Aaron Wartes

Professional background

I started in financial services at age 33 with Edward Jones, meeting people at their front door in Western Washington – 200 people in my first year. In 2013, I started at Morgan Stanley and learned about advanced strategies and alternative investments and got access to some of the best minds and research teams in the world. I still have a hunger for reading and knowledge for investing around the world.

David and I decided to join Raymond James our broker/dealer and co-founded Constellation Wealth Services in 2022, after realizing the culture and philosophy and mindset at Raymond James are more aligned with our vision.

The opportunity to follow a fiduciary standard of care and independent and advise clients supported by a financial services company vs. being dictated to was very appealing to us. We enjoy reading about upcoming trends and ideas and lining up our money and our clients assets aligning to those.

I have been a financial advisor and portfolio manager since 2003. We love to partner and co-advise with tax professionals and attorneys for clients to coordinate together their big picture. Helping people realize their potential and future goals is a total joy and to get to do that as a mentor personally, and in my career it is truly amazing.

I earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, in 1998.

Personal interests

I enjoy spending time with my family, pickleball, golf, snow-skiing, mountain biking, sailing and playing my violin. Kandice and I attend a reformed Christian church called Crossway Fellowship in Lynnwood, Washington.

My wife, Kandice, and I enjoy going on double dates with friends, watching movies, spending time with the grandkids and going to the symphony and jazz concerts. Kandice is a piano teacher and is on the worship team at our church with a beautiful soprano voice. We love travelling to the Caribbean and hope one day to get to South America and Asia. We took our first trip to Israel in 2018 and hope to go again.

One of my hobbies is collecting quotes and here are some of my favorites:

"Judge a man not by his answers, but by his questions"- Anonymous

"Contentment makes poor men rich; discontentment makes rich men poor"- Benjamin Franklin

"Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it."- Anonymous

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."- Winston Churchill

"The gem cannot be polished without friction nor man perfected without trials."- Chinese proverb

Favorite Movie: Fall Guy, or Limitless?

Favorite Book: War of Art, By Stephen Pressfield

Favorite Vacation spot: Whistler, Canada