Five Star award winner FourWord Financial™

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

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FourWord Financial™

C. Aaron Durden, MBA, CFP^®, CDFA^®

Founder

2245 Texas Drive, Suite 300

Sugar Land, TX 77479

Office: (713)-204-8258

Aaron.Durden@FourWordFinancial.com

With nearly two decades of experience, C. Aaron Durden has committed his entire professional career to the financial services industry. He is a practicing CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® and the Founder of FourWord Financial, a financial planning and services firm in Sugar Land, TX. Aaron completed his MBA focusing on Personal Financial Planning in 2007 and holds the Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA®) certification demonstrating his commitment to providing comprehensive, values-driven financial services. He was accepted to Texas Tech University's PhD in Personal Financial Planning program beginning in the Fall of 2023. Aaron has a parallel passion for teaching and mentoring aspiring financial professionals. In January 2023, Aaron joined Texas A&M University as a Visiting Assistant Professor of the Practice teaching and assisting with courses required to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®. Through various initiatives such as managerial responsibilities, internship programs, and a mentorship-based scholarship program, Aaron actively supports young and new industry professionals. In addition to FourWord Financial, Aaron founded Talking Cents, LLC. The organization is aimed at fostering new generations of financial professionals and helping students and newcomers in the financial services field understand the practical application of financial advice and how to navigate the nuances of business development and management. Outside of his work, Aaron enjoys sports, physical fitness, and spending quality time with his family. He resides in Richmond, TX, with his wife Heather and their children Reid, Ansley, and Kamryn. The Durden's spend time together raising animals on their land, and Aaron has a particular affinity for saltwater fish tanks. He also enjoys going on walks and truck rides with their Australian Shepherd, Oliver.

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This award was issued on 07/01/2023 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 10/10/2022 through 05/05/2023. 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. 3,347 Houston-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 179 (2% of candidates) were named 2023 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2022: 3215, 176, 5%, 7/1/22, 9/20/21 - 4/8/22; 2021: 3133, 173, 6%, 7/1/21, 9/14/20 - 4/30/21; 2020: 3219, 174, 5%, 7/1/20, 9/30/19 - 4/17/20; 2019: 2,992, 209, 7%, 7/1/19, 10/15/18 - 4/26/19; 2018: 3,114, 218, 7%, 7/1/18, 10/27/17 - 5/21/18; 2017: 2,000, 228, 11%, 7/1/17, 10/24/16 - 5/24/17; 2016: 1,763, 437, 25%, 6/1/16, 10/16/15 - 5/16/16; 2015: 2,289, 408, 18%, 7/1/15, 10/16/14 - 5/16/15; 2014: 3,958, 410, 10%, 7/1/14, 10/16/13 - 5/16/14; 2013: 3,001, 504, 17%, 8/1/13, 10/16/12 - 5/16/13; 2012: 2,105, 425, 20%, 7/1/12, 10/16/11 - 5/16/12.

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Investment advisor representative and registered representative of, and securities and investment advisory services offered through Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. (Member SIPC)

FourWord Financial is not a subsidiary of nor controlled by Voya Financial Advisors.

Neither Voya Financial Advisors nor its representatives offer tax or legal advice. Please consult with your tax and legal advisors regarding your individual situation

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.