The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against 11 institutional investment managers for failing to file required Form 13F reports, including one from New Jersey.

All cited firms agreed to settle the charges, according to the SEC‘s Sept. 17 announcement. Oradell-based Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC will pay $225,000.

Filing of Form 13F is required for large traders who trade a significant amount of exchange-listed securities, valued at more than $100 million. Nine of the firms will pay more than $3.4 million in combined civil penalties. Meanwhile, three firms did not incur civil penalties because they self-reported the violations and otherwise cooperated with investigations, the SEC said.

“The integrity of the securities markets depends largely on firms providing accurate, timely information about their securities holdings and trading activity,” said Jason Burt, director of the Denver Regional Office. “These resolutions illustrate how seriously the Commission takes non-compliance as well as the benefits a firm may derive from self-reporting its non-compliance.”

In Oradell

Traphagen offers comprehensive financial services, including investment advisor services and retirement plan services. As of Feb. 28, the SEC put the firm’s total regulatory assets under management at $1.5 billion.

According to the settlement with the company, Traphagen was obligated to file quarterly Forms 13F beginning by at least February 2020. However, that did not commence until May 2024.

As of its first Form 13F filing for the quarter ending March 31, 2024, Traphagen held positions in 175 different Section 13(f) Securities with a total market value of approximately $938 million, as detailed in the settlement.

Traphagen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Supervised by Burt, as well as Laura Metcalfe and Nicholas Heinke of the SEC’s Denver Regional Office, Michael Cates, Abigail Edwards, Jacqueline Moessner and Jennifer Turner led the SEC’s investigations of Traphagen, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth, Azzad Asset Management, Bulltick Wealth Management, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors, Focus Financial Network, Mason Investment Advisory Services, NEPC and TD Private Client Wealth.

Charged institutional investment managers and respective penalties:

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC – $375,000
• Azzad Asset Management Inc. – $225,000
• Bulltick Wealth Management LLC – $175,000
• Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. – no financial penalty
• Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. – $225,000
• Focus Financial Network Inc. – $475,000
• Mason Investment Advisory Services Inc. – $525,000
• Nationale-Nederlanden – N/A
• NEPC LLC – $725,000
• TD Private Client Wealth LLC – $475,000
• Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC – $225,000

Additional details on the investigation and settlements are available here.