Cassaday & Company, Inc., has been ranked as a Top RIA by Financial Advisor for 2023. This is the firm’s twelfth year on the list. As the independent advisor channel continues to grow, Cassaday & Co. is especially proud to be recognized as part of this elite and competitive group.

What is an RIA?

A Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is an individual financial advisor or company that provides its clients with financial advice. Unlike other types of financial advisors, RIAs have a fiduciary duty. As part of this fiduciary duty, an RIA is obligated to always act in your best financial interest and to offer the lowest-cost products that fit your needs.

Non-RIA financial advisors, such as broker-dealers, may only have to offer advice that is suitable to clients. This means they can offer financial advice that meets a client’s needs, but this advice may earn the advisor sales commissions or higher fees.

Why is the RIA channel growing?

Financial Advisor reported that investors are developing a better understanding and appreciation for the inherent fiduciary nature of the RIA model.

“As the climate around investing and financial advice has shifted, the upshot is that the RIA model has enjoyed numerous years of steady growth—in fact, it’s been the fastest growing corner of the financial advice market for years. RIAs, with their emphasis on objectivity, independence, and clients’ interests, are well placed to meet investors’ evolving needs and expectations, and this model is poised to keep growing and keep gaining share on Wall Street brokers.”

RIAs continue to grow as an attractive route for investors as they often provide more than just investment advice. These types of advisory firms generally provide clients with access to a range of subjects that are part of your financial life, from retirement planning to insurance and estate planning.

Cassaday & Co. continuously assesses our in-house suite of services to ensure we are providing a holistic approach to wealth management for our clients. Over the last several years, the firm has incorporated estate planning, tax services, and life-transitions departments in our goal to be a one-stop source for our clients’ financial needs.

About Cassaday & Co.

Cassaday & Company, Inc., was founded in 1993, before the independent advisory model became popular. After 16 years of holding senior and management positions with several major New York Stock Exchange member firms, Steve Cassaday went against the grain to found Cassaday in order to provide investors objective, personalized advice in a small-firm setting, but with big-firm capabilities. It is imperative to us that we uphold our founding principles, and that clients never feel like they are just a number.

Our business model has always been to hire individuals who have innate skills that cannot be taught, and build positions around them based on their talent, passion, and aptitude. We believe that certain employee metrics are a key indicator of a firm’s quality. These include credentials, continuous improvement, experience and institutional knowledge, and a culture that encourages employees to think like owners and make client service a number one priority. Our team of award-winning individuals has the talent, training, and commitment to help produce the outcomes that clients tell us are important to them.

To view the full 2023 ranking list, click here.

To view the full article from Financial Advisor, click here 

*FA Magazine – Financial Advisor Magazine used discretionary and non-discretionary assets under management as reported on Form ADV to compile their RIA rankings. Cassaday & Company did not pay a fee in exchange for inclusion on this list. More information can be found at http://www.fa-mag.com/research/ria-survey. Third-party rankings and recognitions are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a client or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance or results.