Sean Gallahan

Sean Gallahan jumped into the financial advice industry right in the middle of the 2008 financial crisis at Cassaday & Co. Inc., a hybrid registered investment advisor in McLean, Virginia, that now has $4 billion in assets under management.

“That was the big downturn, and by March 2009 the firm’s assets had dropped 50%,” said Gallahan, now a partner with the firm.

At the time, he focused on research and financial planning and didn’t have direct responsibilities with clients as he does now. Still, the Great Recession left its impact.

“At first I had no idea how the other financial advisors were dealing with it,” Gallahan said. “One of my strengths is client hand-holding, keeping them calm. People get wrapped up in the constant flow of news, and we want to keep them focused on their goals and objectives.”

Over his time at the firm, it has grown from 15 employees to around 80, he said. Gallahan met the firm’s founder Stephan Cassaday, the firm’s chairman and CEO, at Radford University, from which they both graduated. “This firm is my home, and I hope to be here a few decades from now.”

—Bruce Kelly