considerations into financial planning and coordinate with a client’s tax and legal professionals when appropriate.
How does the TPCP® designation fit into Fortress Financial Strategies’ approach?
The designation adds specialized tax-planning education to Fortress Financial Strategies’ Integrated Planning Process, which considers retirement, investments, estate planning, risk management, business planning, and other areas of a client’s financial life together.
Disclosure: Cetera Advisors LLC exclusively provides investment products and services through its representatives. Although Cetera does not provide tax or legal advice, or supervise tax, accounting or legal services, Cetera representatives may offer these services through their independent outside business. This information is not intended as tax or legal advice.
Make Tax Considerations Part of the Bigger Picture
Taxes should not be the only factor driving a financial decision—but they should not be ignored either.
Fortress Financial Strategies helps clients evaluate tax considerations alongside investments, retirement planning, estate planning, risk management, business planning, and other financial priorities through our Integrated Planning Process.
If you would like to discuss how tax considerations may fit into your broader financial strategy, speak with our team.