Virginia Business Honors Steve Cassaday with 2026 Icon Honors Award 

Cassaday & Company, Inc. Founder, Chairman & CEO Steve Cassaday has been named a recipient of the 2026 Virginia Icon Honors Award by Virginia Business. Steve founded Cassaday & Company, an independent wealth management firm headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in 1993. The award recognizes lifetime achievement by Virginia leaders whose vision, integrity, and commitment to excellence have strengthened the commonwealth. 

About the Virginia Icon Honors Award 

The Virginia Icon Honors Award is a lifetime achievement award presented by Virginia Business, the statewide business publication, which launched the program in 2025. It recognizes leaders from business, government, and higher education across Virginia. The editorial staff of Virginia Business chooses honorees for their track records of success, visionary leadership, and commitment to excellence, which have left a lasting impact on their organizations and communities and inspire generations to come. 

A Pioneer of Independent Financial Advice 

Steve has been advising investors professionally since 1977. In 1993, after 16 years with several major New York Stock Exchange member firms, he left the traditional Wall Street brokerage model to found Cassaday & Company. He was one of the first financial advisors in the industry to become independent. 

His vision was simple: provide objective, client-focused advice free from corporate agendas and proprietary products. As a registered investment advisor, Cassaday & Company operates as a fiduciary, always acting in its clients’ best interests. What began as a small independent practice has grown into a team of over 100 professionals serving families across the country, built on the same values Steve started with. 

Investing in People: The Culture Behind the Firm 

Steve is the first to say that his success belongs to the people around him. His guiding advice to other leaders: “Invest in people, practice radical inclusion, and empower them to think like owners.” 

Those values shape every interaction at Cassaday & Co. Team members are encouraged to share input on major firm decisions. Departments work together so that every client receives a comprehensive, coordinated wealth management plan covering investments, financial planning, tax strategies, estate planning, insurance, and life transitions.  

As Steve has put it, “Saying employees are our greatest resource is a slogan at most businesses, but here, it’s part of our ethos.” By investing in its people, infrastructure, training, and technology, Cassaday & Company delivers boutique-style service with the capabilities of a much larger firm. To learn more about what makes Cassaday different, click here. 

A Legacy of Giving Back 

Steve’s belief in investing in people extends beyond the office. The Cassaday & Company, Inc. Charitable Fund gives employees an easy way to take part in a firm-wide giving effort, and Steve personally matches every employee donation to the fund at 200%. A board of trustees researches local and national charities and decides where the fund’s support goes. The fund focuses on organizations that provide basic necessities and create opportunities for those who need them most.  

The current organizations that the Cassaday & Company, Inc. Charitable Fund supports are: 

• Boulder Crest Foundation
• Central Union Mission
• PathForward (formerly A-SPAN)
• HopeLink Behavioral Health (formerly PRS, Inc.)
• So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E)
• United Help Ukraine

We are proud to congratulate Steve on this well-deserved honor and grateful to Virginia Business for the recognition.