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

Trusted. Transparent. Fee-Only. Always in Your Corner.

At EKS Associates, financial planning is about helping people live more meaningful and financially confident lives. For more than 35 years, we’ve guided individuals and families in the Princeton area and beyond toward achieving their personal and financial goals.

As a Fee-Only, fiduciary firm, our only loyalty is to you. We do not earn commissions or third-party incentives—ever. That independence allows us to focus solely on what matters most: helping you make thoughtful, informed decisions that support your goals and reflect your values.

Our approach is both comprehensive and personal. We take the time to get to know you—your aspirations, your family, your challenges, and the future you want to create. Then we build an integrated financial plan that brings all the pieces together: investments, retirement, taxes, estate planning, and more. By addressing your full financial picture, we help you move forward with purpose and peace of mind.

Because life evolves, your plan should too. We meet regularly to review your progress, make adjustments, and ensure your strategy remains aligned with your goals. We also collaborate with your other trusted professionals—such as accountants and attorneys—so your entire advisory team is working in harmony on your behalf.

At EKS Associates, we believe financial planning is a lifelong partnership built on trust, transparency, and genuine care. Our mission is simple: to help you make the most of your resources so you can live the life you envision—with confidence and clarity.

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.

Howard's writing and speaking accomplishments include:

Guest speaker at the Association of Women in Rheumatology (AWIR) Annual Conference
Regular contributor to NJMoneyHelp.com (syndicated through NJ.com and The Star-Ledger)
Interviewed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune magazine, New York Post, Newsday, Huffington Post, Financial Advisor magazine, Money magazine, and many others
Guest speaker at William Paterson University Student Chapter of the Financial Planning Association
Featured on New York 1 Money Matters, News 12 NJ's It's Your Money, WABC Radio, CNN.com, TimeMagazine.com, FoxBusiness.com, and TheStreet.com
Former contributor to The Star Ledger's "Get With the Plan" and "Biz Brain" financial columns, as well as New York Daily News "Daily Views" column
Two-time panelist and breakout speaker at The Star Ledger's Annual Road to Personal Wealth Conference

His community involvement includes:

Member, William Paterson University Financial Planning Advisory Council
Treasurer and Member of Shomrei Torah Synagogue's Finance Committee; Past Vice President of Finance and Fundraising
Teaches a variety of financial planning and investment courses and Princeton Adult School
Member, Financial Planning Association
Past Board Member, HomeCare Options, a home health agency in Passaic County.
Past Member, Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce
Past Member, Forbes Finance Council

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 11/01/2025 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 03/13/2025 through 09/05/2025. 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. 7682 New Jersey-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 400 (5 % of candidates) were named 2026 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2025: 7,425, 431, 6%, 12/1/24, 3/13/24 - 10/7/24; 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.