Merrill Partners With Florida School to Reach Student-Athletes Early
The wealth management unit will provide educational sessions and self-study materials to students at IMG Academy.
Merrill Wealth Management has entered into a three-year partnership with IMG Academy, a Florida-based boarding and preparatory school, to provide its student-athletes with financial education.
The goal of the partnership, according to the announcement, is to bring financial education and practical resources to IMG students while they are still in high school and preparing for college.
Since opening in 1978, IMG Academy has trained hundreds of Olympic and professional athletes, including pros in the NBA, NFL, MLB and other major sports leagues in the United States and abroad. The school also helps to place tens of thousands of student-athletes onto college athletic rosters annually through online programming, according to the announcement.
The curriculum will include educational sessions, self-study materials, and an opportunity for students and their families to meet with a Merrill advisor.
What they’re saying: The program aims to provide “actionable financial education to IMG Academy student-athletes that can help them throughout their student-athlete journey and in life,” said Greg McGauley, head of Merrill Private Wealth Management.
The core of the curriculum will be based on Bank of America’s free financial education resource, Better Money Habits. It will cover such topics as the basics of savings and spending, how to manage credit, and general investing information.
“Given the modern high school and collegiate student-athlete landscape, it is becoming increasingly important to develop financial literacy at a younger age,” said Brent Richard, CEO of IMG Academy.
What to know: Many firms in the wealth management space see the winning and retention of high-net-worth clients as a fundamental part of their growth strategy. Such clients include business owners, C-suite executives and families with substantial legacy wealth — as well as professional athletes and entertainers.
To this end, Merrill’s wealth unit launched a dedicated sports and entertainment group in 2021. Other firms have done the same, including both big wirehouse rivals and independent RIAs.
The move into this market segment is unfolding at a time when major rule changes by the NCAA have allowed elite student-athletes to earn potentially substantial amounts of money from “name, image and likeness” deals. A settlement deal reached in late May, still awaiting final approval, would allow schools in the “Power 5″ conferences to pay student-athletes. Contract values for professional athletes continue to break records as well.
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