Following on from launching its dedicated retirement plan division, VestGen Wealth Partners has introduced a new service aimed at professional athletes whose earnings can spike and collapse in the span of a season.
The new offering, VestGen Athlete, aims to merge advisor-succession planning with the increasingly unpredictable financial needs of professional athletes, college players navigating the NIL boom, and former pros rebuilding after retirement.
Through a strategic partnership with the Athlete Collective, a sports marketing agency specializing in helping athletes build and monetize their platforms, the RIA is positioning the initiative as a response to the instability of modern sports careers, especially as younger athletes face large financial decisions far earlier than previous generations.
The program will be led by Cole Dow, a former football player and co-founder of Athlete Collective.
“Fewer than 2% of college athletes make it to the pros-and even for those who do, careers can be short,” Dow says. “That's why our focus is bigger than a season or even a contract.”
The firm says the offering goes beyond investment management, pulling in financial planning and family advisory support, and incorporating estate and tax work, insurance and risk management around personalized brand-building efforts. This combined approach is built to withstand inevitable disruptions such as injuries, performance swings or career pivots into entrepreneurship.
Josh Gerry, VestGen’s founder and CEO, pointed to the speed at which NIL money is reshaping athletes’ financial lives.
“NIL is creating sudden wealth and new risks overnight, while pros can see fortunes rise and fall just as fast,” he says. “That reality demands advisors who understand the nuance of the sports world. By pairing Cole's experience with VestGen's comprehensive planning platform, we're giving athletes a single, trusted team to build a brand, protect wealth, and create an enduring legacy."
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