It has become increasingly common to hear of footballers and certain other sports professionals being targeted for financial advice, particularly given their unusual earnings' profiles. Now a UK-based firm is doing the same for the boxing world.

UK wealth manager Evelyn Partners is developing a new financial education programme for boxing professionals – an example of how the boundaries of sports and wealth management continue to cross over.

The firm has set up the programme in partnership with 258 MGT – the management company founded by boxing world champion Anthony Joshua (pictured, right). 

Senior Evelyn Partners experts Adam Osper and Ben Gibson – who specialise in advising sportspeople, musicians and other entertainment professionals on their finances – recently delivered an inaugural presentation of their financial planning initiative tailored to boxers’ needs at 258 MGT. The audience liked what it saw and heard, Evelyn Partners said in a statement yesterday.  

Sportsmen and women typically have short earning “windows” – which can be cut even shorter through injury – and there are many tales of people earning a fortune and later losing it on unwise investments, or by getting exploited and targeted by hangers-on. This news service has chronicled how some wealth specialists are now targeting sportsmen and women as a distinct client segment. Separately, there is a well-trodden trend of wealth managers and private banks sponsoring certain sports events and matches as a way of promoting their brands. UBS, for example, has sponsored Formula 1 motor racing, while Standard Chartered sponsors Liverpool FC.

“As an athlete your career is short and you need to be smart with how you plan for tomorrow. At 258 we take this very seriously and are proud to be industry leaders with how we support and nurture the careers of our athletes and any fighter who wants to participate,” Anthony Joshua said.

Evelyn Partners said it has already delivered financial education programmes in football and rugby, and was pleased to add boxing to its roster of sports segments.

“The vast majority of boxers, from Olympic ‘amateurs’ to full professional, have never had the benefit of any guidance on basic things like mortgages, debt, savings and how to plan for the future,” Adam Osper, managing partner in financial planning at Evelyn Partners, said. “Due to the unstructured nature of their job they may never earn what is considered good money. Others can start to receive large payments later in their career – or in rare circumstances they could become a pay-per-view superstar.” 

“Our plan is to support them through every step of their career to ensure they receive the right guidance to make good financial decisions, so that when they come to the end of their boxing career they and their families are financially secure,” Osper said.

Ben Gibson, financial planning director at Evelyn Partners, added: “Boxers generally have little support in this area, and what we are proposing is unique and a new exciting proposition. In football, as an example, the clubs have been taking this seriously for some time, and there is a focus around ensuring that young footballers are receiving education and post-career support. In boxing, and most solo sports, this seems to be ignored due to the lack of a club structure surrounding the athlete.”