As 2024 begins and temperatures on Wall Street plummet, allow Financial Planning to transport you back to warmer days and one of the hottest wealth management events of 2023.
Financial Planning is taking a special look back at
Our walk down memory lane is a series of exclusive interviews with insiders and newsmakers conducted by Financial Planning Wealthtech Reporter Justin L. Mack,
In this clip, Mack chats with Joe McLean, the chief growth and innovation officer and managing director of Cleveland-based RIA aggregator MAI Capital Management. McLean, who said he was at Future Proof to learn about any "blind spots" in the business he needed to be aware of, also served as a panelist with
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"We were talking about life after sports, and that transition that you've got to make in terms of aspiring for that next professional locker room that we're all trying to build," McLean told Mack. "In real time, sports entertainment is becoming its own asset class that people want [to] and can invest in. … There's all kinds of opportunities, investing in sailing, pickleball, cricket, now coming to the United States."
McLean is no stranger to the intersection of sports and finance. No less than The New York Times dubbed him the "money whisperer to the super-rich NBA elite" in 2019 for his work as a financial advisor with pro athlete clients at the San Ramon, California-based Intersect Capital, which MAI Capital Management took onboard in 2022.
Financial literacy for professional athletes is key; McLean noted that not everyone grows up within a family dynamic that introduces them to such topics. But there's a growing awareness among pro athletes of what money can really do for their future.
"It's your choice to decide whether that money is going to be a burden for you or an opportunity," McLean said. "I think you're seeing more and more people grabbing a hold of that, and wanting to understand what's happening — money coming into my life and going out of my life. … How do I
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And McLean has noticed real shifts: Some athletes are turning away from status symbols to more solid investments.
"There's people actually competing in the locker room to save, and to find better opportunities, versus how many cars we drive," McLean said. "The dynamic and the mindsets are really changing."
As to what he wanted to accomplish at the festival, McLean said he was there to learn as much as possible.
"The more I can learn from other people in terms of how they're communicating and getting people to buy in and make better decisions, the better. So that's it — I'm going to keep going around booth to booth and just listening to what people are doing."
Check out the full interview below.
Future Proof, an event billed as the first wealth festival, is making its return next summer and dates for Future Proof 2024 have already been announced. The event is slated to return to Huntington Beach Sept. 15-18, 2024.
Future Proof is also expanding in the new year with the addition of Future Proof Retreat, an additional event for wealth management leaders that will take place March 24-27 in Colorado Springs.
And while you're here, make sure to check out more videos of FP @ FP:
