Traphagen Financial Group
Traphagen Financial Group is a financial advisor firm based in Oradell, New Jersey, that manages over $1 billion in client assets. Throughout its more than two decades in business, the firm has cultivated a large client base of individuals, retirement plans and charities. The firm is heavily focused on investment management services, though it also has a collection of offerings for retirement plan sponsors and participants.
Traphagen is a fee-only firm, meaning its compensation is solely derived from the advisory fees that clients pay. (This differentiates it from a fee-based firm, where advisors may earn commissions for conducting certain securities or insurance transactions.)
Traphagen Financial Group Background
Traphagen Financial Group has been providing clients with investment advice for over 20 years, as it was founded in 1997 by father and son duo V. Peter Traphagen Sr. and V. Peter Traphagen Jr. The younger Traphagen serves as managing director and principal owner of the firm.
The firm's advisory team holds various professional financial designations, including certified financial planner (CFP), certified public accountant (CPA), chartered financial analyst (CFA), among others.
Traphagen Financial Group Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
According to Traphagen Financial Group’s Form ADV, the vast majority of clients are individuals without a high net worth, with the remainder consisting of high-net-worth individuals, charitable organizations, pension and profit-sharing plans.
Traphagen doesn’t impose any sort of minimum account size requirements.
Services Offered by Traphagen Financial Group
Traphagen Financial Group offers a range of services that most notably include investment management. Additionally, the firm provides access to an online investment monitoring platform called eMoney. This allows clients to view the entirety of their portfolio's asset allocation at any time. Financial planning is also available to clients upon request.
Retirement plan sponsors can take advantage of multiple services at Traphagen, including investment management, consulting, portfolio monitoring and plan participant education.
Traphagen Financial Group Investment Philosophy
When assembling client portfolios, advisors at Traphagen Financial Group typically invest in some combination of equities, corporate debt securities, commercial paper, certificates of deposit (CDs), municipal securities, investment company securities, variable life insurance, variable annuities, mutual fund shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange-traded notes (ETNs), government securities, options contracts and interests in partnerships investing in real estate, businesses, and oil and gas interests.
While the above set of securities is rather vast, the firm will only choose to invest in those that it believes fit your investor profile. When selecting investments, the firm primarily employs both fundamental and technical analysis in order to evaluate securities. Fundamental analysis is the attempt to discern a company’s intrinsic economic value by analyzing factors like its balance sheet, management and other financial documents rather than focusing only on the movement of its stock price. Meanwhile, technical analysis relies on historical market data and current prices to forecast future price movements.
Fees Under Traphagen Financial Group
Traphagen Financial Group charges clients an annual advisory fee that's based on a percentage of their total assets under management (AUM). These fees are negotiable, but the firm generally sticks to the schedule below:
| Traphagen Financial Group Investment Management Fees | |
| Assets Under Management | Annual Fee Rate |
| Up to $100,000 | 1.50% |
| $100,001 - $300,000 | 1.25% |
| $300,001 - $700,000 | 1.00% |
| $700,001 - $2,000,000 | 0.75% |
| $2,000,001 - $10,000,000 | 0.50% |
| $10,000,001 and above | 0.40% |
| *Estimated investment management fees do not include brokerage, custodial, third-party manager or other fees, which can vary in amount. | |
| Estimated Investment Management Fees at Traphagen Financial Group* | |
| Your Assets | Traphagen Financial Group Fee Amounts |
| $100K | $1,500 |
| $300K | $4,000 |
| $700K | $8,000 |
| $2MM | $17,750 |
| $10MM | $57,750 |
| $15MM | $77,750 |
For financial planning services, the firm will typically charge fees through to an hourly rate. The exact fee that you'll be on the hook for will generally range from $150 to $725, depending on the amount of work involved in developing your financial plan.
Learn more about advisors' typical costs here.
What to Watch Out For
There are no disclosures on Traphagen Financial Group's latest SEC-filed Form ADV. And since Traphagen Financial Group is a fee-only firm, advisors don't earn commissions when recommending products and services, eliminating a potential conflict of interest.
Opening an Account With Traphagen Financial Group
You can easily reach out to Traphagen Financial Group by visiting the firm's website contact page or calling (201) 262-1040. If you’d rather do things in person, you can also stop by the firm’s office on Kinderkamack Road in Oradell, New Jersey.
All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.
Retirement Planning Tips
- A financial advisor can help you save and plan for retirement. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
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