Five Star award winners EKS Associates

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

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EKS Associates

Fee-Only Comprehensive Financial Life Planners

601 Ewing Street, Suite A-7

Princeton, NJ 08540

Office: 609-921-1016

info@eksassociates.com
www.eksassociates.com

Professional Approach

EKS Associates is a Fee-Only Comprehensive Financial Life Planning Firm. For more than 35 years, we have been helping individuals and families in the Princeton area and beyond to achieve their personal and financial goals.

We are committed to acting as full-time fiduciaries, always advocating for our clients and providing unbiased advice in line with their values, needs, goals, and risk tolerance.

Comprehensive financial life planning provides a clear picture of where you stand financially and provides direction and discipline to help you achieve your goals. To ensure we address the big picture, we implement an integrated financial plan that goes far beyond investment management. EKS Associates is dedicated to a comprehensive and holistic approach that begins with understanding your aspirations and then follows a six-step process to help you get there.

Your comprehensive financial plan begins with understanding your personal and financial goals. It includes recommendations for the following areas:

Retirement Planning
Estate Planning
Tax Planning
Charitable Giving Strategies
Protection Planning
Investment Management
Family Wealth Planning
Education Planning
Cash Management

As needed, we are happy to meet with other trusted advisors (such as accountants and attorneys), to ensure the entire advisory team is on the same page, that nothing is overlooked, and no plans conflict with the other.

Darren L. Zagarola, CFP®, CPA, PFS

Principal and Senior Wealth Advisor

Phone: 609-921-1016

Darren is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional, Certified Public Accountant, and Personal Financial Specialist. A principal and senior wealth advisor with EKS Associates, he has more than 30 years of experience in the financial advisory world. His fee-only approach gives clients confidence that his services and recommendations are independent and free from conflict. For Darren, fee-only comprehensive financial life planning is putting clients first, understanding their personal life goals, and then building comprehensive financial plans to help them achieve them.

A strong advocate of socially responsible, values-driven investing, Darren educates clients on building an investment strategy in line with their values.

Darren is the Treasurer and past president of the Princeton Adult School Executive Board. He sits on numerous committees that provide relevant, high-quality courses and lectures to the Princeton community. He also offers personal financial planning courses each semester. He is a member of the Financial Planning Association, Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Societies of Certified Public Accountants.

He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from King's College, later obtained his CFP® designation from the College for Financial Planning (Denver, Colorado), and completed the Financial Planning Program at Fairleigh Dickinson University. In addition, he earned the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation, which is only granted to CPAs who meet stringent requirements of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Eleanore K. Szymanski, CFP®

Senior Wealth Advisor

Phone: 609-921-1016

Eleanore K. Szymanski, CFP ® (Elly), the Founder and Principal of EKS Associates, began her financial planning practice in 1983, following several years of experience in the business and accounting fields.

Dating back to 1996, Elly has received a variety of professional awards and recognitions for her work. She’s been selected by Worth magazine as one of the “Top 250 Wealth Advisors in the United States,” included in Medical Economics magazine’s annual “Financial Advisers for Doctors” listing, and named a “Five Star Professional Wealth Manager” many times through the years.

In addition to serving clients, Elly shares her experiences in varied financial topics in a regular column in The Times of Trenton called “Your Money.” In addition, she has been quoted in U.S. News and World Report, The Star-Ledger, Medical Economics magazine, The New York Post, Modern Maturity magazine, and Financial Planning Magazine. Elly was also featured on the CNBC-TV program The Money Club, which discussed Fee-Only Financial Planning, as well as Fox News TV’s Money Line. Elly teaches courses and gives seminars on financial topics to area universities, adult schools, non-profit groups, and businesses. Some of the corporations where she has conducted financial planning courses include Bristol-Myers Squibb, AT&T, Ford Motor Company, and Bell Telephone. Presently, Elly regularly teaches financial courses at The Princeton Adult School.

Elly serves her profession in many ways. She is a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), having served as a member of NAPFA’s National Board of Directors and Vice Chair; is an Associate Member of the Certified Financial Planning Board of Standards Board of Professional Review; and participates in Item Writing for the CFP Certification Examination. In October 2001, Elly was invited to participate in a Think Tank on Life-Changing Events sponsored by the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). Elly served on the PHS Senior Living Foundation Board and as a Public Arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). Elly is Past President of the Princeton Society of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP). She is CoFounder, past Chairperson and past President of the Princeton Chapter of the International Association for Financial Planning (IAFP). For many years, she served the community as a member of the Princeton Area United Way Board, Executive Committee, and Finance Committee. Currently, she serves The Princeton Adult School as Board Member, Vice Chair, and teacher of financial-related courses.

Howard Hook, CFP®, CPA, CAP®

Principal and Senior Wealth Advisor

Phone: 609-921-1016

Howard Hook is a Principal and Senior Wealth Advisor with EKS Associates. A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional and Certified Public Accountant, he has 35 years of experience in the financial advisory world.

His fee-only approach to comprehensive financial planning provides clients with confidence that all recommendations are in their best interest, free from conflict, and tailored to meet their needs and goals. His planning style is unique, incorporating considerable time for client education, as he believes this makes a profound difference in clients’ lives.

In addition, Howard is passionate about supporting charitable causes and helping clients to fulfill their desires to give back. He helps clients determine how much they can afford to give, the best ways to give, and the best time to give.

Howard’s ability to make sense of life’s challenging financial situations has attracted positive attention. He has been repeatedly recognized as a FIVE STAR Professional Wealth Manager and included in Medical Economics magazine’s “Financial Advisors for Doctors” listing.

Howard has been a regular contributor to Forbes.com and NJMoneyHelp.com, as well as SBH Physician magazine, a printed quarterly publication. He is a recurring educator at The Princeton Adult School, offering courses on personal financial planning and investing each semester.

He sits on the Board of Directors of HomeCare Options, a home health agency in Passaic County. He is also an active member of Shomrei Torah Synagogue, where he serves as Vice President of Finance and Fundraising, is a member of the Finance Committee, and past-Treasurer. He is a member of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Financial Planning Association.

Howard earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Binghamton University, received his Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation from the College for Financial Planning, and earned his Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) designation from The American College of Financial Services.

See Accomplishments

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.