Geneva-based Mirabaud has launched Mirabaud Sports, Art & Culture, a private banking unit in Spain to provide bespoke services for professionals in sports and culture, sectors which the firm estimates are together worth €3.9 billion (about $5.1 billion) a year.

The rationale behind the business centres on the notion that professionals in this industry have unique wealth management requirements in light of the specific characteristics related to their profession - its limited lifespan, for example, which restricts earnings potential.

The move puts Mirabaud alongside firms such as UK private bank Coutts, and Investec, in launching segments aimed at sports or media professionals with very specific financial and wealth planning needs.

“As a result, athletes and artists require global financial planning, both geographically and in terms of the services needed, such as investment advice and inheritance management,” the firm said in a statement.

Perhaps most crucially, these professionals require advice on preserving and increasing their wealth when their careers end. 

Ferran Garrida has been appointed as managing director of the new business, charged with the task of achieving 10 per cent annual growth. 

“Sports and culture professionals work 24/7, so they need an institution that can put itself in their shoes to plan their finances without causing any conflict of interests,” Garrida said.

Garrida has expertise in finance, business and sports, and is latterly of Banco Sabadell. Before that, he was a private banking consultant at UBS, and founder of numerous companies, including Global Sports Advisors, which represents athletes, as well as Leaders Factory, a sports consultancy.