FEE-ONLY FIDUCIARY FINANCIAL ADVISOR, BASED IN HOBOKEN, SERVING ALL OF NEW JERSEY
Fee-only financial advisor for high-net-worth women in New Jersey.
Align Financial Solutions is a woman-founded, fee-only fiduciary wealth management firm based in Hoboken and serving high-net-worth women across New Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Morris, Somerset, Monmouth, and Hudson counties, and the New York commuter towns in between.
New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the country, a retirement income exclusion with a hard $150,000 cliff, and an inheritance tax most families discover too late. You built significant wealth here. Keeping it takes a plan written for this state.
Proud to partner with women in successful companies like yours
Keep more of it with a tax strategy written for New Jersey.
New Jersey taxes capital gains as ordinary income, offers no standard deduction, and reaches 6.37 percent by $75,000 of income for a single filer. Then it adds the details that matter at your level: a retirement income exclusion that disappears entirely once total income passes $150,000, a Roth conversion that counts toward that line, and an inheritance tax of up to 16 percent on anything left to a sibling, niece, nephew, or partner.
We plan around all of it, year-round: which years to convert, which years to draw, how to sequence the sale of a concentrated stock position, and how the New York side of a commuter’s return fits in. Our guides to estimated tax payments on RSUs and retiring in a high-tax state show how we think.
One coordinated plan for wealth that has outgrown a single account.
A seven-figure portfolio spread across a 401(k), an IRA, a brokerage account, and company stock, each taxed differently. Equity that vests on someone else’s schedule. A pension election, a deferred compensation payout, or a business sale that only happens once. From pharmaceutical executives in Morris County to founders in Jersey City, we turn scattered wealth into one coordinated plan.
If you’re a high-net-worth woman in New Jersey with
Real moving parts
Equity compensation vesting each year, a significant portfolio across multiple account types, a pension or deferred compensation election, a business or a coming sale, or a retirement date with too much at stake to improvise.
A New Jersey tax problem
State tax on every withdrawal, a retirement income exclusion that can vanish in a single year, property taxes that outrun most states’ income tax, and, if you commute, New York tax on top. You want it planned, not discovered in April.
A desire for one accountable team
You want a partner who sees investments, equity, tax, and estate together and runs the plan with you year-round, not a one-time answer.
...then we should talk.
Independent. Fiduciary. A partner who gets the weight you carry.
I’ve spent over a decade in financial planning, and I know the weight that comes with being the one everyone counts on.
My clients are senior executives, partners, and business owners who have built significant wealth across New Jersey, from Hudson County to the Morris and Somerset pharmaceutical corridor, and have never had one person looking at the whole of it.
I started Align to be that person: someone who understands equity compensation, New Jersey and New York tax, and the decisions that get harder to undo the closer you get to retirement, and who brings them into one coordinated plan.
You deserve a partner who sees the full picture and helps you walk a path that’s uniquely yours.
TESTIMONIAL
Disclosure
The testimonial(s) presented were provided by actual clients of Align Financial Solutions, LLC. No compensation was provided for these testimonials. Testimonials were selected from among all client feedback received. Client experiences may vary, and there is no guarantee of future performance or success. To our knowledge, no conflicts of interest exist regarding these testimonials.
Getting started is simple.
BOOK YOUR 15-MINUTE ALIGN CALL
A 15-minute conversation to see whether we fit. We specialize in what we do, so we may not be right for everyone.
Whether we work together or not, you’ll walk away with clarity on your best next step.
BUILD YOUR WEALTH BLUEPRINT™
Together, we build your Wealth Blueprint™: your full financial picture organized into a written plan, implemented with you across the year.
FEEL IN CONTROL OF YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE
Now you've got a go-to partner who's ready to answer your money questions and help you stay on track.
You know your next steps and have support along the way.
Working With a Fee-Only Financial Advisor in New Jersey: FAQ
Where in New Jersey do you work with clients?
Our office is at 50 Harrison Street, Suite 433, Hoboken, NJ 07030, and we work with clients across the state, including Bergen, Essex, Morris, Somerset, Monmouth, and Middlesex counties, mostly through virtual meetings. If you are in Hudson County, see our Hoboken page.
Does New Jersey tax retirement income?
Yes, with an exclusion. From age 62, a single filer can exclude up to $75,000 of pension and IRA income ($100,000 married filing jointly) if total income is $100,000 or less, with partial exclusions up to $150,000 and nothing above that. Social Security is not taxed. The $150,000 line is a cliff, not a phase-out, so withdrawal and Roth conversion timing matter.
Does New Jersey have an estate or inheritance tax?
New Jersey repealed its estate tax for deaths after 2017, but it still has an inheritance tax. Spouses, children, grandchildren, and parents are exempt. Siblings and children-in-law pay 11 to 16 percent, and everyone else, including nieces, nephews, partners, and friends, pays 15 to 16 percent. We plan beneficiary designations and gifting with this in mind.
I live in New Jersey but work in New York. Can you help with that?
Yes. The NJ/NY cross-border tax situation is one of the most common puzzles we solve, especially for executives with equity compensation and anyone considering a move across the river, or out of state, in retirement.
What does “fee-only fiduciary” mean?
We are paid only by our clients, no commissions, no product sales, and we are legally obligated to put your interests first, always.
What is included in wealth management at Align?
Investment management, tax planning, retirement income planning, equity compensation strategy, and estate coordination, delivered as one written plan, your Wealth Blueprint™, and implemented with you year-round.
How much does a financial advisor cost in New Jersey?
It depends on how the advisor is paid. Commission-based advisors are paid by product providers, fee-based advisors charge fees and can also earn commissions, and fee-only advisors like Align are paid only by the client: as a percentage of assets managed, a fixed planning fee, or an hourly rate. Every registered adviser must disclose its fee schedule in Form ADV Part 2A, so ask any New Jersey advisor for it before the first meeting. We walk through exactly how Align is paid on the first call, and this guide explains what a wealth manager typically costs and what should be included.
Is it better to have a fee-only financial advisor?
A fee-only advisor removes one specific conflict: being paid to recommend a product. That alone does not make every fee-only advisor the right one, so also check for the CFP® credential, a fiduciary standard stated in writing, a clean Form ADV, and a typical client who looks like you. Align is fee-only, a member of NAPFA, and acts as a fiduciary at all times.
Are you a female financial advisor in New Jersey?
Yes. Align was founded and is led by Hazel Secco, CFP®, CDFA®, and most of our clients are women. If you are searching for a female financial advisor in New Jersey, we would add that the structure matters as much as the person: ask any advisor whether they are fee-only, whether they act as a fiduciary at all times, and whether their typical client’s situation looks like yours.
BLOGS
Work because you want to, not because you have to
Easy-to-understand financial and life insights for high-net-worth women
One team for the whole picture.
Too many high-net-worth women in New Jersey carry complex wealth decisions with too little guidance and too much guesswork.
Without a strategy, it’s easy to miss a conversion window, sell stock in the wrong year, blow through the $150,000 exclusion cliff, or leave an inheritance tax bill nobody planned for.
You’ve built too much to leave it uncoordinated. With one plan and one accountable team, the next decade is about keeping it, growing it, and paying less tax along the way.
