WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
We maintain a culture of excellence and integrity in all that we do by adhering to the highest fiduciary standards and acting in your best interest 100% of the time. The recommendations we make are part of a collaborative process that reflects multiple perspectives and areas of expertise. There is no substitute for the skills and judgment that come from having decades of hands-on experience managing money.
INDEPENDENCE
After 16 years of working for Wall Street firms, Stephan Cassaday abandoned the traditional Wall Street model and founded Cassaday & Company, Inc. Steve’s vision was based on simple concepts about what clients want:
- Comprehensive, integrated financial advice that is proactive, objective, impartial, and continuously applied.
- A team of professionals who are highly trained, credentialed, and experienced.
- A firm that is not part of a bank, insurance company, or Wall Street firm and thus has no proprietary products or pressure to sell certain investments or strategies.
- Advisors who are fiduciaries and committed to acting in your best interest, offering advice based on what's best suited for you.
COMPREHENSIVE, COORDINATED,
COLLABORATIVE & CONTINUOUS ADVICE
A financial strategy that addresses only certain aspects of your wealth in a piecemeal way is a flawed strategy that may not produce desired outcomes. As with any complex undertaking, your financial plan requires an approach that systematically and comprehensively addresses all aspects of your wealth.
Coordination by highly trained and experienced subject-matter experts means that integration of these processes occurs.
Unlike most wealth management firms, we insist on collaboration in all aspects of our business. Investment management, financial planning, operations, and corporate governance all occur in an environment where all constituencies’ opinions are welcomed and solicited. This culture is beneficial in many ways:
- It encourages multiple perspectives and discourages groupthink.
- Ideas are vetted and thoughtfully considered by highly motivated stakeholders.
- The culture is more robust and less vulnerable when it is not dependent on one individual.
- We practice radical inclusion because our experience is that employees who feel valued and empowered perform at a much higher level.
- Collaboration is both internal AND external. Our process includes regular communication with your outside consultants (tax professionals, attorneys, etc.).
A BOUTIQUE FEEL WITH BIG FIRM CAPABILITIES
We’ve structured our business to give us the ability to grow while maintaining a boutique-style of personal service for our clients. Investments in personnel, infrastructure, training, and technology have allowed us to scale our business without losing touch with those we serve.
OUR EMPLOYEES ARE OUR GREATEST RESOURCE
The average tenure of our staff members is 15 years. Caring about our employees directly correlates to low turnover, thus continuity of excellent service for the families we serve. We have an award-winning environment where employees are empowered, motivated, and committed to working together everyday to exceed our clients’ expectations. Ongoing continuous improvement and a unique compensation plan assure that all employees think like owners.
CONTINUITY & SUCCESSION
Ours is an aging profession; consider these statistics:
- More than $2.3 trillion in assets are managed by advisors 60 and older. Of those advisors, 70% are solo practitioners, and less than 25% have a succession plan in place.
- In the next 10 years, 12,000-16,000 advisors will retire annually. Despite these anticipated retirements, only 29% currently have a succession plan.
- In its study of elite advisors, the Oechsli Institute reports that more than 40% of advisors are older than 50, 75% are older than 40, and only 5% are younger than 30.
Succession Planning – Investors are concerned about what happens if their advisory firm is no longer willing or able to assist them. They depend on their advisors and a sudden and unexpected interruption of advice and guidance can be very disruptive. According to Cerulli and Associates, less than 20% of advisory firms have a plan for operational continuity of their enterprise in the event of the death or disability of current leadership.
We believe that having a viable succession plan is part of our fiduciary duty to our clients.
Our agreement, in place since 2006, provides for an orderly and seamless transfer of firm ownership and governance in the event of the absence of current leadership. These successors are highly trained, experienced and competent employees with an average tenure with the firm of over 20 years. Our team is intentionally structured to provide you and your family with a lifetime of advice and guidance, assuring your financial plan spans decades and generations.
Having a succession plan is great but making sure it works is even better. We check our succession team’s readiness by running drills where top management goes ‘off the grid’ for a full week. This exercise allows our employees to test their ability to operate independently of current management.
INVESTED IN IMPROVING LIVES
At Cassaday & Company, Inc., we are committed to giving back and making our community a better place by investing in improving lives.
THE CASSADAY & COMPANY, INC. CHARITABLE FUND
The Cassaday & Company, Inc. Charitable Fund was established in 2008 to enable employees to easily participate in a company-wide charitable effort. Steve Cassaday matches all employee fund donations at 200%.
OUR FUND’S MISSION:
To support individuals and organizations with the goal of creating opportunities that otherwise would not exist by providing basic necessities such as food, water, medical care, refuge, shelter, sanctuary, education, and training.
The fund’s board of trustees researches local and national charities to determine the beneficiaries of the fund and allocation of distributions.
The current organizations that the Cassaday & Company, Inc. Charitable Fund supports are: