Meet Laura
Laura Mattia, CFP®, CRPS®, CDFA ™, MBA (laura@thewealthyandwise.com) is a Wealth Management Principal with the Baron Financial Group, which is an independent Fee-Only firm with a fiduciary obligation to clients. BFG offers objective, commission-free financial advice, utilizing its exclusive High Stability Wealth Management strategy to primarily protect and then to grow a client’s assets. BFG offers advice without the burden of selling products.
Laura has provided financial leadership for over 20 years. The focus of her work is with individuals who require extra guidance, such as families with a special needs child, not-for-profit organizations, or individuals going through a divorce or job loss. Her focus is to provide purely unbiased and useful information to individuals so that they can be empowered to make informed decisions.
Laura has been honored as one of our Best 50 Women in Business for 2009 by NJBIZ. In 2008 she was recognized as a Five Star Financial Advisor by Paladin Registry and her firm received the honor of the Most Dependable Financial Firm by Forbes magazine. A Certified Financial Planner professional (CFP), Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist (CRPS) and a Certified Divorce Planner (CDFA), Laura is also a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), Financial Planning Association (FPA), and the Institute of Certified Divorce Planners (ICDP). Laura’s experience ranges from providing financial leadership for small and large corporations to achieving the role of trusted advisor, teacher and coach for individuals. Laura serves as the New York City Metro Study Group Leader for NAPFA and has been actively involved in the pro-bono efforts to promote financial literacy and encourage all financial advisors to adhere to a higher standard. In addition, Laura teaches classes for the CFP program at Fairleigh Dickinson University, has taught MBA classes at Centenary College and has been a guest instructor several times at William Paterson University.
Laura is a public speaker and works with various for profit and not for profit groups. Recently, she was responsible for organizing the New York stop of the “Your Money Bus” tour sponsored by NAPFA and participated in providing free financial advice throughout NYC and NJ, including Harlem and Jersey City. Laura has also provided special programs geared for women and not-for-profit groups, which she believes are particularly underserved. She is quoted in the media on a regular basis in periodicals such as; The Star Ledger, The Record, Wall Street Journal, Daily Record and Investment News and can often be seen on television on Channel 12, Channel 9, CNN, the Today Show or local Cable TV. She is a regular columnist for the Frugal Guide a Westchester New York publication.
Laura is currently attending Texas Tech University, pursuing a Ph.D in Personal Financial Planning. Laura received a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in Accounting/Finance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Montclair State University. Before her affiliation with the Baron Financial Group, Laura held various senior financial executive positions at M&M/Mars in Hackettstown, NJ, Telcordia Technologies in Redbank, NJ and Cendant Corp in Parsippany, NJ. She has provided CFO expertise to smaller entrepreneurial businesses seeking financial guidance on: how to obtain financing, how to take their business public and how to establish a retirement plan for their employees.
Laura lives in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey with her husband Mark and four children, Christopher, Kyle, Alexandra and Leamarie. Her involvement in her community includes serving as a captain at a local soup kitchen, participating as a board member at a local church and serving on the advisory board of her Alma Mater.
