Local financial planning firm receives major recognitions

Published 6:15 am Thursday, October 16, 2025

By Michael Milliorn (https://victoriaadvocate.com/author/michaelmilliorn/)

Dave Sather, founder of Sather Financial Group, Inc. (Contributed by Dave Sather)

Dave Sather founded his financial planning and investment management firm Sather Financial Group, Inc. (https://satherfinancial.com/) almost 27 years ago in Victoria. Since its beginnings as a one-man operation, the firm has grown to a team of 12 professionals overseeing $2 billion in client assets.

Sather Financial Group, Inc. has become the fourth largest Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) based in the state. CNBC named the firm 60th in its top 100 firms in the nation for the second time since its founding. “It is both humbling and flattering,” Sather said. “Our industry is so competitive that you get to sit back and smile for about five minutes, and then you realize it’s time to get back to work.”

There are 40,563 RIA firms in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulatory database. The July edition of Financial Advisor magazine recently named Sather Financial Group, Inc. one of the top RIAs in the nation. This accolade is based upon assets under management and is the 19th time the firm has been awarded the distinction. “In a community like Victoria, relationships drive things, and it takes a long time to develop relationships,” Sather said. “Since I wasn’t from Victoria, it took a long time for people to see how we were going to do, and so it required a lot of patience.”

Sather never expected his firm to reach the success it achieved when he first started his firm. He worked in the industry for eight years prior to founding Sather Financial Group, Inc.

“I knew I loved the investment business, but I never would have guessed that it would have grown the way it has,” Sather said. Sather found success through meaningful communication with his clients. He prioritized solving problems and being both fair and honest in his business dealings. The firm started as and remains a fiduciary, free-only firm. The company has a legal obligation to act in the best interest of its clients.

“If the relationship grows, we get a pay raise,” Sather said. “If the relationship shrinks, we take a pay cut. It’s not a perfect situation, but it’s the one that most closely aligns us on the same side of the table.” Sather Financial Group, Inc.’s size is unique for a rural community like Victoria, Sather said. Most large financial planning and investment management firms are based in major cities, such as Dallas, Houston and Austin. Sather credits his firm’s location with much of its success.

“I love Victoria,” Sather said. “You could not blast me out of Victoria. I am at a distinct advantage because I live in Victoria. People are hard working, they’re nice. [Sather Financial Group, Inc.] is a much better business because we did it in a community like this.”

Michael Milliorn is a news reporter for the Victoria Advocate. He can be reached at michael.milliorn@vicad.com