Heritage Financial Counselors

Heritage Financial Counselors

Paul Schatz founded Heritage Financial Counselors in 2016 after a career that included roles at major wirehouses, establishing the firm as an independent registered investment adviser in Bedminster, New Jersey. The practice was built to serve a client base of high-net-worth individuals, families, trusts, estates, and small-to-midsize business owners, delivering an integrated approach to wealth management that separates advisory from product sales. The firm's investment methodology centers on tactical asset allocation, combining technical analysis with macroeconomic assessment to adjust portfolio exposures across equities, fixed income, alternatives, and cash. Schatz, who also serves as the firm's chief investment officer and president, manages portfolios directly, positioning the RIA as a principal-driven practice rather than a committee-led institution. Geographic coverage is concentrated in the Northeast, with clients drawn primarily from New Jersey, New York, and the broader tri-state area. Heritage Financial Counselors operates as a boutique, with Schatz as the named principal and public-facing investment voice. The firm's model includes investment management, retirement planning, estate coordination, and tax-aware strategies, delivered under a fee-only fiduciary structure. No institutional separate accounts, pooled vehicles, or co-investment programs are known to exist, and the firm does not publicly disclose total regulatory assets under management or client count. Structurally, Heritage Financial Counselors is defined by its independence and lean operating model — a single-office RIA where the founder serves simultaneously as portfolio manager, relationship lead, and public commentator. This architecture eliminates the product-distribution conflicts inherent in bank-affiliated wealth management but concentrates succession risk in the founding principal, a dynamic common to lifestyle practices of its generation.