Sports & Entertainment
Your goal is within reach. Our team will work to see it through.
It took discipline and the right team surrounding you to make it to the pros. It will require that same discipline and another experienced business management team to maximize your wealth during and after your playing days.
With You From Day One Through Retirement.
With the insight and experience of advisors who have worked with athletes for decades, you have access to many financial strategies across your entire career, not just a moment in time. We’ll be the team that manage your finances and works to protect your future, so you can focus on living your dream.
Early Career
In your early career, we will help to define what’s important to you and your family, align your financial plan to your goals and help you establish your credit. This is a foundational, but important step, so you can begin growing your wealth and build a plan that helps to plan for life’s big achievements.
Mid-and-Late Career
As your career progresses, we will help you with cash flow and budgeting, ensure you have strong tax solutions that help you sustain your wealth, and assist you with investing more actively. As you near the end of your post-playing career we will help you fund education plans for your children, begin considering your philanthropic goals and prepare for income opportunities in retirement.
Post-Playing Career
Eventually, your playing career will come to a close. Here, we help you transition into a new career phase and uncover income opportunities. We work with you to make decisions for your family legacy and how you might transition your wealth to your kids. This is your journey, and you need a team that has navigated these unique stages.
The Personal CFO of Professional & Post-Playing Career Athletes
With Focus Partners Wealth, you have an experienced team that has worked with professional and retired athletes for decades. We understand the excitement that comes with signing your first big contract, navigating family dynamics and your desire to enjoy your wealth now and long after you’ve retired from the playing field.
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Preserve Your Wealth
We take steps now to preserve and grow your wealth so that it can support your lifestyle and your family for a lifetime.
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Protect Your Assets
We implement protective measures that will help position your assets against potential risks and losses
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Maximize Earnings
Our tax professionals apply their deep understanding of tax and estate laws to help you keep more of what you earn.
Even the Greats Rely on Teammates.
The details surrounding new wealth don’t have to be a burden. Consider us your personal CFO. We have experience assisting you in key areas like cash-flow management, budgeting, bill-paying, and managing banking and lending relationships. When the time comes, we can handle the details of car leases, rental properties, home mortgages, and insurance coverages – all to make your financial life easier.
Connect with an advisor who specializes in your needs.
Meet some of our best minds in Sports & Entertainment Management
Manage Your Finances. Guard Your Future.
You’ve made the journey from the playground to the pros. Now is the time to develop a strategy for making the most of the opportunities you’ve earned. We aim to turn your early success into financial independence you can enjoy throughout your career, as you move into new ventures, and as you eventually transition into retirement.
Business Management
Whether you are a songwriter, recording artist or professional athete, we help you maximize the profit from your talent. Our business management professionals are equipped with extensive resources and decades of experience in managing personal and business finances including tour accounting, royalties and publishing, tax compliance, bill pay, bookkeeping, and lifestyle services.
Client Profiles: NHL Athletes and the Power of Specialized Services
Our teams serve a large and growing number of NHL athletes whose careers and lives play out across borders, time zones, and life stages, often on an accelerated clock. Collectively, our cross-border capabilities, especially between the U.S. and Canada, represent one of the more comprehensive offerings in the NHL advisory space today.
FAQ: Financial Advisory for College & Professional Athletes
Our team of Focus professionals are experienced in guiding and managing the unique financial circumstances that athletes face over the course of their careers; making specialized planning critical to the longevity of their wealth. Our team focuses on the areas that we believe can have the greatest financial impact over time, including cash flow and tax planning, supported by a disciplined long-term investment approach. Just as important, we help athletes think beyond their playing careers by building plans that are designed to support long-term financial well-being through every stage of life.
We are fiduciaries, meaning we are committed to acting in our clients’ best interests, and believe the strength of our relationships, the depth of our service, and our long-term commitment to athletes and their families is what truly sets us apart. What separates Focus from other firms is not a product-driven approach, but the way we think, serve, and build relationships with our clients. We take a disciplined, full-picture approach to financial planning that is designed to support athletes before, during, and after their playing careers. Our team also includes former collegiate and professional athletes, giving us a deeper understanding of the unique realities of athletes’ lives and financial circumstances.
When athletes work with us, they have a dedicated relationship team supported by a broader group of experienced professionals. Your main points of contact will be your dedicated Wealth Advisor and an Associate Advisor, who work together to support your day-to-day needs and long-term planning goals. Additionally, a client service associate will assist you with onboarding, paperwork, and money movement confirmations as needed. Our team approach is designed to provide personal attention while also giving clients access to deep expertise in financial planning, investment management, and athlete-specific issues. That support includes professionals with advanced credentials across planning, investment, and legal disciplines, allowing us to bring a well-rounded perspective to each client relationship.
Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) allows student-athletes to earn income from opportunities tied to their personal brand, including endorsements, sponsorships, social media content, appearances, camps, and merchandise. While NIL can create meaningful financial opportunities, it also introduces important considerations related to taxes, budgeting, savings, and long-term planning. Because NIL earnings are often reported differently than traditional employment income and may result in unique tax obligations, consulting financial and tax professionals early can help athletes better understand their responsibilities and develop a strategy for managing their earnings. By building sound financial habits from the start, student-athletes can make informed decisions, maximize the impact of their NIL opportunities, and create a strong foundation for future financial success.
We understand that athletes often operate on demanding and unpredictable schedules, so we prioritize communication that is efficient, direct, and respectful of their time. We work with clients to establish the methods and timing that fit them best, whether that means in-person meetings, phone calls, text messages, or e-mail. Communication frequency can also be tailored based on the stage of the relationship, the season of life or play, and the client’s preferences. We work for our clients, and making sure they feel heard is a meaningful part of building trust and delivering advice that truly fits their needs.
We take a 360-degree approach to supporting athletes. That means helping coordinate a broader team around the client that may include professionals such as attorneys, private bankers, insurance specialists, CPAs, and other outside advisors as needed. Our goal is to create a more integrated support system so athletes have coordinated, trusted guidance across the financial decisions they face throughout their careers and beyond.
In addition to that team-based approach, we provide guidance across a wide range of planning areas, including:*
EARLY CAREER
• Cash Flow Management and Budgeting
• Wealth Protection/Preservation
• Education
MID- TO LATE-CAREER
• Net Worth Development
• Bill Pay/Mail/Business Management Team Setup
• Banking Team Setup & Coordination
• Philanthropic Planning/Maximizing Impact of Charitable
GIVING
• Retirement Planning
• Tax Planning/Tax Return Prep
• Establish Investment Strategies
• Coordination: Team Concierge, Lending, Asset Acquisition Planning, Legal
POST-PLAYING CAREER
• Wealth Transfer Strategies/Family Legacy
• Private Deal Analysis
• Mentoring/Counseling for Next Career Phase Transition
• Career Transition Advocacy
• Income Development Opportunities
• Contract Review and Decision Support
• Next Gen Education
* Some of the services listed above pertain to working with your external advisors and may not apply to your individual situation.
Our fee structure is explained clearly at the outset of the relationship so athletes and their families understand how services are priced, what is included, and how the relationship is structured. We believe transparency is essential, and we want expectations to be clear from the beginning.
Some of the biggest financial risks athletes face are taxes, weak cash flow management, and poorly vetted private investment opportunities. Tax planning matters because athletes may earn income across multiple states or jurisdictions, and without careful coordination, that can create meaningful inefficiencies over time. Cash flow also matters because earnings can change quickly, making discipline and planning essential. Private deals may carry just as much risk, especially when they come from friends, family members, or business contacts. One of the ways we add value is by serving as an objective filter in those situations. We can evaluate opportunities carefully, ask hard questions, and, when necessary, be the party that says no so the athlete does not have to strain important personal or business relationships.
Never take anything for granted. Athletic careers can change quickly, which is why we believe prudent planning, strong cash flow discipline, and attention to tax and fee efficiency are critical.
Working with us means gaining the support of not only your relationship team, but also a broader network of internal and external resources. We believe it is our responsibility to find the right information and the right specialists when a situation calls for added expertise. That may include collaboration with internal specialists as well as trusted outside professionals in areas such as sport-specific tax planning, investment research, private investments, or real estate.
In our experience, family is often deeply involved in an athlete’s financial journey. We believe education and empowerment are essential from the beginning, not just for the athlete, but often for the family as well. When appropriate, we help families work through decisions together, evaluate opportunities carefully, and move forward in a way that supports both immediate priorities and long-term financial well-being.