MAI advisor Joe McLean debuts athlete podcast with Eli Manning

Joe McLean, a longtime financial advisor to professional athletes and managing partner at MAI Capital Management, has launched a new video podcast series to interview athletes about their habits to reach elite performance, leadership, business pursuits, and lessons from failure. 

Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning appears as the first guest on “The Pro’s Pro” podcast, which runs about one hour and will release new episodes on a monthly basis. McLean, who the New York Times profiled in 2019 as the “money whisperer” to NBA stars, leads MAI’s Sports and Entertainment division that counts over 570 athletes as clients. 

“You think about the traits of an athlete and what made them successful, typically, they're willing to bet on themselves, they're willing to fail over and over again and overcome that until they have success,” McLean told InvestmentNews. “All these bet on yourself attitudes, once you make it and come into some financial success, those aren't necessarily the traits you need to have to be a successful investor. You don't need to bet on yourself now and take all these extreme risks and failures, you can be a little bit more thoughtful and conservative.”

Cleveland-based MAI Capital Management now oversees about $69 billion in client assets after the RIA doubled in size last August via its merger with Evoke Advisors. McLean, now in his early 50s, played college basketball at the University of Arizona followed by professional stints in leagues across Europe and Asia before he pivoted to a career in wealth management.

“Me learning more about those athletes and their mindset has helped me become a better advisor,” said McLean. “I can't be afraid to say no to some things. You can't be afraid to get fired if you want to be a great advisor, because a lot of athletes are surrounded by people that are yes people because they want to stay in the circle. So just being direct and trustworthy I think is the number one trait.”

McLean sold his California-based RIA Intersect Capital in 2022 to MAI, which has a longstanding history serving athletes dating back to its 1973 origin story as a family office for golf star Arnold Palmer. McLean has served as a financial advisor to athletes including NBA stars Klay Thomposon, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Vucevic.

Manning, a two-time Super Bowl champion, made $252 million in salary over his 16 year career, which was the most ever for an NFL player upon his retirement in 2020. On The Pro’s Pro podcast, Manning revealed to McLean that he “tried to live off endorsements” during his playing career while investing all of his salary earnings. 

The former quarterback recently showed initial interest in buying a minority stake in the Giants before the team sold a 10% stake to Julia Koch in a deal that reportedly valued the Giants at $10 billion. McLean says that clients at MAI are "heavily" invested in the sports industry with private equity now being allowed to invest in both professional and college teams. 

“Our athletes have been a source of providing a lot of access and opportunities,” said McLean. "College sports now is on the table, which is an interesting topic in terms of colleges now putting a valuation on their football team and their basketball team and their school."