FAQs

Your accounts are insured against lost or stolen cash or securities at Pershing LLC or Osaic Wealth by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), a U.S. government-chartered corporation. As a member of SIPC, securities in your account are protected up to $500,000 for lost or stolen securities. For details, please see www.sipc.com.

In addition to SIPC protection, Pershing provides additional coverage for client assets:

• An aggregate loss limit of $1 billion for eligible securities-over all client accounts.
• A per-client loss limit of $1.9 million for cash awaiting reinvestment-within the aggregate loss limit of $1 billion.

Note: This does not protect your account from market loss.

Our custodian is Pershing LLC, located in Jersey City, New Jersey. Pershing was founded in 1936 and is the largest independent clearing/custody firm. Pershing is a division of The Bank of New York Mellon Financial (NYSE BNY). The Bank of New York, founded in 1784 by Alexander Hamilton, is the oldest bank in the nation.

BNY Mellon Financial Highlights as of January 15th, 2025.

• $2.0 trillion in assets under management
• $52.1 trillion in assets under custody
• $416 billion in total assets
• $41.4 billion in total shareholders’ equity
• $55 billion in market capitalization
• $4.8 billion total revenue

Source: The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation Financial Supplement Fourth Quarter 2024.

Osaic Wealth (formerly Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.) is an independent broker-dealer. They execute securities transactions in client accounts, and offer some variable annuities and 529 plans. As our broker-dealer, Osaic Wealth may call clients to confirm transfers if they have requested them from their account.

No. We are employees of Cassaday & Company, Inc. Osaic Wealth and Pershing LLC are independent third parties that provide services to us.

Focus Financial Partners, Dinsmore Compliance Services, and our Chief Compliance Officer provide us with legal, compliance, and supervisory oversight.

Representatives of Cassaday & Company, Inc., must demonstrate that the firm has followed industry standards in terms of investment recommendations and their suitability for clients.

Cassaday & Company, Inc. is an investment advisory firm registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.  Cassaday & Company, Inc. primarily invests in no-load and load waived mutual funds, pursuant to an asset allocation model. Cassaday & Company, Inc claims compliance with the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) which are a globally recognized set of standardized, ethical principles that provide investment management firms with guidance on how to calculate and report their investment results.

We prepare composite reports that reflect our performance after fees and expenses. Our composite reports are available upon request.

For more information about GIPS, please click here.

We are verified by an independent third party:

The Spaulding Group
33 Clyde Road, Suite 103 Somerset, NJ 08873 USA
www.tsgperformance.com/

Verification assesses whether the firm has complied with all the composite construction requirements of the GIPS standards on a firm-wide basis and the firm’s policies and procedures are designed to calculate and present performance in compliance with GIPS. Verification does not ensure the accuracy of any specific composite report.

GIPS® is a registered trademark of CFA Institute. CFA Institute does not endorse or promote this organization, nor does it warrant the accuracy or quality of the content contained herein.

Based on our systematic management process, our clients all own what we believe are the very best choices in all categories. Irrespective of size, our accounts generally own the same investments. Therefore, we manage your accounts based on our opinion of a specific holding. If our opinion changes, we make adjustments on all of the accounts at once. No account gets preferential treatment.

No, we will not force you to sell any investments. Although, some investments may need to be sold in order for Cassaday & Company, Inc. to manage them for you.  However, most investments will transfer to Pershing in kind without having to be sold. We will recommend changes that we believe could improve your portfolio with an eye toward the tax consequences, penalties, and charges associated with any sale transaction.

As part of Cassaday & Company, Inc.’s consolidation, integration, and simplification strategy, we recommend that you consider consolidating your investments with one institution. Consolidation can help simplify your portfolio. The good news is that you do not have to sell your investments to consolidate them, and Cassaday & Company, Inc. will take care of all the paperwork for you.

There are some costs associated with consolidation and we will discuss those with you before we begin the process. These costs are typically diminutive. There are many benefits associated with consolidation, including:

• Reduction in paperwork
• Chances of errors are reduced
• Simplified tax preparation and record-keeping
• Easily manage your money flows
• Opportunity to review title issues, beneficiary designations
• Estate administration in case of death or disability is centralized

The desktops and servers at Cassaday & Company, Inc. are housed on a highly secure, advanced virtual cloud environment. This environment is accessible from anywhere, has unlimited storage capacities, 24/7 monitoring (of both the server operations and data center), and failover protection with daily backups. If operations are disrupted at our office, we are able to work with full capabilities at any location with Internet access (this includes mobile devices). Our servers are housed at multiple data centers in different areas of the country, ensuring near-100% uptime if there is a regional emergency.

Our fee-based managed accounts average more than $2,000,000 per household.

Yes, $1 million. These are investable assets and should not include your real estate, life insurance, or personal assets.

Cassaday & Company, Inc., investment advisory fees are charged quarterly, in arrears, and are based upon the value of a client’s assets under management (AUM). Fees range between .50 - 1.50% and are calculated on the Average Daily balance (ADB) of the managed portfolio during the prior quarter. For new clients, fees will be prorated based upon the dates the assets are received into the account. Clients with assets under management at Cassaday & Company, Inc., will be subject to a minimum annual fee of $6,000. In certain circumstances, the minimum fee may be negotiated.

There may be wholesale transaction charges associated with changes to the portfolio; Cassaday & Company, Inc., receives no commissions in this arrangement. These are usually, but not always, less than $100 per year per account.

We refund 100% of 12b-1 fees to our clients in our fee-based arrangement.

Initially, we will develop an investment policy for you, explain our initial recommendations to you, and get your input and approval. However, all future transactions will be done at our discretion and you will be notified of trade confirmations. These transactions will be done within the parameters of your Investment Policy Statement as discussed and agreed upon by you in our initial meetings. Any investments that you bring to us and specify should not be sold will remain in the account until we receive instructions or permission to sell.

A fiduciary is an individual in whom another has placed the utmost trust and confidence to manage and protect property or money. It describes the relationship wherein one person has an obligation to act for another’s benefit in that person’s best interests. Cassaday & Company, Inc., acts in a fiduciary capacity for its investment advisory clients.

When advisors recommend investments that pay commissions, a fiduciary relationship does not exist. Clients of Cassaday & Company in fee-based accounts do not pay commissions, hence a fiduciary relationship exists. You will be required to pay transaction fees pertaining to the trades done in your account, however Cassaday & Company does not keep any of these fees.

We do have the ability to earn commissions on certain transactions, but these cannot be executed in fee-based accounts. If a client wants to purchase an investment that carries a commission, we can facilitate in a separate, non-fee-based account.

Cassaday employees do not have access to client assets. Clients’ assets are held by an independent custodian, Pershing LLC, for safekeeping.
All checks from clients must be made payable to "Pershing, LLC FBO Client Name."

Our team members hold various professional designations including:

• Accredited Estate Planner  (AEP®)
• Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®)
• Certified Annuity Specialist (CAS®)
• Certified Estate Specialist (CES™)
• Certified Financial Analyst (CFA)
• Certified Financial Planner (CFP®)
• Certified Fund Specialist (CFS)
• Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®)
• Certified Long Term Care  (CLTC)
• Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA)
• Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional (CRCP)
• Certified Tax Specialist (CTS™) 
• Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®)
• Chartered Federal Employee Benefits Consultant (ChFEBCSM℠)
• Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®)
• Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC)
• Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®)
• Masters of Business Administration (MBA)
• Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS)
• National Social Security Advisor (NSSA®)
• Series 24 Securities Firm Principal designation
• Series 65 Investment Advisor designation
• Series 66 Uniform Combined State Law designation
• Series 7 Registered Representative designation

Stephan has recognized the importance of a succession plan since founding Cassaday & Company, Inc. We have set up an executive team which consists of all department heads, the COO, and senior advisors. The team meets regularly to discuss policy, initiatives, personnel matters, and future direction of the firm. In the event of Stephan’s death or disability, this group would run the firm. Cassaday & Company, Inc., also has a succession plan that provides for the orderly transfer of company ownership to the three senior advisors in the event of Stephan’s death. This policy is governed by a contract and funded by life insurance.

You are right! The average age of Cassaday & Company, Inc., employees is 36 years. This is by design and we believe our young staff distinguishes us from our competition in a positive way. Here’s why:

1. Our average client is 63 years old.  When these clients are 83, our current employees will be 53 and still actively involved in the practice. This more fully assures that current clients will not be forced to look for a new advisor when they are older.
2. Proper wealth management spans decades and, if done properly, generations.  Younger employees are more likely to provide continuity of advice through life’s transitions and establish relationships with our clients’ heirs.  Ongoing guidance coupled with a long term personal connection provides a more secure, comfortable, and complete wealth management package.
3. Our advisors and subject matter experts and their staff receive systematic training through continuing education, continuous improvement programs, and attainment of industry certifications. This is a major component of the recognition we have received from the media, our peers, and the community.
4. Our proprietary training programs for our advisors last 5 years and include intense study, testing, and experiential learning. Advisors spend more than one year each in the financial planning and investment management departments working on real-world client issues with hands-on guidance from our experienced staff. The next 3 years of training involve crafting and implementing comprehensive solutions directly for clients under direct supervision of our professional staff and senior advisors.
5. At Cassaday & Company, Inc., we practice a culture of collaboration. All processes affecting clients are governed by this approach. All ideas that are implemented for our clients are a result of collaboration among our employees. This includes investment management, financial planning, and corporate governance.  As a consequence, before implementation, all ideas and strategies are vetted, thoughtfully considered, and voted upon by a group of highly trained and experienced stakeholders.
6. Our business model has been to hire outstanding people at an early age, before they develop bad habits, usually right out of college. We look for individuals who have innate skills that cannot be taught.  We then build positions around them based on their talent, passion, and aptitude.  We have repeatedly witnessed that people who are young are eager to learn can be inherently smart despite their lack of experience.  When empowered to do their jobs by acting and thinking independently, they become self-sufficient, highly motivated, and loyal employees, irrespective of their age. This cultural environment is cited by our employees as a primary benefit in surveys that have led to our regular recognition as a Best Place to Work (Washington Business Journal 2015-2024*), a Top Workplace (Washington Post 2020-2024*), and one of the Best Places to Work in Virginia (Virginia Business 2012-2024*). To view information and criteria on these awards, click here. 

*Cassaday & Co. did not pay a fee for inclusion on Washington Post or Virginia Business recognitions. Washington Business Journal applicants pay a $250 fee for registering (price as of 2024 application)