Traphagen Investment Advisors, LLC has been providing investment supervisory services since
1997. We encourage those involved in making investment decisions to be a CFP (Certified
Financial Planner) or CPA/PFS (Certified Public Accountant/Personal Financial Specialist.
The Managing Director of the company is:
V. Peter Traphagen Jr.
DOB: 1967
Education: BA Accounting/Minor Economics, Lycoming College
Experience: Traphagen & Traphagen CPAs 1990 – 1997
Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC 1997 – present
Professional Designations: CPA, PFS, AEP, CFP
Investment Advisors Services: We offer advice on the following (but not limited to): Equity
securities – exchange listed and over the counter, Corporate debt securities and structured notes,
Commercial paper, Certificates of deposit, Municipal securities, Investment company securities –
variable life insurance, variable annuities, mutual fund shares, Exchange traded funds and notes,
United States government securities, Options contracts on securities, and Interests in partnerships
investing in real estate, businesses, debt and oil and gas interests.
Our regulatory assets under management as of December 31, 2022 were $1,152,000,000. Of that
amount, $23,000,000 were held in non-discretionary 401k accounts.
Retirement Plan Services: We also provide services to assist plan sponsors, trustees, and
administrators to meet fiduciary responsibilities under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974 (“ERISA”), which may include the following:
• Participant Education – We may provide group meetings or individual participant
meetings to help participants achieve better financial understanding.
• Monitoring – We may establish and manage a process to select, de-select, and monitor
investments offered to plan participants. We may evaluate the plan’s current offerings
by benchmarking the investment return, risk, and expenses to its peers and relative
indices, by providing an assessment of asset class overlap or gaps, and by evaluating
overall investment offerings to the plan.
• Trustee and Investment Committee Meetings – We may meet with the plan’s sponsor or
administrator to document the performance of the plans investments and to make any
recommendations that may be appropriate for changes.
• Discretionary Model Management – We may develop and manage portfolios designed
to meet specific risk and return characteristics. These models will be comprised mainly
of investments offered to plan participants. We may also serve as the advisor on these
models in an advisory arrangement under ERISA §3(21) and ERISA §3(38) as described
below.
Retirement Plan Consulting Services Under ERISA §3(21)
Traphagen Investment Advisors, LLC provides retirement plan consulting services under ERISA
§3(21). In this capacity, we assist sponsors of self-directed retirement plans with the selection and/or
monitoring of investment alternatives from which plan participants choose in self-directing the
investment for their individual plan retirement accounts. The plan sponsor or administrator ultimately
decides
whether and how to implement these recommendations. To the extent requested by the plan
sponsor, we will also provide participant education designed to assist participants in identifying the
appropriate investment strategy for their retirement plan accounts. The plan participants are
responsible for any individual investments selections made under the plan. When providing services
under ERISA §3(21), we do not exercise discretionary authority or control of plan assets or
administration of the plan.
Retirement Plan Investment Management Services Under ERISA §3(38)
For the purposes of ERISA §3(38), we may serve as the “investment manager” that exercises
discretionary authority to select, monitor, and replace the investment options in the plan platform, as
well as the provision of model portfolios developed for the plan from which the plan participants are
responsible to individually select. For non-self-directed retirement plans, we may also have discretion
to purchase and sell securities within the plan’s portfolio without having to obtain the plan sponsor or
administrator’s permission to execute transactions.
eMoney Advisor Platform
Traphagen Investment Advisors, LLC may provide its clients with access to an online platform hosted
by “eMoney Advisor” (“eMoney”). The eMoney platform allows a client to view their complete asset
allocation, including those assets that Traphagen Investment Advisors, LLC does not manage
(Excluded Assets). Traphagen Investment Advisors, LLC does not provide investment management,
monitoring, or implementation services for the Excluded Assets.
The client and/or any other appointed advisor that maintains management authority over the Excluded
Assets, and not Traphagen Investment Advisors, LLC, shall be exclusively responsible for such
investment performance. The eMoney platform also provides access to other types of information,
including financial planning concepts, which should not in any manner whatsoever be construed as
services, advice, or recommendations provided by Traphagen Investment Advisors, LLC. Traphagen
Investment Advisors, LLC shall not be held responsible for any adverse results a client may
experience if the client engages in financial planning or other functions available on the eMoney
platform without our assistance or oversight.
Trade Error Policy
Traphagen Investment Advisors, LLC shall reimburse accounts for losses resulting from our trade
errors, however if errors result in market gains, the net gains will be sent to a registered charity. The
gains and losses are reconciled within Traphagen Investment Advisors, LLC’s custodial firm error
account. For accounts held at Fidelity Investments, they provide Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC
the opportunity to name a charity of our choice. Our current charity is Share USA, a 501(c)(3) non-
profit which was established to assist those in need of medical or financial aid. 100% of all donations
support the charity recipients. Certain employees of the firm and family members serve on the board
of the charity as non-compensated board members, and therefore may be viewed as a possible conflict
of interest.