Former Senior US Sports Figures To Help Athletes Succeed Off The Field

Amisha Mehta

18 June 2015

Former NFL linebacker Bart Scott and former NBA forward Antoine Walker will join 's global sports and entertainment division as consultants to help sports and entertainment professionals meet their unique wealth management needs.

As part of their consulting roles, Scott and Walker will draw on their first-hand experience of financial opportunities and challenges encountered by professional athletes. This includes their experiences with handling financial issues that come from sudden wealth and careers spanning varied timeframes – along with the social, mental and physical demands of their jobs.

They will also take part in the GSE unit's industry-tailored financial education programme.

The move is part of a trend within wealth management – seen on both sides of the Atlantic – of some firms, such as Coutts and Investec, among others, offering specialised services to sports, media and entertainment figures. In most cases, one of the distinguishing features is the need to serve people who earn high but uneven sums of money and often in a short period of time before changes in fashion, or injuries/early retirements, and other factors.

Walker, a three-time NBA All-Star, earned more than $108 million during his career before filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy two years after retirement. He then became an NBA analyst for 120 Sports in Chicago.

Scott began his NFL career in 2002 as an undrafted free agent before embarking on a broadcasting career with CBS Sports in 2012.

“GSE is providing a game-changing, interactive wealth management experience that combines financial education and planning with insights of retired athletes based on their real-life experiences, and these professional sports veterans are a complementary fit to help us achieve this goal,” said Drew Hawkins, managing director and head of GSE.

“Our specialised approach, along with the global power of Morgan Stanley's wealth management division, investment bank and private bank, enables us to help our clients make smart decisions in how they save, spend, invest, borrow and give.”

GSE, which is part of Morgan Stanley's wealth management arm, has a team of around 70 financial advisors, also known as sports and entertainment directors, handling over $31 billion in assets.

Last month, GSE held a two-day financial education session with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.