Nov 22, 2021
It’s no secret that athletes need someone in their corner. Mike George of Athletes Financial strives to be that someone, helping athletes with their financial lives through education and earned trust.
Mike began his career at IMG working with the likes of Peyton Manning and Derek Jeter. When he opened his own firm, Mike made a conscious choice to focus on quality over quantity, keeping his client list lean and his services top-notch.
As his career evolved, Mike realized the importance of maintaining relationships with agents as well as the athletes. He describes why advising is like recruiting and how athletes have measured themselves against an arbitrary locker room standard for far too long. Mike’s goal is always to break through that inner athletic circle and give athletes an education and an alternative voice of reason.
In this episode, Mike talks with Steve about the number one risk of advising athletes, how Mike defines success, and why reputation will always beat the market.
Key Takeaways
- [01:28] - Mike’s career path.
- [02:38] - Why athletes need to trust their advisor above all else.
- [07:21] - Why Mike is intentional with his relationships.
- [12:18] - The biggest risk with advising athletes.
- [13:44] - What success means for Mike.
- [15:49] - Red flags to be mindful of when choosing clients.
- [23:30] - Why a menu suite of services works better than an all-or-nothing approach.
- [30:20] - Why an athlete’s relationship with a financial advisor is often their longest and most important professional relationship.
Quotes
(7:30) “Everything is fundamental in trust. And at the end of the day, your reputation is what’s going to get out into the marketplace, whether it’s athletes, whether it’s ultra high net-worth individuals, once you get into a niche like that it’s truly a small world that you’re dealing with. And the sports world is no different.” ~ Mike George
(13:47) “At the end of the day, I’m actually a translator between the financial and capital markets and the athlete. And what I’ve been told I do a good job at is bringing it down to layman’s terms, making sure not just that I communicate it but also that I listen to the client and make sure that they understand what I’m saying in a way that is impactful for them to internalize it. Because one of the most important things isn’t return on the portfolio — it’s actually getting our clients to save their dollars.” ~ Mike George
(17:21) “You’re hiring a financial advisor to help you save your money, not to help you spend your money. So if we’re just spending money and moving money around for clients as opposed to activities that are aimed at driving their net worth positively, we can figure that out pretty quick.” ~ Mike George
Links
- Mike George on LinkedIn
- Athletes Financial
- IMG
- The Admired Advisor 034: Client Segmentation Strategies with Jim Dischert
- Dimensional Fund Advisors
- Vanguard
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