Five Star award winners EKS Associates

PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

DARREN ZAGAROLA AND HOWARD HOOK ARE BOTH:

Multi-year Five Star Wealth Managers;
Highly respected experts who are sought after by newspapers, magazines and financial programs, at the local and national levels;
Recurring instructors at the Princeton Adult School, teaching a variety of financial planning and investment courses throughout the year;
Frequent authors of financial planning and investment articles; and
Deeply committed to their local communities.

DARREN ZAGAROLA
In recognition of his work and the value he provides, Darren has been:

Named a Five Star Professional Wealth Manager numerous times;
Published and quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York Daily News, Market Watch, CNBC.com, and a number of national business and industry magazines; and
Interviewed on numerous television and radio financial and investment programs.

Committed to giving back to his community, Darren is a:

Recurring educator at the Princeton Adult School, teaching a variety of financial planning and investment courses;
Treasurer and Past president of the Princeton Adult School;
Volunteer presenter on financial topics to community and resource centers (including the Princeton Senior Resource Center), non-profit and religious groups, and businesses; and
Supporter and sponsor of Cranford Jaycees.

HOWARD HOOK
Howard's writing and speaking accomplishments include being:

Regular contributor to NJMoneyHelp.com, Forbes.com, and SBH Physician magazine;
Featured on New York 1 Money Matters, WABC radio, News 12 NJ, CNN.com, TimeMagazine.com, FoxBusiness.com and TheStreet.com;
Interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Fortune magazine, New York Post, The New York Times, Newsday, Huffington Post, Financial Advisor, Money magazine, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Investment News, and Wayne Patch;
Former contributor to New York Daily News “Daily Views” online column, as well as the former business & finance columns of The Star-Ledger and Times of Trenton -- “Ask the Biz Brain” & “Get with the Plan”;
Panelist & breakout speaker at The Star Ledger’s Annual Road to Personal Wealth Conference, 2013 and 2014.

Howard is committed to supporting the communities in which he lives and works:

Sits on the Board of Directors of HomeCare Options, a home health agency in Passaic County;
Teaches a variety of financial planning and investment courses at the Princeton Adult School throughout the year;
Member of the Finance Committee of Shomrei Torah Synagogue in Wayne;
Vice-President of Finance and Fundraising and past executive committee member for the Synagogue.

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This award was issued on 12/01/2024 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 03/13/2024 through 10/07/2024. Fee paid for use of marketing materials. Self-completed questionnaire was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria. 7425 New Jersey-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 431 (6 % of candidates) were named 2025 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2024: 6,515, 462, 7%, 12/1/23, 3/13/23 - 9/29/23; 2023: 6,606, 407, 6%, 12/1/22, 3/21/22 - 10/18/22; 2022: 6380, 431, 7%, 12/1/21, 4/12/21 - 10/15/21; 6123, 459, 7%, 12/1/20, 3/30/20 - 10/23/20; 2020: 6210, 480, 8%, 12/1/19, 3/1/19 - 10/16/19; 2019: 6097, 477, 8%, 12/1/18, 3/21/18 - 10/12/18; 2018: 4383, 415, 9%, 12/1/17, 2/21/17 - 10/12/17; 2017: 3868, 664, 17%, 11/1/16, 2/25/16 - 10/7/16; 2016: 4143, 626, 15%, 11/1/15, 4/15/15 - 10/16/15; 2015: 5063, 672, 13%, 12/1/14, 4/15/14 - 10/16/14; 2014: 3315, 646, 19%, 12/1/13, 4/15/13 - 10/16/13; 2013: 4049, 733, 18%, 12/1/12, 4/15/12 - 10/16/12; 2012: 1312, 400, 30%, 11/1/11, 4/15/11 - 10/16/11.

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Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. The award is based on 10 objective criteria. Eligibility criteria - required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser (RIA) or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Actively licensed as a RIA or as a principal of a registered investment adviser firm for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (As defined by FSP, the wealth manager has not; A. Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; B. Had more than a total of three settled or pending complaints filed against them and/or a total of five settled, pending, dismissed or denied complaints with any regulatory authority or FSP's consumer complaint process. Unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through FSP's consumer complaint process; feedback may not be representative of any one client's experience; C. Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint; D. Filed for personal bankruptcy within the past 11 years; E. Been terminated from a financial services firm within the past 11 years; F. Been convicted of a felony); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation criteria - considered: 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations. FSP does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. The award is not indicative of the wealth manager's future performance. Wealth managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients' assets. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by FSP or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by FSP in the future. Visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.