In 2015, my Dad was running a business in my hometown of Saint Louis, Missouri. He had been running this business for over two decades. In late 2015, he received the news that he had an aggressive form of cancer, and only a few short months later he had sold his business and passed away. He hadn't planned to sell his business. I saw firsthand the downsides of not having a plan. Business exit planning is the plan he needed. A business exit plan is only one part of financial planning for business owners, but it is an important part for those looking to exit their business today or in the future. In this blog, we are going to look at everything you should consider to have a successful business exit plan. Business Exit Planning Business exit planning is for every business owner. Why everyone? Because just like death and taxes are a part of life so is exiting your business. At some point in time in the future, you will no longer run your business. Having a plan will give you clarity on running your business today and what an exit could look like in the future. Here are a few questions we hope you get clarity on when creating a business exit plan. Can I afford to sell my business? Who are the best buyers for my business? How do I maximize the value of my business? Do I have the right people on my financial team? How do I want my employees to be taken care of? A succession plan is a way for you to answer all these questions on your terms. When you have a plan in place it allows you to minimize downside risk and avoid any surprises. There is no one-size-fits-all in a business exit plan, but I can tell you firsthand that not having one is not good. After all, you have worked your entire life to grow your business. My first-hand experience is that you want to maximize it. Let's look at the components of a winning exit plan. 4 Keys to a Business Exit Plan Who is going to buy my company? What people should help me sell? What is my business worth? What is my ideal post-sale life? 1) Who is going to buy my company? The first step in a successful exit is knowing who is going to buy your company. There is no right or wrong answer to who should buy your business, but there are many pros and cons. Understanding the pros and cons of each type of buyer is a key to success. These are the three most common buyers of businesses. Internal Sale Private Equity Strategic Buyer Internal Sale: An internal sale typically means you are selling to one of two people. The employees of your business or a family member outside of the business. When you are selling internally there are a few pros and cons that are helpful to review. Pros: Without outside capital in a business, it allows the new owner to focus on the business without any outside pressures. The focus can be on growing the businesses on your terms. Another pro is that it allows you to reward those employees who have been on the journey with you and helped create the success that you have today. Cons: An aggressive growth path is often more difficult when keeping the business internal. When you are spending profits that could be going into your pocket it makes growth decisions more difficult. This becomes even more evident when there is a new owner coming in. Lastly, the terms of these internal transactions typically favor the buyer. Often times they do not have tens of millions of dollars to hand you on day one. Private Equity There are many forms of private equity. Private equity often gets a bad rap, but the reality is it can provide significant benefits. Let's look at the pros and cons of private equity. Pros: When dealing with PE more often than not you are going to get a large check when the deal closes. PE firms raise money and have to go out and deploy that capital. Unlike an internal transaction with an earnout component often PE deals provide a healthy amount of the transaction price up front in a lump sum. Partnering with PE also comes with operational experience. They have the background and capital to help take your business to the next level. Cons: When you get a large lump sum this comes with giving up control. It can be challenging for business owners to no longer have full decision-making power in their business. The way a PE company is going to make money is by reselling it. This is important to remember because once you are PE controlled decisions will be made with the intent to sell your business again in the future. In some instances these decisions are made with a short-term mindset vs a long-term mindset. Strategic Buyer: A strategic buyer is a competitor in your space that is buying up the competition. When considering an acquisition of a strategic buyer there are many pros and cons. Pros: They are in your business. It is often easier to set clear guidelines for goals when the buyer is already working in your industry. There is also an opportunity for shared services. Shared services often create greater operational efficiencies which increases profit margins. This can be a win-win. If your strategic buyer isn't backed by PE you will also have the benefit of approaching decisions in the long-term vs the short-term. Cons: When you are looking to sell to a strategic buyer one of the glaring problems is they now know you are for sale. This can create all sorts of issues within the industry if the deal doesn't close. Another con to strategic acquirers is that you lose your independence. You go from flying your pirate flag to theirs. If independence is important to you this should be heavily weighed. Each one of these buyers provides a unique value proposition. Selling to your family could maximize the legacy you leave. Your employees have provided tremendous value. How will you reward them? Private equity can maximize your financial outcome, but it may come at a cost. Strategic buyers could be a great way to get a second bite out of the apple. There is no one right buyer, but there are wrong buyers. Knowing your goals will help create a win-win for everyone involved. 2) Who is on your team? When you are looking to create a business exit plan you need to know who is on your team. Your team needs to consist of experts in the space. Remember you may only get one shot at this. It is not the time to DIY. It is the time to find experts that can help you. Here are the people that need to be on your team. M&A Attorney Tax Professional Sell Side Banker Financial Planner Let's unpack what each of these roles provides for you. M&A Attorney: Legal is going to be one of the most valuable members of your team. When you are going through a transaction you want to look for an attorney who specializes in M&A and has LEAD deals of your transaction size. There is a difference between helping with a transaction and leading a transaction. Get clear on what experience your M&A attorney has from the past. During the negotiation process with the buyer, they will be a key team member to help you navigate the complexities of the transaction. Tax Professional: This will likely be your largest tax bill. Having a tax expert will be the key to not leaving the government a tip. We recently had a business owner sell and they didn't have the right players on their team. This mistake cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes because of the way the deal was structured. Remember now is not the time to DIY. It is the time to surround yourself with experts. Sell Side Banker: If you plan to take your business to market having a sell-side banker is key to getting maximum value. Your banker is going to help you navigate who may be the best buyer for your goals. They can help you understand that there are multiple components to getting the ideal outcome for you. Financial Planner: The financial planner is there to put all the pieces together. Their role is going to be coordinating with the team and ensure you have the right team members on the bus. If we were an MLB baseball team think of yourself as the owner of the team and the financial planner as your GM. Not only will they manage the team but they will also help you decide the number you need. You may have all, some, or none of these members on your team today. That is ok. The job of your team is to work together and help you find the right people for you. When you are building your deal team ensure that each member is holding each other accountable. Without teamwork, you can often find cracks in the armor. 3) What is your number? Every exit plan needs a number. A key to making the right decision for you is knowing what that number is. Flying blind into these conversations without a number in mind will make the decision to sign on that dotted line even harder. Having a number can eliminate many of the emotions of feeling like you are getting a good deal. The first step to determining your number is knowing what does it cost be you. Often overlooked by business owners is the cost of being them. After years of running their business, you will typically find many personal expenses that have become business expenses. There is nothing wrong with this if you factor it in. If you haven't you could be in a hurt of trouble. Here are the questions I would consider during the exit planning process. What does your lifestyle cost? Will this lifestyle change after you exit? How much of your personal life is funded by the business? Whether your exit plan is for a $1,000,000 exit or a $100,000,000 exit you will have anxiety around your exit if you don't know the answer to these questions. Getting in front of your planning is the key to a stress-free transaction. The second step for having your number is when you negotiate. Any great negotiator will tell you the importance of having non-negotiables. By having a number it allows you to create terms to help you meet your goals. When you get into a transaction you will find that many acquirers are much more worried about the terms of the deal than they are the number in the contract. Having your number allows you to make unemotional decisions in the negotiation process. Once you have determined the number you need it is time to think long and hard about what you want your life to look like after selling your business. 4) What is your ideal post-exit world? Remember that you hold all the cards. You don't have to sell. This is why considering your ideal outcome in advance is key. Your ideal outcome is going to drive your decisions and your team's decisions. Clear direction will allow you to zero in on the right buyers. Are you looking to fully exit the company? Are you staying on board with the company? Are you looking to partially exit the company? Your ideal outcome can only happen if you have thought about these questions in advance. Remember time will kill your deal. If emotions are high and time is short that is not the time to make these types of decisions. Days of your life will be saved in this process by avoiding conversations with the wrong buyers. Knowing what you want will allow you to better negotiate the terms of your deal. If you want to take a step back in the business you will probably want more money up front and less in the form of an earnout. In doing this you can expect to get a lower total value. If you want to grow the business aggressively and are willing to bet on yourself you will get a much higher valuation. Typically these deal structures come with large earnouts that only get paid if you succeed. This goes to show there is no right or wrong way to approach your ideal post-exit world, but it will help you get a better outcome if you think about it in advance. At Moment, we help clients create business exit plans. We want to take into account these four key areas in order to ensure you have confidence before, during, and after your exit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our goal at Moment is to give you the tools to have a successful business exit. If you are an entrepreneur who is interested in succession planning, schedule a call, and talk with a Moment founder. Get in Touch With An Advisor Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic. Are you a fiduciary?  Moment Private Wealth serves clients as a fiduciary 100% of the time. How does Moment Private Wealth make money? We are only paid in one transparent way, by our clients. We receive no kickbacks or participate in any profit-sharing arrangements. Our fees are simple, transparent, and clear for our clients. How are you different than other financial advisors?  We are specialists in working with professional athletes and entrepreneurs. We limit the number of new clients we take on. This allows us to provide unparalleled value and highly personalized service to professional athletes. We work as a team to service our clients. We believe in building a team of “A” players. This ensures our clients receive world-class tax, estate, insurance, and investment strategies. We focus on educating first, then executing. Where do you hold my investments and how can I see them? Moment Private Wealth uses Fidelity Investments as a third-party custodian for our client investment accounts. As a third-party custodian, Fidelity safeguards and provides reporting to you and the IRS each year. Clients can also access all financial information via the Moment Private Wealth Client Portal. How do you work with other members of my team?  We believe in the power of the team. For most of our clients, their team consists of Moment Private Wealth, an accountant, an attorney, a banker, and an insurance specialist. We help our clients build out their team of individuals or work with existing partners clients have. Our goal is to ensure every family has a team of experts to protect their interests. *Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

On April 15th, 1912 the unsinkable Titanic sank in the Atlantic Ocean. It was reported that as the ship took on water the show on board went on. The pianos continued to play and the servers tended to dinner requests. This led to the catastrophic events that followed. These events happened due to a lack of preparation. The Titanic left port with enough lifeboats to hold 1,178 people. The Titanic carried 2,224 passengers. Risk management for business owners is how you avoid being the Titanic. There are many components to wealth management for business owners but none more important than managing risk. Without the proper risk management strategies you could be a sinking ship. In this blog, we are going to look at how to identify and take action on risks in your life. Risk Management for Business Owners Risk management for business owners is a topic that is often neglected. It isn't sexy and only matters once the fire has already started. Moment Private Wealth helps clients see around the corners to protect themselves from big and small risks that they don't know exist. Today we are going to look at six real-life examples that could sink the ship. These types of risks show up in two flavors. Business Boat Sinkers Personal Boat Sinkers Let's dive in. Business Boat Sinkers Your business is the lifeblood of your balance sheet. It has taken a decade for you to become an overnight success and it could take one wrong move to take it all away. Let's look at the real-life examples we are going to explore today. Business Boat Sinkers: Forced to Sell Your Business Lawsuit Crushes Your Business Taxes Force G2 to Sell the Business The single best way to protect against risks that you are unaware of is to get educated. I see far too often owners bury their heads in the sand hoping that nothing will happen. These are the business owners who find themselves in trouble when the unthinkable happens. Each one of these situations is a nightmare to deal with, but thankfully there is a solution to protect you from each of these events. Business Boat Sinkers Situation 1 - You are forced to sell your business. Example You have been building your dream company for decades. You have built an amazing team and business with your business partner. One of you focuses on the vision while the other keeps the train on the tracks. One day your business partner informs you that he has a terminal illness. Later that year he passes away. Unfortunately, you do not have the capital to buy his shares of the business from his spouse and are forced to sell your business. Solution The most common solution is to execute buy/sell insurance. This is an insurance policy that is intended to pay out in one partner's death to buy his or her shares. What Should You Do Today The first thing you should do is pull out your buy/sell agreement and read it. If you don't have one you should reach out to your advisory team to coordinate having one drafted. If you do find it you should ensure you understand what it says and how it is funded. If it is not clear to you reach out to Moment to get a second opinion. - Situation 2 - A lawsuit crushes your business. Example You are running a high-growth HVAC company. What started in your basement is now a multi-million dollar business. As you grew the business you focused on the main thing ~ growing revenue and serving clients. Unfortunately, you never looked at your commercial liability coverage until it was too late. Your company installed a hot water heater incorrectly at a home and it burned to the ground. Fortunately, no one was home but the homeowner is bringing a lawsuit. Solution Your business isn't stagnant. The proper liability coverage needs to be reviewed on an annual basis to ensure it is growing as your business is growing. What Should You Do Today The first thing you should do is pull out your commercial insurance coverage. You should review your liability coverage to ensure you are properly covered. If you have questions your first point of contact should be your insurance agent or advisory team. If anything is unclear reach out to Moment to get a second opinion. - Situation 3 - Your tax bill forces the next generation to sell the family business. Example Your little startup is now an enterprise. Your goal has always been to pass the businesses down to the next generation. You believe you have covered all your bases. You spoke with your corporate counsel. You have executed a succession plan with your kids, but you never considered estate taxes. One day you suddenly pass. At that time your business has been valued at $50,000,000. Without proper planning, this leaves you with a $15,000,000 tax bill at your death. The only way to pay this tax bill is for the next generation to sell the family business. Solution Proper estate planning will avoid this situation. Often times the best solution is to have a life insurance policy in place to pay your estate taxes. You can learn more about estate planning for business owners here. What Should You Do Today The first step is to pull out your personal financial statement. A recent one you have sent to your bank for lending should work. Time to calculate your net worth. This should include the value of your businesses, real estate, and all liquid assets less any debt. If your total net worth is over $13,610,000 you have this problem. I would recommend reaching out to your estate planning or advisory team to discuss the best next steps. If you aren't confident in the answers you are getting you should reach out to Moment Private Wealth for a second opinion. Risk isn't always a fun topic to discuss. It normally requires facing all the things that could go wrong. Don't wait until it is too late. If you are a business owner ensure your risk management plan avoids these business boat sinkers. Personal Boat Sinkers I want you to open up Google. Type in your name and the city you live in. On the first page of Google, you will likely find your name and the name of your company. Unfortunately being a business owner has put a target on your back. The more success you have the more you have to lose. These are three common personal boat sinkers we see impact business owners. Personal Boat Sinkers: Personal Lawsuit Costs You Millions Family Loses Your Income Creditors Take Your Assets Although these situations aren't fun there are many ways to protect yourself from getting in hot water. Let's dive into each. Situation 1 - A liability lawsuit costs you millions of dollars. Example You are a busy entrepreneur. This doesn't stop things from breaking at your house. One day your roof is leaking and you text your neighbor to see if they have a recommendation. They send you their "guy" who is an expert and is a low-cost provider. This "guy" shows up at your house pops on your roof and slips. Fortunately, he only has a broken leg, but after googling your name he decides to sue you. Little did you know that he has no business insurance. Solution There are two key ways to protect yourself from these instances. The first is to ensure your home liability coverage has the proper coverage. Typically we see this being $500,000 of personal liability coverage. The next layer is an umbrella policy to protect you in the event of excess liability. What Should You Do Today You will need to find your property and casualty declaration pages. If you are a Moment client you can find these in your vault on our mobile app. If you can't find these documents reach out to your insurance agent. They will provide you with a document for your home, auto, and umbrella. You are looking at your total personal liability coverage. If this number is lower than your total net worth it is time to have a conversation. - Situation - A family loses the income to fund their lifestyle. Example You have done the hard thing. You quit your W2 and started a business. During this time your income has grown to the point that your wife can stay at home with the kids. It is an amazing feeling to be able to support your family and allow them to have a great lifestyle. This is the first step in your business, but your business still relies on you working in the business. Unfortunately, you suddenly pass away and your income goes with you. Solution The simplest way to protect your family from loss of income is life insurance. Typically we see term insurance as the most cost-effective way to protect from this tragic event occurring. What Should You Do Today You should first review your current coverages. Ideally, your current life insurance coverage should be able to replace your current income need and pay off all debt on your balance sheet. This is more of an art than a science. Once we have determined how much coverage is needed we will provide quotes for the additional coverage recommended. This will allow your family to get educated on how much insurance you need and at what cost. - Situation - Creditors take the assets you have passed to the next generation. Example You have spent your entire life protecting your family. Part of your plan was an estate structure to protect your assets. After you pass away your children receive all of your assets. One important detail you left out was a co-trustee for asset distribution. Unbeknownst to your son he needed to leave his assets in life trust to keep his creditor protection. After a failed startup venture the creditors can access the funds you passed down to him. Solution In order to receive creditor protection your assets need to be in life trust for your kids. This can be an easy win but needs to be set up and communicated to the next generation. What Should You Do Today When you had your estate plan drafted you should have received an estate plan flow chart. On that flow chart, you are going to try to identify if your assets are going directly to your children or heirs. If setup properly there should be a trust that is created for each one of your children at the time of transfer. If you aren't sure how to identify this I recommend you reach out to your estate planning attorney or Moment for a free review. Life as a business owner is full of obstacles that can sink your boat. The best way to ensure that your boat is ready for the open ocean is to inspect it regularly. Financial planning for business owners should be the same way. A review of your risk management plan on an annual basis should be part of this process. So remember, getting educated is only the first step in protecting yourself. Take action today and ensure you don't have personal or business boat sinkers in your life. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our goal at Moment Private Wealth is to help you avoid these common mistakes. This is why we help with risk management for business owners. It isn't enough to know what tools to use but you need a team to help you implement. If you are an entrepreneur who is concerned about a potential risk, schedule a call, and talk with a Moment founder. Not sure what questions to ask, check out this video on 10 questions you should ask when interviewing a financial advisor. Get in Touch With An Advisor Frequently Asked Questions Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic. Are you a fiduciary?  Moment Private Wealth serves clients as a fiduciary 100% of the time. How does Moment Private Wealth make money? We are only paid in one transparent way, by our clients. We receive no kickbacks or participate in any profit-sharing arrangements. Our fees are simple, transparent, and clear for our clients. How are you different than other financial advisors?  We are specialists in working with professional athletes and entrepreneurs. We limit the number of new clients we take on. This allows us to provide unparalleled value and highly personalized service to professional athletes. We work as a team to service our clients. We believe in building a team of “A” players. This ensures our clients receive world-class tax, estate, insurance, and investment strategies. We focus on educating first, then executing. Where do you hold my investments and how can I see them? Moment Private Wealth uses Fidelity Investments as a third-party custodian for our client investment accounts. As a third-party custodian, Fidelity safeguards and provides reporting to you and the IRS each year. Clients can also access all financial information via the Moment Private Wealth Client Portal. How do you work with other members of my team?  We believe in the power of the team. For most of our clients, their team consists of Moment Private Wealth, an accountant, an attorney, a banker, and an insurance specialist. We help our clients build out their team of individuals or work with existing partners clients have. Our goal is to ensure every family has a team of experts to protect their interests. How do you choose investments for clients?  As independent financial advisors, we can gather research and make recommendations based on all available options. We determine clients’ portfolios in partnership with some of the largest asset managers in the world. Each quarter, we have calls with teams of CFA (Chartered Financial Analysts) to ensure our clients are receiving the most up-to-date strategies and recommendations. What does your average client look like?  Our clients are nearly all athletes and entrepreneurs. Our average client has a net worth greater than $10M. The strategies, solutions, and planning that we implement have a high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth client in mind. Why should I consider hiring Moment Private Wealth?  Great question! But first, let us explain why you shouldn’t hire us. If you’re looking for an advisor who will pitch shiny object investments or be a “yes man” you are in the wrong place. Why? Because we believe in being truth tellers and only giving advice that we take ourselves. The investments, strategies, and planning we do are all things our advisors do with their own money. If you are an athlete or entrepreneur interested in things like lowering your tax bill, investing smarter, and finding a trusted partner we might be a good fit. Does Moment Private Wealth sell insurance? Moment does not sell insurance but advises on all insurance for clients. This allows us to be free of conflicts when recommending certain types of insurance products. How do insurance agents get paid? Insurance agents are paid a commission based on the type and amount of a product you purchase. It is our advice that you always ask the agent to list out their commission for any product you are considering. *Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

Ok, let's be real hiring a qualified financial advisor as a professional athlete feels like finding a needle in a haystack. It is estimated there are more than 300,000 financial advisors (loose term) in the United States today. Some are ok Some are bad Some are good Few very are qualified to help professional athletes Look, let's eliminate the handful of financial advisors that are not doing good work. That leaves us with a handful of financial advisors that are good people with good intentions. For the average family, that might be enough. For a professional athlete, we haven't even reached the starting line. When it comes to athlete wealth management, the only advice you should be looking for is level-three advice. They have helped others do it. (Level 1) They have done it themselves. (Level 2) They have walked in your shoes. (Level 3) Look I don't say this lightly, your choice of a financial advisor is arguably the most important one you can make for your career. The reason? This team will be with you before, during, and after your playing career. They will be tasked with making sure you maximize every dollar you earn. Money mistakes are a professional athlete are not like stubbing your toe, it is like breaking your leg. The impact is wide-ranging and there is no going back for a second chance. In this blog, I am going to share the questions to ask, things to consider, and the red flags I wish I knew about choosing a financial advisor when I was a top 10 MLB draft pick. Wealth Management Questions For Professional Athletes When I first met with a financial advisor, the only question running through my head was, "What does this person even do?" My family didn't grow up with financial advisors and the first time I even heard of one was when the MLB draft was approaching. I remember meeting, thinking the individual was nice, and asking no questions. I left thinking, well he seems like he won't take advantage of my situation so I guess I will hire him... Athletes, this is not how you should conduct your process of finding a financial advisor for professional athletes! The good news is to do it right you don't need to be an expert ~ you just need to be armed with the right questions. Here are seven to ask as a professional athlete ⬇️⬇️⬇️ 7 Questions Professional Athletes Should Ask Financial Advisors 1. What do you specialize in? If you look at most financial advisor websites, they have an older couple walking on a beach or some picture of an abstract lighthouse. You browse over to the section about who they serve and it looks like something in line with the menu at the Cheesecake Factory (literally can choose anything). That my friends is not specialization and not what you are looking for. Consider if you had an injury. You would go to a doctor that specifically worked with professional athletes. Depending on the type of injury or necessary procedure you would then be referred to a specialist that only works on that specific injury. Just like your doctor, you want your choice of a financial advisor to be just as specialized. You are the best in the world at what you do, they should be too. 2. What areas do you cover? The first thing everyone thinks of when it comes to financial advisors is investments. Rightfully so, investments and your subsequent returns are very important. Yet, I would argue that before you ever invest a dollar there are several other areas that need to be covered first. Things like: Income Planning Tax Planning Risk Management Estate Planning Financial Team Coordination/Structure To me, this is one of the biggest areas that is missed. The reason for this is twofold. One it takes a great deal of work to navigate each element of this and two it takes deep expertise to understand how this works in athlete wealth management. At Moment, we cover our athlete's entire financial life. If it has a dollar sign in front of it, we want to be helping to educate and guide you. 3. Do you invest the same way as your clients? You might be thinking, well ya duh of course... Let me tell you, that many financial advisors sell clients one investment solution only to do something completely different in their investment portfolio. Now look, I am not saying it has to be the exact same. Let's be real your goals, situation, and circumstances are unique and require a customized solution. That being said, the general frameworks, ideas, and solutions should look similar. After all, if they are good enough for you they better be good enough for your financial advisor. 4. What are all the costs involved in working together? My two rules when it comes to fees are this: You should understand them and you should know the total costs. By understanding them, I mean your financial advisor should be able to write those fees in crayon for you. When I say total costs, this means the costs of the advice, products, solutions, and any additional fees that might apply. My industry (financial services) is awful when it comes to clarity around fees. I see time and time again professional athletes paying substantial hidden costs. At Moment, we have one simple fee clients pay. We receive no kickbacks (very common), sell any commissionable products (layers of hidden fees), or receive any trails from investment companies (often never seen). Our job is to provide our clients with a multiple of the value for the fees they are paying us. 5. What is your advisor-to-client ratio? The average financial advisor serves north of 100 families. This model can work well for the average consumer but remember you are far from average. Remember when asking what areas a financial team covers that their service model should be reflected in their client-to-advisor ratio. Our model for professional athletes means we are involved in everything from large purchases to car shipping to the investment portfolio. This level of client service means that we limit the number of clients an advisor is serving. It means more focused time serving each professional athlete. 6. What does your average client look like? Nick Saban has this famous line that you need to find the right people and put them in the right seats. As a professional athlete, you need to consider that you need a firm with the firepower to serve you today and into the future. The future might mean early retirement or it might mean a $100,000,000+ contract. Our average client has a net worth greater than $5,000,000. I say this because it means the planning strategies, conversations, and solutions are designed with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients in mind. As a professional athlete, your financial plans are decades in the making. You want to make sure the team you hire has the ability to serve you today and in the future. 7. What qualifies you to work with professional athletes? I love this question. I love it because it will give whomever you are talking to a chance to share what they value as the most important thing. It could be investments. It could be their experience. It could be their credentials. Well here is my answer: First and foremost we are experts. At Moment, our teams for professional athletes include a CFP (Planning), CPA (Tax), CFA (Investment), CLU (Insurance), and JD (Legal). The best part? we find the best people across the country to integrate into this team. You aren't limited to just the person down the hall. Second, we have walked in your shoes. I have signed the big contract. I have felt the anxiety around the money. I have navigated all the highs and lows that come with professional sports. I have successfully navigated my finances. I have transitioned from my playing career to a successful second chapter. Third, we built this company with you in mind. Every decision we have made at Moment has been with a laser focus on our ideal client, the professional athlete. Our meeting schedule, service model, and communication are all designed for your specific needs. Remember how I said you don't need to be an expert to find a qualified financial team? If you use these seven questions you will be ahead of 99% of professional athletes. To me the vetting doesn't stop there, you also need to watch out for red flags. Trust me when it comes to athlete wealth management there are plenty. Here are my three biggest ones to watch out for ⬇️⬇️⬇️ 1. Fear Based Selling 🚩 "If you don't do x, y will happen." I see this all the time with professional athletes. Look it makes sense because often we are coming into this money with little education. We have a target written all over us and the last thing we want to do is make a mistake. Do not let anyone sell you any product/solution based on fear. You need to understand what you are buying, why you are buying it, and all your available options. 2. Name Dropping 🚩 We are dealing with someone's entire financial life. This is not public information and neither should their client list. I watched advisors pitch me while name-dropping other athletes they worked with. A few things to understand, just because they say they work with that person doesn't mean they actually do. Even if they do it doesn't make them a good advisor. If they are name dropping to get you as a client they will be selling you to the next client. ***I always recommend when the time is right to ask to speak to a current client and have them share their experiences. 3. Pitching Investments Only 🚩 Investment returns matter, they matter a lot. Yet, they are just one piece of your entire financial picture. Your cash flow will be uneven. Your taxes will be your largest lifetime expense. Your liability exposure will be heightened as a public figure. These are all key components of athlete wealth management and you want to make sure that your financial team is covering more than just your investment portfolio. You are in the top 1% of your craft as a professional athlete. You want to make sure that your financial advisor is also in that top 1%. It can feel overwhelming but use this to narrow it down: Level 3 Advice 7 Questions Above Listen For 3 Red Flags Discussed Doing just those three things will set you off on the right path. My goal since retiring from baseball has been to educate as many people about personal finance as possible. This blog is another effort in that journey, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! If you are a professional athlete looking for a financial team specializing in you, schedule a call, and talk with a Moment founder. For further resources, check out my YouTube as it has deeper dives into many of the challenges professional athletes face. Get in Touch With An Advisor Frequently Asked Questions Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic. Are you a fiduciary? Moment Private Wealth serves clients as a fiduciary 100% of the time. How does Moment Private Wealth make money? We are only paid in one transparent way, by our clients. We receive no kickbacks or participate in any profit-sharing arrangements. Our fees are simple, transparent, and clear for our clients. How are you different than other financial advisors? We are specialists in working with professional athletes and entrepreneurs. We limit the number of new clients we take on. This allows us to provide unparalleled value and highly personalized service to professional athletes. We work as a team to service our clients. We believe in building a team of “A” players. This ensures our clients receive world-class tax, estate, insurance, and investment strategies. We focus on educating first, then executing. Where do you hold my investments and how can I see them? Moment Private Wealth uses Fidelity Investments as a third-party custodian for our client investment accounts. As a third-party custodian, Fidelity safeguards and provides reporting to you and the IRS each year. Clients can also access all financial information via the Moment Private Wealth Client Portal. How do you work with other members of my team? We believe in the power of the team. For most of our clients, their team consists of Moment Private Wealth, an accountant, an attorney, a banker, and an insurance specialist. We help our clients build out their team of individuals or work with existing partners clients have. Our goal is to ensure every family has a team of experts to protect their interests. How do you choose investments for clients? As independent financial advisors, we can gather research and make recommendations based on all available options. We determine clients’ portfolios in partnership with some of the largest asset managers in the world. Each quarter, we have calls with teams of CFA (Chartered Financial Analysts) to ensure our clients are receiving the most up-to-date strategies and recommendations. What does your average client look like? Our clients are nearly all athletes and entrepreneurs. Our average client has a net worth greater than $5M. The strategies, solutions, and planning that we implement have a high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth client in mind. Why should I consider hiring Moment Private Wealth? Great question! But first, let us explain why you shouldn’t hire us. If you’re looking for an advisor who will pitch shiny object investments or be a “yes man” you are in the wrong place. Why? Because we believe in being truth tellers and only giving advice that we take ourselves. The investments, strategies, and planning we do are all things our advisors do with their own money. If you are an athlete or entrepreneur interested in things like lowering your tax bill, investing smarter, and finding a trusted partner we might be a good fit. *Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

Done correctly players can get hundreds of thousands in retirement plan contributions, countless tax savings, and access to lifelong health care. Retirement planning for professional athletes is a mix of understanding specific information and how it connects to your life. I had seen the big contract numbers. I had heard of the opportunities Major League Baseball players had. Yet, one thing I didn’t understand was the MLB benefits plan. What benefits do players get? How are those benefits calculated? How do players access those benefits? What things should players be aware of? I remember hearing my agent talk about all the benefits I was getting by being put on the 40-man roster but I didn’t get it. In this article, I am going to break down everything Major League Baseball players need to know about the MLB retirement plan in 2024. MLB Retirement Plan To unlock the full benefits of the MLB retirement plan you must do two things: ·       Be on an MLB 40-man roster ·       Be on an MLB active roster (26 players) Think about this like levels of a game. The first level (40-man roster) unlocks certain benefits. The second level (MLB active roster) unlocks additional benefits. The longer you play at those levels the greater the benefits. The 40-Man Roster Benefits The 40-man roster is the roster of players eligible to be added to the active roster. This is a collection of the team's starters, role players, fill-in pieces, and top prospects. Players who achieve 40-man roster status are eligible for certain employee benefits through the Major League Baseball Players Association. The biggest benefit is the MLB player “Active” health care plan. This is arguably one of the greatest healthcare plans in the world. It is a privately run plan administered through Aetna. The plan calls for minimal out-of-pocket costs to players. The premiums (cost of the policy) while active on a 40-man roster are covered by the teams. One important note for players to understand is once they are added to the 40-man roster it is critical to add all family members. While active players are automatically added upon their addition to the 40-man roster, their families are not. It is the player's responsibility to ensure their family is added. As financial advisors for professional athletes, we ensure all player's families are correctly added to the proper forms. Active Roster Benefits The active roster consists of 26 players as of 2024. These are players that are eligible to play in regular-season games. To be on the active roster you must first be added to the 40-man roster. While healthcare benefits are great, the real benefits kick in for players on the active roster. To understand how players access these benefits we have to understand MLB service time, how it is calculated, and how it affects players' benefits. MLB Service Time MLB service time is the time a player receives for each day they are on the active roster. While an MLB season is 162 games, service time is calculated based on the number of duty days in a given year. To acquire a “full season” of MLB service time a player must achieve 172 days on the active roster. For context, the typical MLB season has between 180 and 190 duty days. Why does this matter? The three biggest benefits active players receive are: ·       401(k) Benefits ·       MLB Pension Benefits ·       Healthcare Benefits Post Playing (more on that later) Each one of these benefits starts to kick in based on service time. Here are the key service time figures and benefits received: 1 Day: One day of MLB service time provides players eligibility to contribute that day’s paycheck to the MLB 401(k) Plan. This plan is administered through Vanguard. *As of 2024, Minor League Players are also eligible for 401(k) contributions. 43 Days: 43 days of MLB service time is equal to one-quarter of a season. This milestone for a player gives them team contributions to the 401(k) and MLB pension benefits. 172 Days:172 days of MLB service time gives a player of 1 full year. This milestone gets a player closer to arbitration (approximately 3 years of MLB service time) and MLB free agency (6 years of MLB service time). 4 Years: 4 years of MLB service time provides players with access to the health care plan after playing. While it switches and players have to pay the premiums this is an incredible benefit for retired players with four years or more of service time. 10 Years:10 years of MLB service time provides players with full pension. This is the holy grail for any MLB player. The full pension is currently $275,000. - Now that we understand MLB service time and how it effects player’s benefits let’s dive into the details of each benefit a player can receive. Remember the three biggest benefits active MLB players receive are: The three biggest benefits active players receive are: ·       401(k) Benefits ·       MLB Pension Benefits ·       Healthcare Benefits Post Playing 401(k) Benefits In 2024, a player can contribute $23,000 in “pre-tax” money to his 401(k) plan. This means he would receive a tax deduction for his contribution. Example: A player making $1,000,000 contributes $23,000 to the plan and has a taxable income of $977,000 instead of the full $1,000,000. A potential tax savings of more than $8,500 assuming the 37% federal tax bracket. Unlike most company 401(k) plans the MLB 401(k) plan provides no match. Instead, teams provide direct contributions to players 401(k) plans. The exact number is calculated based on the luxury tax teams’ pay. *The luxury tax is a calculation based on a team going over certain spending thresholds. In 2023, teams contributed $10,000 per quarter (43 days) of MLB service time a player had. Remember, how I said 43 days of MLB service time mattered? It is estimated by the MLBPA that in 2024 teams will be contributing even more to players' 401(k) plans due to the 2023 luxury tax bill. MLB Pension Benefits While most pensions are going away, the MLB pension remains. In fact, it is one of the best in the world. Each year the pension benefits increase to the highest allowable by law. In 2024, the current pension benefits are as follows: 43 days of MLB service time = $6,875 pear 1 year of MLB service = $27,500 per year 10 years of MLB service = $275,000 per year Players receive these benefits with each quarter (43 days) of MLB service time they acquire. To achieve full pension benefits players need to wait until age 62. Players do have early access to pension benefits at the age of 45. MLB players need experts in athlete wealth management to provide calculations on when would be most optimal for them to take their pension benefits. Health Care Benefits While every player added to the 40-man roster is automatically added to the MLB health care plan, certain service time thresholds provide additional benefits. Players who acquire four years of MLB service time are eligible to stay on the health care plan in retirement. Players who choose to stay on the plan are required to cover the premium (cost of the policy) payments. A few key notes on the policy: ·       Enrollment/Changes to the policy are due by opening day. ·       There are three policy options (active, base, and buy down). ·       Each policy option provides varying benefits and premium amounts. ·       If a player elects to move off the plan, he cannot get back on the plan. Players must understand this benefit and how it works. As financial advisors for athletes, we run yearly analyses on the three options for players to ensure our athletes are choosing the correct plan. To understand just how powerful this benefit is for players let's compare two plans. The first is an open marketplace (Public plan) and the second is the “Buy Down” MLB plan. I use this example because I utilize the “buy down” plan for my family of six. - While MLB players have countless public benefits, it is critical MLB players understand the private benefits. Time and time again, we see athletes unaware of the benefits they have. Athletes must work with a qualified financial team that specializes in working with Major League Baseball players. Remember, done correctly these benefits can provide hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars in lifetime benefits. Done incorrectly players can be left not understanding the options available to them and missing out on these benefits. - If you are a Major League baseball player who is looking to better understand the MLBPA benefits, schedule a call, and talk with a Moment founder. Not sure what questions to ask, check out this video on 10 questions you should ask when interviewing a financial advisor. Get in Touch With An Advisor Frequently Asked Questions Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic. How many days does a player need to qualify for benefits? The majority of benefits including the MLB pension start with 43 days of service time on the active roster. How does a player qualify for the MLB health care benefits? Players need to have at least four years of MLB service time in order to stay on the MLB health care plan after retirement. Do players have to pay for health care benefits in retirement? Yes, players have to pay for health care premiums after their playing career ends. How much is the MLB pension in 2024? Full pension in 2024 is $275,000 per year for players that accumulate 10 or more years of MLB service time. A player is credited $27,500 per year in pension benefits for one year of MLB service time. What age can players take the MLB pension? MLB players can take the MLB pension as early as age 45 but to get full pension benefits a player must wait until age 62. Can players roll over the MLB 401(k) in retirement? Retired MLB players can roll over their Vanguard MLB 401(k) plan into an IRA. *Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

Did you know the National Football League has a retirement plan? Since 1993, the league has increased its commitment to its players' financial security post-career. As an NFL player, you must understand all the frameworks to consider when navigating retirement as a professional athlete. For NFLPA benefits, it starts with understanding the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Retirement Plan. Here is what you need to know. What benefits do players get? How do players know if they are eligible? What do players need to do to access those benefits? What should players look out for? There is a lot to focus on while on the field, but understanding the benefits you receive for being a part of the 53-man roster is just as important. In this article, I am going to break down all the things players in the National Football League need to understand about the NFL Retirement Plan in 2024. NFL Retirement Plan Before we jump into the specifics of the benefits afforded NFL players, it is important to understand who is eligible. Just because you sign a contract does not mean you receive the benefits of the NFL Retirement Plan. You must earn a "Credited Season" first in order to be eligible. So what is a Credited Season? A Credited Season means you were on one of the following rosters for three or more regular or post-season games: Active Roster Inactive Roster IR (Injured Reserve) PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) Similarly, if you are released injured or receive an injury settlement for 3 or more games, you earn a Credited Season. From a Credited Season to Becoming Vested Oftentimes, you will hear the phrase "Benefits for Vested Players." Earning a Credited Season is the first step in being eligible for the NFL Retirement Plan. However, in order to be entitled to those benefits, you need to earn three or more credited seasons. Simply put, three or more Credited Seasons means you are now "vested." Think of it like levels to a game. -First, you have to make the 53-man roster. -Second, you have to be on said roster for 3 or more games. -Third, you have to earn 3 or more Credited Seasons. These Credited Seasons open the doors to the benefits negotiated under the NFL's Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Benefits for Vested Players Now that you have met the requirements, what is included in the NFL benefits plan? First, it is important to note that the benefits may vary depending on when you played and how many credited seasons you earned. Specifically speaking, if you played prior to 1993, these benefits will be different than for active players. For active-active players the current benefits include: Pension Health insurance for 5 years once finished playing Player Annuity Program Capital Accumulation Plan Tuition Reimbursement Disability Benefits Life Insurance Health Reimbursement Account Plan (HRA) 401(K) Severance Former Player Life Improvement Plan 88 Plan - Health Reimbursement Plan for Vested Players with Certain Illnesses There is a lot involved in each of the benefits above. Athletes need to work with a specialist in athlete wealth management. In the rest of this blog, I am going to outline the four biggest benefits players receive in the NFL Retirement Plan: NFL Player Annuity Program NFL Second Career Savings Plan (401k) NFL Player Severance Plan NFL Pension Plan NFL Player Annuity Program One benefit afforded to players is the NFL Player Annuity Program. Also known as the PAP, this is a deferred compensation plan. In other words, it provides eligible players with additional retirement savings. Here is how it works... Money Is Put In: The club contributes money into an account on your behalf. Money is Invested: The money is then invested and managed by investment professionals. You Become Vested: After three or more Credited Seasons, you become vested. This means you are the full owner of the money and the NFL cannot take it back from you. You Take the Money Out: When you are no longer an active player and age 45 or older, you can take out the money. *Note: money withdrawn prior to turning 59.5 years could result in a tax penalty. There are a few additional questions that need to be addressed. How do I become vested in this program? How much is the team contributing? How do you become vested? Essentially, you begin to receive contributions to the PAP after three credited seasons. Once you are vested, no longer an active player, and at least 45 years of age, you are eligible to receive these payments. It is important to keep in mind that if you defer payments, these payments must begin by age 65. What is the team contribution? The contribution varies by the years played in the NFL. For instance, players will receive the following amounts if they played from 2011-2020 and earned four or more Credited Seasons: 2011-2013 = $65,000 per year 2014-2017 = $80,000 per year 2018-2020 = $95,000 per year Here are a few additional things to keep in mind. Depending on the number of Credited Seasons you earn, you can have balances in two different accounts: "Tax-Qualified (TQ) Account": Money is contributed "before tax," which means you pay taxes when you take the money out. This starts accruing after your second Credited Season. *This is earned after 3 Credited Seasons or you are employed as a player at age 55 "Nonqualified (NQ) Account": Money is taxed in the year it is contributed and comes out tax-free. This starts accruing after you earn your fifth Credited Season *You are always vested in the balance of a Nonqualified Account. It can never be forfeited Additionally, it is important to understand how to take the money out. Here are the four ways to do so: Single Lump Sum - this is a one time payment for the entire balance. TQ - available as soon as you are eligible NQ - only after age 45 Partial Lump Sum - this means you receive payment of part of the balance. TQ - available as soon as you are eligible NQ - only after age 45 Installment Payments - this means you will receive the payments in equal installments. TQ - available as soon as you are eligible NQ - annual payments until you reach 45 (or a date of your choosing after that date) Annuities - the balance is used to purchase an annuity from the insurance company. If you have questions or want to take advantage of this benefit, you can call the NFL Player Benefits Office at 800.638.3186 or visit their website at NFLPlayerBenefits.com NFL Second Career Savings Plan (401k) One of the greatest benefits your employer can provide is a 401(k) plan. In the National Football League, this is called the Second Career Savings Plan (401k). This 401(k) is an asset that needs to be utilized. In 2024, you can contribute $23,000 in “pre-tax” money into you 401(k) plan. Outside of saving for retirement, this means you would receive a tax deduction for your contribution. For example, let's say you make a salary of $1,000,000 in 2024 and contribute the max $23,000 into your 401(k) plan. Your taxable income is now $977,000 instead of $1,000,000. This means you have a potential tax savings of more than $8,500 if in the 37% federal tax bracket. Additionally, the club will contribute to your 401(k) as an active, inactive, IR or PUP list player if you have two or more credited seasons (excludes practice squad players). *Note: this excludes 2020-2023. What does this mean? This means that the team you play for will contribute a "2-for1- match" to your account. In other words, for every dollar you contribute up to that $23,000 max, the club will contribute an additional two dollars into your account. That is FREE MONEY! Here is a breakdown of the matching contributions the NFL has proposed for the upcoming seasons: NFL Player Capital Accumulation Plan (CAP) If the 401(k) isn't incentive enough, the NFL has also created the NFL Player Capital Accumulation Plan (CAP). This provides NFL players with additional saving opportunities for retirement. Unlike the 401(k) where you can deposit your own money, your CAP account receives money only from team contributions. The amount depends on the number of Credited Seasons earned. Here is how it is broken down: 1 Year = $0 CAP Contribution 2 Years = $2,500 CAP Contributions 3 Years = $2,500 CAP Contributions 4 or More = $40,000 CAP Contributions *If you meet the requirements for 4 or more seasons, this amount will increase to $42,000 in 2026, $45,000 in 2027 & 2028, $48,000 in 2029 and $50,000 in 2030 NFL Player Severance Plan Time is undefeated and your time as a player will come to an end. But the time you put into the sport can pay you back at the end of your career. The NFL Severance Plan is a plan that benefits those players who are credited with a certain number of seasons in their football careers. First, severance pay is the compensation an employer provides you at the end of your employment. This is no different in the NFL. The National Football League pays you a lump sum payment at the end of your career. You might be thinking...how much? Well, it depends. The number of Credited Seasons earned and the years you played will determine how much you receive. Here is the breakdown: 1989-1992 = $5,000 per year 1993-1999 = $10,000 per year 2000-2008 = $12,500 per year 2009= $15,000 per year 2010 = $0 2011 = $15,000 per year 2012-2013 = $17,500 per year 2014-2016 = $20,000 per year 2017-2019 = $22,500 per year 2020-2023 = $0 2024-2025 = $35,000 per year 2026-2028 = $40,000 per year 2029-2030 = $50,000 per year Ok, great. So when is the severance paid and how do I apply? The severance is paid by the team you earned your last Credited Season with. It is paid to you in a lump sum and sent to you on the last day of the calendar quarter when you are no longer with the team. Notify your Plan Administrator at 800.635.4625 if interested in applying. One other important thing to remember... For income tax purposes, the severance pay is included in taxable income when distributed. NFL Pension Plan Additionally, the NFL Player Retirement Plan provides a pension. Generally, this begins between the ages of 55 and 65. So what are your benefits? Again, it depends. There are three factors considered: How many benefit credits you have earned When you choose to begin receiving retirement benefits The form in which you choose to receive your retirement benefits To start, you earn a benefit credit for each Credited Season you are awarded. *Remember, you need 3 or more Credited Seasons to be eligible I have outlined this for you below: Credited Seasons Benefit Credit 1982-1992 255 1993-1994 265 1995-1996 315 1997 365 1998-2011 470 2012-2014 560 2015-2017 660 2018-2020 760 After age 55 (or later if deferred), you receive a monthly amount. That amount depends on multiple factors including: Your Benefit Credits Years of Service Average Salary The average NFL pension is ~$43,000 per year. Next, you decide when to receive the retirement benefits. This can be done the month beginning after your 55th birthday or can be deferred. If you do defer receiving the retirement benefit, the amount of your monthly benefits can increase substantially. What Next? Making it to the NFL is a feat in and of itself. Why not take advantage of the benefits afforded you? All too often, we see athletes unaware of the benefits they have earned. At Moment Private Wealth, we make sure you are up to speed on these benefits. If you are in the National Football League and want to better understand the NFLPA benefits, schedule a call with a Moment Founder. Not sure what questions to ask, check out this video on 10 questions you should ask when interviewing a financial advisor. Get in Touch With An Advisor Frequently Asked Questions Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic. How does a player qualify for the NFL Retirement Plan?   A player must have earned a minimum of three "Credited Seasons" to be eligible. Have I earned a Credited Season?  Players need to be on an active roster for three or more regular or post-season games to earn a "Credited Season." How do I become vested?  All players on the active, inactive, IR, or PUP list for three or more "Credited Seasons" are considered vested. What age can players take the NFL pension?  Players can start receiving their full pension at the age of 55. If deferred until 65, the benefit is significantly increases. Is there a 401(k) match provided by the NFL?  Yes! If a player contributes to their 401(k), the NFL will contribute a "2-for1- match." ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

I had more money on paper than ever before, yet I had more nerves than ever before. Yeah, that was me right after retiring from an 11-year MLB career. You see I had set out to avoid being one of the statistics we all see in the news, "Athlete loses everything". What I missed in my crusade to not become "that guy" was that retirement planning for professional athletes entails far more than just being smart with money. Wealth management for professional athletes is part art (emotional side) and part math (numbers side). Combine those two things with planning strategies specifically for professional athletes and you have a recipe for success. Everyone sees the big numbers you can earn as a professional athlete...what do I see? The decades of life you have left after closing the chapter on your playing career. In this blog, I am going to talk about the emotional side and the numbers side of retirement planning for professional athletes. Retirement Planning For Professional Athletes The magnitude of a decision to stop something you have been doing your entire life cannot be understated. I remember being on a plane coming home from South Korea and thinking, "This is it". That one decision led to a host of new problems that needed to be solved. You see, retirement planning for professional athletes is an endless Rubix cube. The range of outcomes for players is endless but there are certain frameworks to guide your decision. As a professional athlete, your financial team needs to understand both the elements of retirement planning for professional athletes ~ emotional and numbers. Let's dive into both ⬇️⬇️⬇️ Retirement Planning (Emotional Side) What makes the news is when a former professional athlete is facing financial troubles post-career. Yet, what often doesn't make it is the fact that those troubles stem from the emotional side as much as the numbers themselves. Let me say it out loud for everyone, transitioning to a post-career life for us as professional athletes is hard. Like really really hard... I say that because you shouldn't feel alone in this journey. It is hard for everyone and anyone who says otherwise probably isn't giving you the whole truth. For me, it took months of thinking, a few years of checking boxes I didn't want to, and pushing through many days of doubt to be in the place I am today. That place is filled with purpose, hope for the future, and a business exploring one of my passions. Here are the three biggest emotional challenges I had to navigate (and how to think about each). When To Stop I remember when I first got drafted, a fresh faced 18 year old in locker rooms with journeymen in their mid-thirties. I thought one of two things ~ "I can't believe those guys are still playing" or "That will never be me". Fast forward 11 years and I was that guy... a journeyman heading to South Korea looking to further my career any way I could. At the end of another subpar season, I found myself asking that dreaded question, "Should I stop or keep going?" You see I had seen guys continue for years only to find themselves in independent ball essentially paying to still play yet on the flip side I had seen many of those same guys revive themselves. For me, it comes down to this simple question: "Is my heart still in the day to day grind it takes?" If it is then keep going, you have plenty of time "to do normal life". If it isn't then be real with yourself, you can have an incredible second chapter. You see stopping your playing career is a personal choice. I stopped at 29 when I had certainly had more physically in the tank yet mentally my heart wasn't there anymore. I would have been doing myself and the game a disservice by continuing on. Shutting Off The Tap We were in San Francisco and I remember checking my bank account and seeing my first two-week paycheck hit as a big leaguer ~ tens of thousands of dollars. I remember thinking...so in two more weeks I will get this again. The money tap was flowing and it can quickly create a false sense of reality as a professional athlete. One of the biggest challenges many athletes face (me included) is when the tap shuts off and you start pulling money from your nest egg. I cannot stress this enough, you need to work with your financial team to gain a clear understanding of how you will access money in the next stage. For us at Moment, we think about athlete's money in three buckets: War Chest Growth Portfolio Aspirational Bucket I will tell you this now, no matter what the numbers say, it will feel weird not making a paycheck. You need to be ready for that and clarify what money is in which investments. What Is Next Remember how I posed the question, "Is my heart still in the day to day grind it takes?" Well, the biggest reason most athletes play on even when the answer to that question is no is that answering ~ "What is next?"....... is even scarier. I have to think it is a bit like a college student ready to graduate without a clear job lined up. The jaws of life are staring you in the face and the only thing for certain is uncertainty. Here is my 5 step framework for determining what is next: Dip Your Toe In ~ You do not have to have the next several decades of your life figured out weeks after moving on. You do need to be taking baby steps in that direction though. Lean In ~ The biggest mistake I see athletes make here is failing to be vulnerable. Look you don't have it all figured out and the minute you let those around you know...they want to help. Be Curious ~ Make a list of everyone in your network that you deem "successful". Ask them if you could buy them lunch and learn more about their story. Remember step 2 (lean in) and ask them this question, "If you could do it all over again, would you?" That one question will provide you incredible insight into their current role, the path to get there, and if it is something worth exploring. Skills Over Money ~ If you can swing it financially, take the first role that allows you to gain skills not the one with the highest comp package. You will thank yourself in a few years. Go All In ~ It will take work (a lot of it). There is no easy path to carving the second chapter as a professional athlete. You need to find something you can commit to (just like you did sports). The frame in which I think about the second chapter is this: Imagine sitting around the fire pit in 20 years and the conversation turns to what you do. I want to be talking about what I am doing now, not the stuff I did (while still cool) 20 years ago in professional sports. Athletes do not underestimate the emotional side of retirement planning. Moving on from your sport will hit you like a ton of bricks ~ that is normal. Just understand it is up to you to start carving out the next chapter. Retirement Planning (Numbers Side) The first few years of retirement as a professional athlete are everything. If you can nail the first 3-5 years it will compound for decades into the future. The reason is simple ~ establishing a clear framework for saving, spending, and investing money in this next chapter is everything. If I have learned anything guiding professional athletes into retirement it is this ~ no two situations will look the same. On top of that, your situation will continue to change and evolve through the years. While there are countless things for professional athletes to consider with retirement planning, here are the three key building blocks. The Snowball Picture this....you are pushing a snowball up a mountain, as it nears the top it is heavy, hard work. Yet as it peaks the cliff it starts tumbling down the other side picking up snow along the way. The hardest thing to do in wealth building is to create the initial snowball. Do that while you are playing and watch it pick up speed into retirement. The number one thing I want you to understand as a professional athlete is you will need more money in your snowball than you think. Remember our goal is to keep the snowball intact (and growing) while you in retirement. To do that, we need to determine the "safe withdrawal rate" or how much money we can use every year without our snowball getting smaller. A good baseline for a professional athlete is 3% per year. Example: For every $1,000,000 an athlete has saved they could spend $30,000 per year without touching the initial principal. ***There are endless scenarios here that are specific to each athlete but I want you to understand this point ~ you need more than you think. Inflation is real. Your time horizon is long. The nest egg needs to support your entire life. The Tax Game As a professional athlete, your largest lifetime expense is your tax bill. Chances are you have been camped in the top tax bracket (37%) for much of your playing career. Well, the good news with retirement is those big tax bills are about to come down. Your income will drop (at least at the start) giving you the optionality to position your money for the future. Some of the most common moves we see our athlete clients use when nearing or in early retirement are: Roth Conversations Taking Capital Gains Repositioning Investments Bunching Together Donations (end of career) Switching Bond Incomes (tax-free vs taxable) The list is endless so understand that you have the opportunity when nearing or in retirement to save serious money off your lifetime tax bill. It is why I can't stress enough working with specialists in athlete wealth management. Understand this ~ not all investments and investment accounts are the same. They are each taxed differently, treated differently, and should be positioned differently. Doing this right early in retirement will help you keep more of your hard-earned money. Source of Income We serve athletes across the spectrum of earning money in the second chapter. Some want to Some need to Some have the option to Whether you are an athlete retiring with six, seven, eight, or nine figures in your nest egg you need to understand sources of income. The two biggest reasons are this: Taxes matter Supplemental income matters Income coming from your investments will be taxed at capital gains rates. Income coming from traditional sources (W2 and 1099) will be taxed at ordinary income rates. Capital gains rate max out at 20% (plus 3.8% NIIT) Ordinary income tax rate maxes out at 37% (federal) How you are "earning" the money you will ultimately spend in retirement depends heavily on how it is taxed. The second piece is supplemental income. We know we will have some (or most) of our income coming from our nest egg. Yet many athletes underestimate how big of an effect supplemental income can have. Example: An athlete with $10,000,000 saved has a baseline spending of $300,000 per year. If he earns $50,000 in supplemental income for work in retirement that increases spending by nearly 20%! Athletes I say this because I run across clients who think, "Oh a little extra income won't make a difference"...it does! The types and amounts (even if small in your mind) make a huge difference in retirement planning for professional athletes. You see when you retire from professional sports, this weird thing happens. Everyone around you assumes opportunities will be plentiful, yet the reality is your phone has never been more silent. That is why retirement planning for professional athletes is about as tough as hitting a breaking ball spinning at 3,000 rpm (for those non-baseball people that is an elite breaking ball). You see one thing only to realize it is going in a different direction. Time and time again, I see professional athletes overwhelmed by the process without a place to turn. Frankly, that is one of the biggest reasons I founded Moment Private Wealth ~ To help professional athletes navigate the same complexities I faced before, during, and after my playing career. If you take one thing away from this post, take this ~ your "retirement" from sports is just the entry into a second chapter of your life. One that can be as big as your first chapter. It starts with understanding that this is the starting line, not the finish line. If you are a professional athlete looking for more confidence in your retirement schedule a call, and talk with a Moment founder. Not sure what questions to ask, check out this video on 10 questions you should ask when interviewing a financial advisor. Get in Touch With An Advisor Frequently Asked Questions Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic. Are you a fiduciary? Moment Private Wealth serves clients as a fiduciary 100% of the time. How does Moment Private Wealth make money? We are only paid in one transparent way, by our clients. We receive no kickbacks or participate in any profit-sharing arrangements. Our fees are simple, transparent, and clear for our clients. How are you different than other financial advisors? We are specialists in working with professional athletes and entrepreneurs. We limit the number of new clients we take on. This allows us to provide unparalleled value and highly personalized service to professional athletes. We work as a team to service our clients. We believe in building a team of “A” players. This ensures our clients receive world-class tax, estate, insurance, and investment strategies. We focus on educating first, then executing. Where do you hold my investments and how can I see them? Moment Private Wealth uses Fidelity Investments as a third-party custodian for our client investment accounts. As a third-party custodian, Fidelity safeguards and provides reporting to you and the IRS each year. Clients can also access all financial information via the Moment Private Wealth Client Portal. How do you work with other members of my team? We believe in the power of the team. For most of our clients, their team consists of Moment Private Wealth, an accountant, an attorney, a banker, and an insurance specialist. We help our clients build out their team of individuals or work with existing partners clients have. Our goal is to ensure every family has a team of experts to protect their interests. How do you choose investments for clients? As independent financial advisors, we can gather research and make recommendations based on all available options. We determine clients’ portfolios in partnership with some of the largest asset managers in the world. Each quarter, we have calls with teams of CFA (Chartered Financial Analysts) to ensure our clients are receiving the most up-to-date strategies and recommendations. What does your average client look like? Our clients are nearly all athletes and entrepreneurs. Our average client has a net worth greater than $10M. The strategies, solutions, and planning that we implement have a high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth client in mind. Why should I consider hiring Moment Private Wealth? Great question! But first, let us explain why you shouldn’t hire us. If you’re looking for an advisor who will pitch shiny object investments or be a “yes man” you are in the wrong place. Why? Because we believe in being truth tellers and only giving advice that we take ourselves. The investments, strategies, and planning we do are all things our advisors do with their own money. If you are an athlete or entrepreneur interested in things like lowering your tax bill, investing smarter, and finding a trusted partner we might be a good fit. *Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

When I was a kid one of our family activities was going camping, and I quickly determined my favorite part of camping. Playing with fire. I loved every aspect of the fire. Starting the fire, stoking the fire, burning things in the fire.  You get it… I was that kid at the campsite. It was all fun and games until one day I left the fire unsupervised and caught the campsite on fire. Debt management for entrepreneurs is the same as a campfire. You start off respecting the fire until you grow too comfortable and get burned. Managing debt is an invaluable part of financial planning for business owners. It is a tool that can be used to accelerate growth, but it can also be a burden that eventually burns your business to the ground. In this blog, we are going to look at all of the areas you need to be aware of when it comes to debt management for business owners. Debt Management for Entrepreneurs Debt is a tool to incorporate into your business and personal finances.  If you understand how to use it properly it will provide the leverage you need.  Used improperly it will get you stuck in a rut that can feel impossible to dig out of. We are going to break our thoughts into two distinct categories. Personal Debt: Credit Cards Mortgages Business Debt: Lines of Credit Bank Debt Let's dive in. Personal Debt I am a believer that all debt is not bad. There are others out there that would tell you all debt on the balance sheet is bad. The Dave Ramsey followers. The reality is if all people listened to this advice families collectively would be in a better spot financially. Why? Because most people take on too much debt and do not have earning ability to pay off that debt. We are writing this blog with the understanding that you have excess income and a decision to make on how to allocate those funds.  One of those decision points is what to do with debt on your personal balance sheet. Let’s start with the most straightforward debt discussion. Credit Cards: Credit cards are an amazing tool when used properly. The first step to using credit cards is to rename them.  I prefer to use the term deferred payment cards over credit cards. This is exactly how this tool should be used. Every month you defer your payment until the end of the month. At the end of the month, you pay off the credit card in full. Under no circumstance should you leave a balance on your credit card. There are two primary reasons why. Interest Rates – Typically these cards will have interest rates over 20%.  Paying this much in interest is NOT a good financial decision. Credit Score – Every day you don’t pay off your credit card you hurt your credit score. Your credit score is what allows you to get better terms on debt you may need such as a mortgage or car loan. Credit cards are a fantastic tool to earn rewards and points. They must be used responsibly. They cannot be used to fund the life you want to live. Abusing credit cards in this way will only get you in trouble. Mortgages: Your first big debt was likely the mortgage you took out on your home. I know this was the case for me and my family.  Mortgages are our first look into the grey area.  Before we talk about how to make this decision let's take a look at the different types of mortgages available. Fixed Rates: Fixed-rate mortgages are the most common home loan. Typically these come in 15 and 30-year terms. This means the bank will give you a loan that you have the right to pay off over the course of the term. The bank will amortize the loan over the course of 30 years. Variable Rates: Adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) come in all different terms.  These are common for business owners or families with income that varies. Banks love consistency they don’t love variability.  The rates on these mortgages will fluctuate at the end of your ARM term. For example, if you have a 7-year ARM your rate will move up or down after the 7 year period. How do we decide what to do with our mortgage? We look at these three factors. Interest Rates Liquidity Needs Peace of Mind Interest Rates: If you have a mortgage that was locked in a few years ago you probably have a 3% mortgage.  We are going to be less likely to want to pay this off now that rates have gone up.  The other consideration with your interest rates is how long you have been paying on your loan.  If you have a 30-year loan the amount of interest you are paying in year one is dramatically different in year 30. Consider this chart when we look at the amortization effect on payments being made at the beginning of the term vs the end of the term. Each payment made is $5,995.51 per month for 360 months, but depending on the date the amount of interest is significantly different. Payment 1 - $5995.51 Principal - $995.51 Interest - $5,000 Payment 360 - $5,995.51 Principal - $5,965.68 Interest - $29.83 This concept must be taken into account when considering paying off a mortgage. Liquidity Needs: When it comes to business owners the one thing you can’t run out of is cash.  We are always monitoring this when we look at paying off big pieces of debt like a home.  The last thing we want to do is pay off our mortgage only to realize we need the money out of our house.  This is part of the goal-setting process when we look at financial planning for business owners. Peace of Mind: This part of the decision is the nuance.  We have clients who are simply not comfortable having debt.  There is nothing wrong with that.  This often comes from personal experiences in their life.  The right decision isn’t always the one the spreadsheet tells you to make. Peace of mind is a factor that should be considered when you are looking at debt. So remember there is both good debt and bad debt on your personal balance sheet. The key to making the best decision is combining what the spreadsheet tells you with the heart.  This nuance will look different for each family. There is no one-size-fits-all. Business Debt Debt inside of your business and debt on your personal balance sheet shouldn’t be treated the same. Before you tell me I am wrong here me out.  Debt on your personal balance sheet will never make you money. Debt on your business balance sheet CAN make you money. The key to business debt is understanding that even though it can make you money it doesn’t always make you money. I have seen both sides. I have seen debt turn a small business into an empire, but I have also seen businesses go up in flames because of leverage (remember to respect the fire). This framework can help you ensure your business doesn’t go up in flames. Line of Credit: The line of credit (LOC) is your friend in business.  Typically they cost nothing to set up and give you quick easy access to capital.  The mistake most business owners make is they don’t set up a line of credit until they need it.  This comment is all too familiar. “Why would I need a line of credit we are cash flow positive every month.” If this is how you would respond to my question it means it is time to evaluate your LOC. The good news is that banks love giving out lines of credit when things are going well. You will hear me say this time and time again. The one thing you cannot run out of in business is cash. A LOC is your last line of defense. As you read this and think... this sounds great what's the catch? Here it is. With fast and easy comes better bank terms. With any negotiation, if you choose easy it typically means you aren’t getting the “best” terms.  This is the case for a LOC when it comes to interest rates.  Typically a LOC is going to have a floating interest rate that will increase or decrease as the fed moves rates. Business owners need to be aware of this. With the recent changes in interest rates, we have seen business owners burned by this. They have taken out a LOC and analyzed the payments they need to make to get it paid off. In their head, they believe the LOC will increase profits and have the debt paid off in no time.  What they didn’t keep in mind was the increase in debt service with the Fed raising rates. This is the situation that can get many owners upside down on debt. To recap a LOC is your friend and you should have one. If you don’t this should be an action item after reading this blog. Bank Debt: Traditional bank debt can be a wonderful tool for a business owner.  Unlike a LOC bank debt can provide you with a stable structure and a known cost.  Let’s look at the uses of bank debt along with factors you should consider. Uses: There are two primary uses for bank debt. Internal Growth External Growth Internal Growth: Businesses that grow typically need cash to grow.  I saw a recent example of a business owner who completed a large real estate build-out to set up their business for the next stage of growth. It would have taken years to build up enough cash to do this without debt. This is a great example of a responsible use of debt for internal growth. There was a clear vision that required capital to get there. A key understanding when using bank debt for internal growth is being a great storyteller. Banks don’t hand out millions of dollars hoping you will pay them back. They had out million-dollar checks to the businesses they believe will pay them back. If you are a business owner looking to grow understand that part of your role is to tell a great story to your bank. This will allow you to get better terms on the debt that you take. External Growth: Many of the best businesses in the world have used outside capital to grow externally through acquisitions. This has been the flavor of the week for the last few years with acquisitions becoming more mainstream. When you are looking at completing an acquisition the first step is understanding how you will fund the acquisition.  In a normal transaction, traditional banks will lend up to 2X EBITDA for senior debt. Senior debt is a fancy banking term that simply means the bank has priority to get paid first. Giving this right to the bank will allow you to pay them a lower interest rate than junior debt. It is typical for a transaction to have multiple levels of debt.  As you go further down the debt stack you will typically have to pay a higher interest rate.  These are economic factors to consider when looking at an acquisition. This is why you often see companies bring in “investors”. Investors will provide you capital for equity in the business which will reduce the economic stress the debt service may put on the business. Bank debt is a great place to look for building your businesses in the long term. It is the most tested way to get large amounts of debt for running and growing your businesses.  Understanding the game the bank is playing will allow you to get the best terms for your businesses. When evaluating your business debt or personal debt let this be your one takeaway. There are a million ways to skin the cat when it comes to debt.  The key to managing your debt is being disciplined and having a plan. The key to getting burned is taking on too much debt with no plan to pay it back. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our goal at Moment Private Wealth is to help you reach your ideal outcome. At Moment Private Wealth we specialize in helping business owners have a plan for their debt. If you are an entrepreneur who is concerned about debt, schedule a call to talk with a Moment founder. Not sure what questions to ask, check out this video on 10 questions you should ask when interviewing a financial advisor. Get in Touch With An Advisor Frequently Asked Questions Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic. Are you a fiduciary? Moment Private Wealth serves clients as a fiduciary 100% of the time. How does Moment Private Wealth make money? We are only paid in one transparent way, by our clients. We receive no kickbacks or participate in any profit-sharing arrangements. Our fees are simple, transparent, and clear for our clients. How are you different than other financial advisors? We are specialists in working with professional athletes and business owners. We limit the number of new clients we take on. This allows us to provide unparalleled value and highly personalized service to professional athletes and business owners. We work as a team to service our clients. We believe in building a team of “A” players. This ensures our clients receive world-class tax, estate, insurance, and investment strategies. We focus on educating first, then executing. Where do you hold my investments and how can I see them? Moment Private Wealth uses Fidelity Investments as a third-party custodian for our client investment accounts. As a third-party custodian, Fidelity safeguards and provides reporting to you and the IRS each year. Clients can also access all financial information via the Moment Private Wealth Client Portal. How do you work with other members of my team? We believe in the power of the team. For most of our clients, their team consists of Moment Private Wealth, an accountant, an attorney, a banker, and an insurance specialist. We help our clients build out their team of individuals or work with existing partners clients have. Our goal is to ensure every family has a team of experts to protect their interests. How much debt should I have in my business? Debt in your business is a tool that should be leveraged carefully. Without a proper debt management plan you could find yourself in trouble.  Your plan should include how you are going to pay off your debt.; What does your average client look like? Our clients are nearly all athletes and business owners. Our average client has a net worth greater than $5M. The strategies, solutions, and planning that we implement have a high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth client in mind. How do I pay less in taxes? Taxes are going to be your largest lifetime expense. Our goal is to help you pay the least amount possible and never leave the IRS a tip. Our team of specialists understands this and works to reduce your taxes today and in the future. Should I pay off my mortgage? Paying off your mortgage is an art, not a science. The key to this answer is understanding the science behind your mortgage and the art of knowing what is important to you. Why should I consider hiring Moment Private Wealth? Great question! But first, let us explain why you shouldn’t hire us. If you’re looking for an advisor who will pitch shiny object investments or be a “yes man” you are in the wrong place. Why? Because we believe in being truth tellers and only giving advice that we take ourselves. The investments, strategies, and planning we do are all things our advisors do with their own money. If you are an athlete or business owner interested in things like lowering your tax bill, investing smarter, and finding a trusted partner we might be a good fit. *Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

The elevator stopped and out I stepped onto a full floor overlooking Miami Beach. The view was epic but my mind couldn't take it in. I was there to "do my estate planning" ~ whatever that means. I sat down with my finance, watched a high-flying attorney walk in, and proceed to talk over my head for the next hour. I left that meeting feeling confused, a bit overwhelmed, and with a stack of documents I was supposed to review. I remember thinking, review what exactly ~ I have no idea what I am looking at. That was my first experience with estate planning as a professional athlete, ya not so great. Well since then I have been to countless estate planning meetings both for myself and for our clients. In this blog, I am going to talk through six things professional athletes should consider for estate planning. Don't worry, by the end you won't wonder what "estate planning" means like I did in that fancy conference room. Estate Planning for Professional Athletes Instead of thinking about estate planning as this big scary term consider this ~ all it really is protection and direction for the things you care about (assets, people, investments...). Picture a parking garage, where you get to put all of the things you care about. Come a big storm, your things are protected. Then picture if any of those things ever want to leave you have an attendant at the gate with a roadmap of where they should go. Come a time of change, your things have direction. I want you to remember those two terms ~ Direction and Protection. Life is full of surprises, let me tell you. If you had told 18-year-old me everything that was about to ensue in my sports career over the next decade I wouldn't have believed you. Yet even with all of those surprises, everything my wife and I worked hard to build has been protected and had direction (there are those two words again). This was due to proper estate planning. Not only that, we have a clear path to where the things we care about the most will go when we are not here. Ya, no fun to think about but the fact is we will all die. My favorite slogan certainly applies here ~ plan now or regret it later. In athlete wealth management, you want to ensure you have a financial team that understands the key components every athlete should consider when it comes to estate planning. Here are six ⬇️⬇️⬇️ 1. Revocable Living Trust What is it? A revocable living trust is the roadmap for all the things in your financial life. It is a legal document that you have drafted that allows you to put in nearly any direction you want. Direction for who gets your stuff Direction for how they get your stuff Direction for factors need to be met to get your stuff The beauty of a revocable living trust is you can change it at any time. It is the ultimate building block in estate planning for professional athletes. Why it matters? It matters for a few reasons: Provides further direction and avoids probate Provides additional protection (trust owns it, not you personally) Provides additional privacy (things can be titled in the name of the trust) Consider this, a typical bank account has your name on it and should be followed by a beneficiary. A beneficiary is the person that the account goes to if you die. It provides no further clarity if that person isn't there or is not able to receive that money. The good news ~ they have a built-in plan for that, it is called probate. The bad news ~ probate is the government's plan for your money (it is public and expensive) You want to avoid probate at all costs and a revocable trust is just the tool to help you do that. ***Pro Tip: A revocable living trust is a legal document. In order for your assets to be protected by that document you must properly retitle those assets after completion of your Trust. As financial advisors for professional athletes, we ensure all accounts and assets have the proper tilting after completion. 2. Pour-Over Will What is it? Remember how our revocable living trust is our foundational roadmap for all our important things? Well, consider our pour-over will to be an extension of that. It allows you to provide direction to things that can't have official tilting like investment accounts. It works in conjunction with your trust. Things that are not tilted in your trust but noted in your pour-over will flow (or pour over) into your trust upon your passing. Why it matters? It matters for a few reasons, chief of which probably being one you are not thinking of. The last thing you want is family and friends arguing over family heirlooms. That is where a pour-over will comes into play. You can put things like: Priceless Art Family Jewelry Career memorabilia ***Pro Tip: A pour-over will is one of those documents that we recommend updating the most often. As new favorite possessions come up, you want to make sure you are providing direction around who gets what. After all, you don't want family fighting over a World Series ring. 3. Healthcare Directive What is it? Think of a healthcare directive as a document outlining what you want to happen and who you want to make medical decisions should you not be able to. Look it isn't fun to think about this scenario but we either plan now or regret it later. The two key components are: Directive - What directions are you specifically giving? Power of Attorney - Who can provide direction to healthcare professionals on your behalf? Why it matters? While no one wants to talk about this stuff, the reality is you either make the plan or the government makes the plan for you. Upon turning 18, should there be no directive or power of attorney in place it can be left up to the hospital or physician on the next steps. I don't know about you but I wanted a trusted person in place to execute my wishes if I can't. ***Pro Tip: This needs to be someone that you trust but also has the emotional ability to act on whatever your wishes are. The reality is if your healthcare power of attorney or directive is kicking in, the situation is not going to be stress-free. 4. Financial Power of Attorney What is it? We just talked about the medical power of attorney and the financial power of attorney serves in much the same way ~ just for your money moves. This is someone who can pay bills, make financial decisions, and serve in a capacity you would want should you not be able to make financial decisions. Why it matters? Again, this isn't fun stuff to think about but it matters. As an athlete, it is paramount that you spend the proper amount of time determining who should be in this role. This person will have the ability to execute on your behalf. We have all seen the stories of athletes getting taken advantage of and often it is because they unknowingly gave power of attorney to someone. ***Pro Tip: The financial power of attorney can be a family member or close friend. I recommend considering a combination of someone wise with money and that you have the ultimate trust in. Remember you can always adjust this in the future, so choose for today not 10 years into the future. 5. Guardianship What is it? Guardianship is the legal term for who would care for your children (if still minors) if you were not able to. It also can provide that individual with details of how you want them cared for: Educational Desires Access To Certain Funds Guidelines For Raising Them It is a massive decision who is placed in this role for a professional athlete. Why it matters? I don't know about you but my four kids mean everything to me. The care of them if I wasn't there is of the utmost importance to me. For my wife and I, this was one of the biggest roles we had to think about in drafting our current estate plan. ***Pro Tip: You can make adjustments to this in the future. I say that because we often have athletes who think one person is the right fit today but might not be in the future. That is ok, this can be adjusted in the future. The key is making sure you have a financial team that is reviewing these documents on a regular basis. 6. Estate Taxes What is it? You pay taxes when you make money...and you thought that was it? No, no, no the government actually imposes a tax on dying if of a certain net worth. As it stands in 2024, an individual with an estate (all your assets plus life insurance) over $13.61M will owe estate taxes. Today that estate tax rate ranges up to 40%! Let me say that again... if your assets + insurance benefits total more than $13.61M in 2024 you will owe a tax for dying ~ a significant one at that. Why it matters? It matters for a host of reasons as a professional athlete. The estate tax laws are always changing. You can build a significant net worth at a young age. That $13.61M number is set to get cut in half by 2026. Proper estate planning can reduce or eliminate estate taxes ***Pro Tip: The sooner you start planning for potential estate taxes the better off you are as a professional athlete. You can start to get compounding growth (investment returns) outside of your estate. Said another way ~ you can grow your money clear of estate taxes if planned for properly. My promise to our professional athletes is they will never walk into an estate planning meeting like I did. Deer in the headlights, wondering what is going on here. We coordinate, educate, and are in everything estate planning meetings with our clients. It is our job to take legalize (you know what the lawyer says) and help it make sense. After all, we either plan now or regret it later. If you are a professional athlete looking for a financial team specializing in you schedule a call and talk to a Moment founder. Not sure what questions to ask, check out this video on 10 questions you should ask when interviewing a financial advisor. Get in Touch With An Advisor Frequently Asked Questions Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic. 1. Does Moment Private Wealth help athletes with estate planning? Moment does not draft estate documents but we do help coordinate, advise on, and execute estate planning strategies for professional athletes. 2. Who does Moment Private Wealth use for estate planning? Moment has a vetted group of nationwide estate planning attorneys to help clients draft and execute on their estate planning needs. 3. Are you a fiduciary? Moment Private Wealth serves clients as a fiduciary 100% of the time. 4. How does Moment Private Wealth make money? We are only paid in one transparent way, by our clients. We receive no kickbacks or participate any profit-sharing arrangements. Our fees are simple, transparent, and clear for our clients. 5. How are you different than other financial advisors? We are specialists in working with professional athletes and entrepreneurs. We limit the number of new clients we take on. This allows us to provide unparalleled value and highly personalized service to professional athletes. We work as a team to service our clients. We believe in building a team of “A” players. This ensures our clients receive world-class tax, estate, insurance, and investment strategies. We focus on educating first, then executing. *Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

You just had one of the best days of your life. You officially signed the big contract. You now have more money than you ever thought possible. More money in a year than most make in a lifetime. What if I told you 78% of professional athletes go broke within a couple years of retiring? I know what you are thinking...that would never happen to me. The reality is, it could be you if you don't plan from the start. In this blog, I am going to walk through the reasons professional athletes go broke. From Stoked to Broke - The Reason Professional Athletes Go Broke Professional athletes get paid handsomely and for good reason. 123.4 million people watched Super Bowl LVIII - the most watched production in the HISTORY of television. So yeah, professional athletes who draw that much attention should get paid. But why do so many go broke so quickly? First, it is important to realize your career as a professional athlete does not last as long as you think. We read about guys that have played forever...Derek Jeter, Lebron James, Peyton Manning. This is not the norm as most believe. An average career in most professional leagues does not last long. MLB = 5.6 Years NBA = 4.8 Years NFL = 3.5 Years It is a cutthroat business. My colleague, Jacob Turner, is no stranger to this. If you don't believe me, check out his story. Unlike most, Jacob played for 11 years in professional baseball. His healthy perspective on sports and finance led to his financial success today. As he puts it, "Money is a tool we all need in life but putting it in proper perspective is key." Most know they can go broke if they are not careful. They hear it from agents and teammates. They hear stories and see headlines. But it still happens. Despite all the warnings, professional athletes still fall into the trap. Why? Well, let's break it down. Common Mistakes That Lead to Bankruptcy There are no one size fits all stories when it comes to athletes and money. But there are many reasons professional athletes retire with no money. I am going to outline 5 that I see the most often. Sudden Wealth Syndrome Pressure to Support Others Poor Investments or Business Ventures Lifestyle Inflation Financial Mismanagement & Lack of Planning Sudden Wealth Syndrome Your dream of becoming a professional athlete is now real. You just signed your name for a ton of money. With that can come a lot of distress. You went from having no job, to signing a professional contract with large sums of money tied to your name. Oftentimes, this can lead to what we call Sudden Wealth Syndrome. While not a psychological diagnosis, Sudden Wealth Syndrome is a term that describes issues, stress, confusion and money mismanagement when coming into sudden wealth. To put this into perspective, the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft will SIGN his name for ~$27 million. The 31st pick (last pick in the 1st round) earns a signing bonus of ~$6 million. That is a ton of money and doesn't even include their actual salaries! Do you know what the minimum NFL salary for 2024 is? ...$825,000... Do you know what the average salary in the United States for 2024 is? ...$63,795... No wonder Sudden Wealth Syndrome is becoming more prevalent for professional athletes. Pressure to Support Others Another common reason professional athletes go broke is the pressure to support others. You are sitting there on draft night with all your loved ones. They have been there through the ups and downs. Your parents probably sacrificed everything to make sure you fulfilled your dreams. Your friends are now reaching out to you to congratulate you. It is not uncommon to want to give back to the community that gave you an opportunity. Oftentimes, professional athletes feel the pressure to give back to those around them. While admirable, it is important to keep things in perspective. I am not saying don't spend some of the sudden wealth to celebrate and support loved ones. But you need to understand that it can become a habit if you are not careful. The key is distinguishing between one-time purchases and lifestyle ones. The pressure to support "your crew" can become overwhelming without a plan. Poor Investments or Business Ventures Let's say you are thinking about your future and want to put your money to work for you. That is a great first step! But understanding what you should focus on is super important. Another main reason professional athletes go broke is their investment decisions. If you go on the internet, you will read headlines like: "Sports star headlines new investment platform." "MVP becomes part owner of a new sports franchise." "Top athlete among new investors in a rising brand ." It all sounds nice and dandy. What could go wrong? A LOT... Especially if you are new to the investment space. While I won't get into it here, I highly suggest reading The Moment Guide To Athlete Wealth Management. This will outline everything you need to know about investing as a professional athlete. Lifestyle Inflation I have outlined a few common mistakes professional athletes make that lead to bankruptcy. The number one reason professional athletes run into financial trouble is this: Lifestyle Inflation Lifestyle inflation is the idea that as you make more money, your spending continues to go up. This could include: Buying more cars Spending more on luxury items Upgrading to more expensive homes Let's face it, you are going to be surrounded by people who make a lot of money and also spend a lot of money. Spending money on the things above is not inherently bad. You should spend money on things that make you happy. However, knowing your limit is important. Morgan Housel has one of the more fascinating quotes about spending money. He states: "One of the most important financial skills is getting the goalpost to stop moving." In other words, spend less than your income grows. When you get in the habit of spending money, it is hard to stop. This is where lifestyle inflation creeps in. It can take over your life. You earned the money by your hard work. Don't let your lifestyle today dictate your future. Financial Mismanagement & Lack of Planning As a professional athlete, you put together plans constantly. You gameplan the opposing team. You eat right for optimal performance. You prepare your bodies to have the strength to be the best. You work with your teammates to implement the plan. Why does this have to be any different when it comes to your finances? One of the most common reasons professional athletes fall into financial trouble is a lack of understanding of their finances. You may have never been educated You may not know what to ask You may not know how to save or how spending impacts your future You may not even know how to emotionally deal with financial success Unfortunately, all of these things play a role in professional athletes going broke. So what can you do? Step 1 is enjoying your moment and celebrating with loved ones. You put in the hard work and deserve to congratulate yourself. Step 2 is not letting it snowball into an eventual problem. Step 3...well, that is where we come in. At Moment Private Wealth, we work with professional athletes to ensure they can hang up their cleats with peace in knowing their financial future is secure. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ If you are a professional athlete looking for a financial team that specializes in you, schedule a call, and talk with a Moment founder. Get in Touch With An Advisor Frequently Asked Questions Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic. Are you a fiduciary? Moment Private Wealth serves clients as a fiduciary 100% of the time. How does Moment Private Wealth make money?  We are only paid in one transparent way, by our clients. We receive no kickbacks or participate any profit sharing arrangements. Our fees are simple, transparent, and clear for our clients. How are you different than other financial advisors?  We are specialists in working with professional athletes and entrepreneurs. We limit the number of new clients we take on. This allows us to provide unparalleled value and highly personalized service to professional athletes. We work as a team to service our clients. We believe in building a team of “A” players. This ensures our clients receive world-class tax, estate, insurance, and investment strategies. We focus on educating first, then executing. Where do you hold my investments and how can I see them?  Moment Private Wealth uses Fidelity Investments as a third-party custodian for our client investment accounts. As a third-party custodian, Fidelity safeguards and provides reporting to you and the IRS each year. Clients can also access all financial information via the Moment Private Wealth Client Portal. How do you work with other members of my team?   We believe in the power of the team. For most of our clients, their team consists of Moment Private Wealth, an accountant, an attorney, a banker, and an insurance specialist. We help our clients build out their team of individuals or work with existing partners clients have. Our goal is to ensure every family has a team of experts to protect their interests. How do you choose investments for clients?  As independent financial advisors, we can gather research and make recommendations based on all available options. We determine clients’ portfolios in partnership with some of the largest asset managers in the world. Each quarter, we have calls with teams of CFA (Chartered Financial Analysts) to ensure our clients are receiving the most up-to-date strategies and recommendations. What does your average client look like? Our clients are nearly all athletes and entrepreneurs. Our average client has a net worth greater than $5M. The strategies, solutions, and planning that we implement have a high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth client in mind. Why should I consider hiring Moment Private Wealth?  Great question! But first, let us explain why you shouldn’t hire us. If you’re looking for an advisor who will pitch shiny object investments or be a “yes man” you are in the wrong place. Why? Because we believe in being truth tellers and only giving advice that we take ourselves. The investments, strategies, and planning we do are all things our advisors do with their own money. If you are an athlete or entrepreneur interested in things like lowering your tax bill, investing smarter, and finding a trusted partner we might be a good fit ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

I remember when I first signed. I thought I was invincible. I was 18 with millions of dollars coming my way and a clear path toward achieving my dream. Protecting my downside was the last thing on my mind. Yet, risk management for professional athletes is one of the biggest keys to building wealth. I talked all about why downside protection is important in our guide to athlete wealth management but it is also critical for all aspects of your life. The reason why is simple ~ Google your name. You will have more publicly available information than 99.9% of the population. That my friends, makes you a target. You are a walking dollar sign for the person with bad intentions. The good news is you can protect yourself. In this blog, I am going to talk through all the ways professional athletes can protect themselves through risk management. Risk Management for Professional Athletes Risk management has a fancy ring, so let's think about it a bit simpler. What are all the things that could go wrong? What do we have to lose if they do go wrong? What are the odds of that thing going wrong? What are the ways to protect myself in the event they do? Risk management is answering those questions. Look everything in life has risks but there are certain risks for professional athletes that can be avoided. The three biggest risks are something happening to things you own, your life, and your career. The three types of insurance we are going to discuss to protect against them are: Property & Casualty Insurance Specialty Insurance Life Insurance In athlete wealth management, you want to ensure you have a financial team that understands the nuances of what coverages professional athletes need. Property & Casualty Insurance Everyone always thinks of the big risks but I am always thinking about the small ones (that could become big). This is where property & casualty insurance comes in. This is coverages for things like: Cars Homes Excess Liability You know all the things that you think, "That won't happen to me." Before you gloss over this section understand this, property and casualty insurance is not created equal. As in just because you have car insurance doesn't make it all the same. As a professional athlete, you want the best coverage for the best price ~ not the lowest cost. - Car Insurance Risk Protected: Car insurance covers your vehicle, any affected vehicles, medical payments, and further liability. Key Factors: Car insurance typically reads like this amount covered per person/amount covered per accident/amount covered in property damage. Each state has a minimum coverage amount required by law. These amounts are often very low and athletes should consider far higher amounts. Example: If your car insurance reads 100/200/50 that means you have $100,000 per person in the event of an accident, $200,000 total per accident, and $50,000 in property damage. Let's imagine for a second you run into a new $110,000 Cadillac Escalade and total it. You would be potentially out of pocket $60,000 since your property damage is only $50,000. What I Have: As with everything we do, I eat my own cooking. The same thing I recommend to our athlete clients is what I do. I have 500 across the board for my car insurance. This means I have $500,000 per person, $500,000 per accident, and $500,000 in property damage. - Homeowner's Insurance Risk Protected: Your home is one of your biggest financial assets, homeowner's insurance protects both the structure and the contents. Key Factors: While there are a million factors to consider here I want to focus on just two. The replacement cost and the type of policy. Remember not all insurance policies are created equal. Your homeowner's policy will have a stated replacement cost. This means if your house burns to the ground this is the maximum the insurance company will provide you. It will also most likely be one of two types of policies, an HO3 or an HO5 policy. An HO5 policy is a higher-end policy that provides the homeowner with specific details that would be redone the way they were (think high-end brickwork or landscaping). ***There are endless clauses athletes need to ensure are correct for proper coverage. This is why we always review our client's policies. Example: If your replacement cost is $1,000,000, something happens, and the cost to rebuild exceeds that amount you will be out of pocket for the difference. What I Have: I have an HO5 policy that covers my home for more than the state value. The reason is simple, the additional benefits/peace of mind outweigh the slightly higher costs. *** Athletes should also have a renter's insurance policy for in-season rentals. - Excess Liability Risk Protected: Excess liability coverage or umbrella coverage is an overachieving form of insurance that covers your risk above and beyond your other policies. Key Factors: My belief is nearly everyone should have an umbrella policy as they are a cost-effective way to cover big risks. For many of our professional athletes, their policies are near their total net worth. Example: If you were to have a car accident causing serious injury and were sued. Your auto policy might cover you up to $500,000 but any judgment above and beyond that would be your responsibility. A properly structured umbrella policy covers that excess risk. ***For professional athletes you need to have your financial team that does a deep dive into any exclusions a policy might have. What I Have: I have a $10,000,000 umbrella policy as it is one of the most cost-effective ways to protect my family's wealth. Life Insurance In athlete wealth management, one of the biggest red flags athletes face is getting pitched life insurance they don't need. Say it with me, "Life insurance is a tool to solve a need." You have to have a need first. My number one rule for athletes is this: If you don't understand the costs, fees, and structure don't do it. I start with this because there is a lot of money to be made selling life insurance. With any solution that makes the professional a lot of money, it will be misused. Now this does not make it a bad product ~ I would say the vast majority of professional athletes will need life insurance at some point. The key is finding a true pro that specializes in risk management for athletes. Done correctly there are incredible use cases for life insurance. To illustrate when life insurance is needed, consider my personal use case: I went from having no one depending on me (draft day) to being married with four beautiful kids (10 years later). I want them to be protected should something happen to me. That is the goal of life insurance ~ transfer the risk from you to the life insurance company. Two Key Types: Term Life Insurance - This covers you for a certain period (think 10, 20, or 30 years). Permanent Life Insurance - This covers you for your entire life (assuming premiums are paid). What I Have: I have two term life insurance policies that would provide my family enough money to live the same lifestyle today if I wasn't here. I don't own any permanent policy as I currently don't have a need that a permanent policy would solve. There could be a need in the future in which a permanent policy could make perfect sense. Insurance is just that, insurance. You will be pitched countless "insurance ideas", always revert to rule number 1 ~ If you don't understand the costs, fees, and structure don't do it. The starting point for life insurance is determining your need. What risk do you want to eliminate? Then determine the best solution for you to solve that need. Specialty Insurance The single biggest risk any professional athlete faces is a career-ending injury. Your body and your skillset are your ability to earn income. While a typical high-earner might get a disability policy, your potential options need to be (and are) hyper-specific to you. Disability policies for professional athletes come in two types: Permanent Disability - An injury occurs that does not allow you to continue to play your sport. Temporary Disability - An injury occurs that does not allow you to play your sport for a certain period. There is incredible nuance in these policies, structuring, and costs. Professional athletes need an expert in athlete wealth management to determine the best options. The second form of specialty insurance athletes should consider is loss of value policies. A loss of value policy covers an athlete if they don't receive the future contract they expected. ***These often come into play before the draft or a contract year. Just like with disability policies, it is important athletes understand all the costs, structures, and provisions in a loss of value policy. These policies are one-off policies customized to the specific athlete. The language stated in the contract is key to understanding what needs to happen for an athlete to get paid. Specialty insurance for professional athletes is hyper-specific to an athlete's situation and not every athlete needs these coverages. The key is understanding your options, risk factors, and ways you could transfer that risk. No one thinks it will happen to them until it does (insert the risk). Yet, each year we see athletes face lawsuits, accidents, and other liabilities. The key is answering these four questions: What are all the things that could go wrong? What do we have to lose if they do go wrong? What are the odds of that thing going wrong? What are the ways to protect myself in the event they do? One of my favorite lines is ~ plan now or regret it later. That couldn't be more true when it comes to risk management for professional athletes. If you are a professional athlete looking for a financial team specializing in you schedule a call and talk to a Moment founder. Not sure what questions to ask, check out this video on 10 questions you should ask when interviewing a financial advisor. Get in Touch With An Advisor Frequently Asked Questions Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic. 1. Does Moment Private Wealth sell insurance? Moment does not sell insurance but advises on all insurance for clients. This allows us to be free of conflicts when recommending certain types of insurance products. 2. How do insurance agents get paid? Insurance agents are paid a commission based on the type and amount of a product you purchase. It is our advice that you always ask the agent to list out their commission for any product you are considering. 3. Are you a fiduciary? Moment Private Wealth serves clients as a fiduciary 100% of the time. 4. How does Moment Private Wealth make money? We are only paid in one transparent way, by our clients. We receive no kickbacks or participate any profit-sharing arrangements. Our fees are simple, transparent, and clear for our clients. 5. How are you different than other financial advisors? We are specialists in working with professional athletes and entrepreneurs. We limit the number of new clients we take on. This allows us to provide unparalleled value and highly personalized service to professional athletes. We work as a team to service our clients. We believe in building a team of “A” players. This ensures our clients receive world-class tax, estate, insurance, and investment strategies. We focus on educating first, then executing. *Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

Every year in our business we lay out our goals for the upcoming year. During this process, we review the progress we have made toward our long term goals. Without a roadmap and clear goals, we will always move the goalpost. I imagine you have gone through this same process with your company. Constantly wrestling between wanting to push your team to the next level while celebrating successes along the way. Financial planning for business owners is a process to help you hit goals in your personal financial life. As specialists in wealth management for business owners, our goal is to create, implement, and monitor your financial plan. In this blog, we are going to look at the frameworks we use to secure your financial future without moving the goalpost. Financial Planning for Business Owners Financial planning is one of the simplest topics to understand but a difficult topic to execute. When we work with business owners we break down financial planning into three areas. Create Implement Monitor Let's look at each. Create Creating a financial plan starts with you. We need to dive into what you value and want to prioritize. What questions are we thinking about when creating a plan? What does success look like for me and my family? Am I spending my time in areas that give me energy? What will it take to allow me to be financially secure? Each of these questions will provide unique answers and those answers will be our framework. Let's look at an example. "What does success look like for me and my family?" Business Owner 1 "Success for me is passing our business down to my children. My goal is to run the company for the next five years. In the following five years, I plan to transition the business to my children." Now let's contrast this with another answer we have seen. Business Owner 2 "Success for me is spending more time with my spouse and kids now. I am burnt out and exhuasted. If possible I would like to sell my company in the next two years." These two owners have a similar goal of exiting their businesses but will have different financial plans. Once we have answers to these questions we can start to set our course with our goals. When we set these goals we want to use the SMART goal setting approach. Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time Bound My encouragement to any business owner going through this process is there is no "right" answer, but there is one big mistake they must avoid. Avoid This Big Mistake When creating a financial plan there is one mistake you MUST avoid. That mistake is making it all about the money. Working with business owners has allowed me to see that money has a decrease in benefits after your goals are met. The bills get paid. The new car gets bought. The kid's education gets paid. The dream house gets built. Don't hear what I am not saying. Many aspects of life require money, but if you make it the end all be all you will never be satisfied. Once we have our goals set it is time to implement them. Implement The implementation of your financial plan will be more tactical than the creation. This is where we get into the nitty-gritty of how we will meet your goals. During the goal-setting process, we will have determined a few of these basic questions. What does it cost to live the lifestyle you desire? What are you spending to live your life today? How do you want to spend your time today and in the future? How do you define winning in your business and personal life? What is the range we can sell the business for (if applicable)? Our goal is to provide optionality and clarity to your financial plan. Our team is going to run the analysis to help you answer these key questions. How much money do I need to save annually to meet my goals? How much money do I need to have saved to live my ideal life? How will we meet my goals on my timeline? What levers do we need to pull to win the game? When we create this plan we use a combination of tools at our disposal, but the one business owners find the most helpful is our stress test. If you have run a business for any period of time you know things never go "as planned". There is always some variable you accounted for incorrectly. We see the same occur for client's financial plans. This is why we stress test client's financial plans for these common variables. What if I live longer than I expect? What if inflation is higher than expected? What if I decide I want to spend more money? What if my health care costs are higher than I thought? What if my portfolio returns a lower rate of return than expected? This process gives business owners peace of mind that they have a roadmap that will allow them to have personal and financial success. At Moment not only do we help you build the roadmap but we are the financial partner that implements it for you. As you know any good plan comes with changes. That brings us to the last step of financial planning for business owners. Monitor Plans change. This can go for anything in life. I think back to the first time I took my family to Disney World. We booked the trip in January. Where we live in the midwest it gets cold in the winter. This means every time we book a trip for the summer we are never concerned about the heat. This all changes when you show up at Disney World in 95-degree Florida heat with three kids under six years old. I can distinctly remember telling my wife I don't care what it costs to eat lunch inside we have to get out of this heat. The great thing about having a team that specializes in wealth management for business owners is that we get it. We are here for those changes. Typically these changes come in two forms. The changes in your control and the changes out of your control. In Your Control: Changes that are in your control are more fun to plan around than those out of your control. Let's look at these first. You decide you want to spend more money now vs later in life. You decide you would rather continue running your business vs selling it. You decide you would rather spend more time with your kids and less time in the business. When changes like these occur our team will perform a new analysis to ensure we make the necessary changes to keep you on track. Out of Your Control: These are the less fun things to plan around, but the reality is they happen. Everything isn't roses and rainbows and it pays to have a team in your corner that gets it. Business valuations decrease in your industry. A key partnership changes and affects the company's bottom line. Your cost of goods sold increases due to inflation and it affects your profits. Although no business owner ever wants these situations to occur the reality is that they do happen. Our job is to show you what these changes mean for your financial plan and provide you with the information to make an educated decision. Business owners hire us to get the answers that they need and this is not always what they want to hear. This is where hard conversations have to happen. The important thing to remember in these conversations is that life is all about tradeoffs. Here are a few examples of tradeoffs we have seen in the past. Working less today with the tradeoff of spending more time with your family. Making less today with the tradeoff of spending more time on projects that give you energy. Working more today to meet your financial goals earlier in life. These are three of the tradeoffs that we have seen when constructing a comprehensive financial plan for business owners. Our job as a financial advisor is to be the guide to help you create, implement, and monitor your financial plan. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our goal at Moment Private Wealth is to help you reach your ideal outcome. This is why we help construct financial plans for business owners. It isn't enough to know what tools to use but you need a team to help you implement. If you are an entrepreneur who is concerned about your financial plan, schedule a call, and talk with a Moment founder. Not sure what questions to ask, check out this video on 10 questions you should ask when interviewing a financial advisor. Get in Touch With An Advisor Frequently Asked Questions Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic. Are you a fiduciary? Moment Private Wealth serves clients as a fiduciary 100% of the time. How does Moment Private Wealth make money? We are only paid in one transparent way, by our clients. We receive no kickbacks or participate in any profit-sharing arrangements. Our fees are simple, transparent, and clear for our clients. How are you different than other financial advisors? We are specialists in working with professional athletes and business owners. We limit the number of new clients we take on. This allows us to provide unparalleled value and highly personalized service to professional athletes and business owners. We work as a team to service our clients. We believe in building a team of “A” players. This ensures our clients receive world-class tax, estate, insurance, and investment strategies. We focus on educating first, then executing. Where do you hold my investments and how can I see them? Moment Private Wealth uses Fidelity Investments as a third-party custodian for our client investment accounts. As a third-party custodian, Fidelity safeguards and provides reporting to you and the IRS each year. Clients can also access all financial information via the Moment Private Wealth Client Portal. How do you work with other members of my team? We believe in the power of the team. For most of our clients, their team consists of Moment Private Wealth, an accountant, an attorney, a banker, and an insurance specialist. We help our clients build out their team of individuals or work with existing partners clients have. Our goal is to ensure every family has a team of experts to protect their interests. How do you choose investments for clients? As independent financial advisors, we can gather research and make recommendations based on all available options. We determine clients’ portfolios in partnership with some of the largest asset managers in the world. Each quarter, we have calls with teams of CFAs (Chartered Financial Analysts) to ensure our clients are receiving the most up-to-date strategies and recommendations. What does your average client look like? Our clients are nearly all athletes and business owners. Our average client has a net worth greater than $5M. The strategies, solutions, and planning that we implement have a high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth client in mind. Does Moment Private Wealth help you pay less in taxes? Taxes are going to be your largest lifetime expense. Our goal is to help you pay the least amount possible and never leave the IRS a tip. Our team of specialists understands this and works to reduce your taxes today and in the future. Can Moment Private Wealth help business owners with succession planning? Yes, this is part of creating a roadmap for your goals. Having first-hand knowledge of selling a business will allow you confidence throughout the process. Many business owners get one chance to sell a business. Having a firm that can help is key. Why should I consider hiring Moment Private Wealth? Great question! But first, let us explain why you shouldn’t hire us. If you’re looking for an advisor who will pitch shiny object investments or be a “yes man” you are in the wrong place. Why? Because we believe in being truth tellers and only giving advice that we take ourselves. The investments, strategies, and planning we do are all things our advisors do with their own money. If you are an athlete or business owner interested in things like lowering your tax bill, investing smarter, and finding a trusted partner we might be a good fit. *Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.

You have the greatest superpower paired with a laundry list of disadvantages. Welcome to investing for professional athletes. Let's start with the good. You have time. The average athlete has their peak earning years in their early to mid 20's. That means you have decades to invest those earnings and let them compound. No seriously consider what that provides you, here is a visual of that power: You know you can't have the good without the bad, so here it is: You have little (or no) experience, you have a target on your back, and if done poorly there is little time to recover. In this blog, I am going to walk you through everything you need to know about investing as a professional athlete. Investing For Professional Athletes To understand where we are going, you need to understand where I am coming from. I have walked in your shoes. I earned millions, knew nothing, feared messing it up, and managed to retire with enough money to create financial optionality. That is what you want as an athlete ~ financial optionality after your playing career is over. The 4 questions we are going to answer today: Where do I start? What should I focus on? How much risk should I take? How do I connect my investment portfolio to my life? There are infinite things you "could" consider but what we want to focus on is what you "should" consider. Where Do I Start? The best decisions start with the end in mind. So what does the end look like? Well in a perfect world, what do you want to accomplish with the money and investments you have? No seriously, stop and write down everything you think you want in the future. Here is an example: $15,000 a month $1,000,000 house New car every five years Charitable giving each year Two family vacations a year There is no wrong answer here, this is your money and it should be personal to you. My one recommendation is to make it specific. See how I said, "new car every five years" not "a new car". The more specific the goal the clearer the plan to get there becomes. Once you understand where you are going let's talk about how to get there. The foundation of investing money is this ~ the more risk you take, the higher the expected rate of return you should receive. Stuff money under the mattress ~ the return is zero because the risk is zero (actually some risk there). Invest in an established business ~ the return should be good because there is risk in that. Invest in a startup ~ the return better have a chance of being great because of the risk. You can see here how the more risk taken in your portfolio the higher the rate of return has been. The key for professional athletes is to understand how much risk one should take. I always fall back to my favorite Warren Buffett line ~ "Do not risk what you have an need for what you don't have and don't need." Remember how we wrote down specific goals, well the next step is gaining a better understanding of how much risk we need to take to produce the return necessary for those goals. That is the starting point of investing. What Should I Focus On? The investing headlines for professional athletes read like a high-powered Venture Capital firm. "Star player invests in this." "MVP launches his own brand." "Top athletes buy a sports franchise." What if I told you those are the wrong things to focus on? Well, here it goes ~ those are the wrong things to focus on. They don't affect you No two situations are alike The focus should be on substance, not flair If I could put one thing on a billboard for athletes to read when it comes to investing this would be it: You should focus on your years of return not your yearly return. Take two athletes: Athlete 1: Invests in the latest high-flying investments. He has some incredible years but also fails to protect his downside losing as much as 20% of his capital in a year. To recover that 20% loss he needs a 25% gain. Athlete 2: Invests in established businesses. He has some good (not incredible) years but also properly protects his downside losing only 10% of his capital in his worst year. To recover that 10% loss he needs a 11% gain. Protecting the downside is as important (oftentimes more important) than the potential upside. Remember your greatest superpower is time. To use that superpower you need to stay in the game. Consider this ~ Warren Buffett is worth an estimated $130,000,000,000 and more than 99% of his net worth was made after his 50th birthday. He didn't magically become a better investor, he let time do the heavy lifting. 10x10 = 100 10x10x10 = 1,000 10x10x10x10 = 10,000 10x10x10x10x10 = 100,000 See how powerful compounding is? The rule of 72 states that 72 divided by your rate of return = the amount of time it takes for your money to double. Example: 72/8 (rate of return) = 9 (years it takes for your money to double) *$1,000,000 initial investment doubling every 9 years looks like this: $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 $2,000,000 to $4,000,000 $4,000,000 to $8,000,000 $8,000,000 to $16,000,000 The most important double is always the next one. So instead of focusing on a flashy yearly rate of return focus on your years of return. How Much Risk Should I Take? There is risk with everything we do in life. Investing money - there is risk. Driving down the street - there is risk. Eating food at a restaurant - there is risk. Yet just like wearing your seatbelt or making sure your food is cooked, there are ways to reduce risk in investing. The first and most important step for professional athletes is to understand how much risk to take. At Moment, we think about this in terms of how much money we need to have in each bucket. Bucket 1 - War Chest (safest) Bucket 2 - Growth Strategy (riskier) Bucket 3 - Aspirational Strategy (highest risk) To find the answer you need to consider three factors: Spending Ability to take risk Desire to take risk ***To better illustrate this we are going to use a hypothetical athlete, Bryce. Spending Before you invest you need to understand what it costs to be you. This is all the costs involved with living your lifestyle. Bryce spends $20,000 per month or $240,000 per year. This includes: Food Travel Donations Entertainment Housing Costs Transportation Costs Investments are fuel for our lives, which means we need to position our investments around the fact Bryce is spending $20,000 per month. Ability To Take Risk Ability to take risks means can an athlete invest in a way to grow his portfolio while still maintaining his lifestyle. The inevitable part of investing is on average the stock market is down in value one out of every four years. There has to be enough money in our war chest (safety bucket) to sustain those downturns. Bryce has saved $10,000,000 during his playing career. What I like to consider is how many years of spending ($240,000 per year) we want to have in our war chest. Our baseline for professional athletes is between 5 -7 years. This means we need $1,200,000 to $1,680,000 in our war chest. So Bryce has the ability to take risks with the additional ~ $8,500,000 he has saved. That leads us to should he? Desire To Take Risk This is as much art as it is science. As specialists in athlete wealth management, it is our job to help lead athletes through a process to determine how comfortable they are taking risks. While we know the more risk we take the higher our expected rate of return should be, the biggest key is sticking to the plan we set out. This means that even in those years when the portfolio is down an athlete is comfortable with the level of risk taken. While Bryce has the ability to position nearly $8,500,000 towards growth, given his current spending, and risk tolerance he prefers to take a more conservative approach. The agreed-upon strategy includes a total of $3,000,000 in his war chest and $7,000,000 positioned towards growth. Enough risk to reach his goals and enough downside protection to allow Bryce to sleep at night. See how spending, ability to take risks, and desire to take risks all play a factor in investing for professional athletes. If spending goes up, the ability to take risks might go down. If the ability to take risks goes down, future spending might need to go down. How Do I Connect My Investment Portfolio To My Life? You know those athlete headlines we talked about, remember how they don't apply to you? Investing and the returns you earn are fuel for your life. They are not meant to be campfire stories or headline news. They are meant to help you, your family, and the people you want to support. So connecting your investment portfolio to your life is key. It needs to be specific to you. It is a combination of all the things we have discussed: Where you want to go Focusing on the right things What you are trying to accomplish How much risk you can and should take Answer those questions, understand how they all work together, and then build your investment portfolio. It is a surefire way to make sure your investments connect to your life. - The investment mindset needs to be what is a good rate of return I can sustain for the longest possible period? Yet time and time again, we see athletes trying to hit home runs when all you need is singles and doubles. It is critical to have a financial team specializing in wealth management for professional athletes. You have one chance to do this right ~ make the most of it. If you are a professional athlete looking for a financial team specializing in you, schedule a call and talk with a Moment founder. Not sure what questions to ask, check out this video on 10 questions you should ask when interviewing a financial advisor. Get in Touch With An Advisor Frequently Asked Questions Here are some answers to questions I received frequently about this topic. Are you a fiduciary?  Moment Private Wealth serves clients as a fiduciary 100% of the time. How does Moment Private Wealth make money?  We are only paid in one transparent way, by our clients. We receive no kickbacks or participate in any profit-sharing arrangements. Our fees are simple, transparent, and clear for our clients. How are you different than other financial advisors?  We are specialists in working with professional athletes and entrepreneurs. We limit the number of new clients we take on. This allows us to provide unparalleled value and highly personalized service to professional athletes. We work as a team to service our clients. We believe in building a team of “A” players. This ensures our clients receive world-class tax, estate, insurance, and investment strategies. We focus on educating first, then executing. Where do you hold my investments and how can I see them? Moment Private Wealth uses Fidelity Investments as a third-party custodian for our client investment accounts. As a third-party custodian, Fidelity safeguards and provides reporting to you and the IRS each year. Clients can also access all financial information via the Moment Private Wealth Client Portal. How do you work with other members of my team?  We believe in the power of the team. For most of our clients, their team consists of Moment Private Wealth, an accountant, an attorney, a banker, and an insurance specialist. We help our clients build out their team of individuals or work with existing partners clients have. Our goal is to ensure every family has a team of experts to protect their interests. How do you choose investments for clients?  As independent financial advisors, we can gather research and make recommendations based on all available options. We determine clients’ portfolios in partnership with some of the largest asset managers in the world. Each quarter, we have calls with teams of CFA (Chartered Financial Analysts) to ensure our clients are receiving the most up-to-date strategies and recommendations. What does your average client look like?  Our clients are nearly all athletes and entrepreneurs. Our average client has a net worth greater than $10M. The strategies, solutions, and planning that we implement have a high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth client in mind. Why should I consider hiring Moment Private Wealth?  Great question! But first, let us explain why you shouldn’t hire us. If you’re looking for an advisor who will pitch shiny object investments or be a “yes man” you are in the wrong place. Why? Because we believe in being truth tellers and only giving advice that we take ourselves. The investments, strategies, and planning we do are all things our advisors do with their own money. If you are an athlete or entrepreneur interested in things like lowering your tax bill, investing smarter, and finding a trusted partner we might be a good fit. *Moment Private Wealth offers information on tax and estate planning that is general in nature. Tax and Legal advice are not provided by Moment Private Wealth. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation.