Are you wondering how to start a career as a financial advisor to athletes, this article should be useful in that regard.

Athletes have huge responsibilities to the teams they play for. There are individual sports as well as collective sports where such athletes compete.

Such sporting events could range from soccer, basketball, tennis, WFC, WBC, NFL, and so many more.

Becoming A Financial Advisor For Professional Athletes

For an athlete, there are lots of responsibilities on the field of play.

With lots of money earned from the sporting activities they engage in, athletes need professional financial advice on what to do with such money.

You Must Have the Interest and Drive to Pursue a Career in this Field

A significant level of interest is necessary to begin your journey as a financial advisor to professional athletes. This is basically the starting point from which multiple milestones are reached.

Now the question is; is financial planning a viable profession to pursue? It depends on what you won’t do and what your goals are.

As a financial advisor, this profession can be deeply rewarding for some while for others it might not be worth their time. This is why passion for what you do is paramount.

If you’re drawn to this field of business, then your chances of success are quite significant.

Why Becoming A Professional Athlete Financial Advisor Is A Viable Option To Explore

Unlike a lot of other professions, the best years of service for athletes are relatively short. In other words, these professional athletes only play for about a decade or more before retiring.

During their most active years, they’re paid lots of money. Now, there are many examples of athletes who ended up in penury due to financial mismanagement.

Such athletes had no form of professional advice and spent their earnings recklessly. Ideally, such earnings would have required proper planning or investing to last a lifetime.

As a financial advisor, this is where you come in to help them save for retirement.

Basically, you’re helping them adequately manage their income and investments.

Requirements For Becoming A Sports Financial Advisor

Your location will determine what the specific requirements are.

The top destinations for financial advisors in terms of opportunities include Texas, New York, North Carolina, California, and Pennsylvania.

Others include Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Georgia.

However, you can still pursue a career as a financial advisor to professional athletes outside of the above-named locations. To kick-start your professional journey, you’ll need to obtain the right degree.

Next, serve as an intern and proceed to all the necessary licenses and certifications.

You must have no prior criminal, civil, or fraud-related regulatory history. Having met these requirements, you’re well on your way to becoming a financial advisor for professional athletes.

Let’s discuss each of these requirements as follows.

  • Getting the Right Degree

Not every degree qualifies you to hold the role of a financial advisor.

First off, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree with majors in business, finance, statistics, and economics, or other similar fields. Now, having the right degree, though important, still requires further education.

The more related qualifications you get, the greater your chances become to land high-end clients. The good part is that your clients are likely to be open to allowing you further your education while still being on their payroll.

Of course, such education would be on a part-time basis.

  • Serve as an Intern

Getting the right degree is only the starting point as you’ll need hands-on experience. Such experience is largely obtained by working with financial firms as well as other related organizations.

Most times, internships opportunities are made possible through partnerships between schools and financial institutions.

The importance of such partnerships cannot be downplayed as they provide critical skills needed to become successful financial advisors.

  • Getting all Basic Licenses and Certifications

Licensing and certifications are part of key requirements for becoming a financial advisor to professional athletes.

The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) recommends aspiring professionals obtain one or more of the following certifications.

They include Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), and Personal Financial Specialist (PFS).

For licensing, the requirements may differ and largely depend on the state you live in.

  • Having no Criminal or Fraud-Related Record

One key requirement to becoming a successful financial advisor to professional athletes is the need to have no prior criminal record. Also, you must have no fraud-related record.

Such requirements are necessary because trust is a crucial part of doing business.

Your client should be able to trust you with their resources and have the confidence that you’d be able to guide them towards its proper investment and management.

  • Having Zero Pending Customer-Related Litigations or Complaints

To become a financial advisor for professional athletes, it’s necessary to ensure there are absolutely no pending litigations or complaints from customers.

As stated earlier, gaining client trust and cooperation requires having a clean history. This works in your favor as it demonstrates your capacity to deliver.

Here, it’s clear that this isn’t a field for everyone. To avoid any dent in your professional career, you’ll need to deal honestly with every client you come across.

This adds to your eventual success as a financial advisor to professional athletes

  • Getting an Appreciable Level of Experience

Experience is a crucial part of doing business as a financial advisor. Before getting hired, the professional athlete will want to have an idea of your level of expertise.

This includes your experience. Experience does a lot in making clients gain confidence in your ability to advise them on how to invest and manage their money.

This is why it’s crucial to get such from internships as well as through work with other clients. Financial advisors with significant experience levels can get better-paying clients such as athletes.

It only gets better from this point on.

Now you have an idea of what steps to take in your journey to become a financial advisor. All you have to do is make the process step-by-step as you seek to become more proficient in what you do.

With the right skills, you’re able to manage the right clients.