Luke Harangody’s No. 44 jersey may be hanging in the rafters of Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion, but he carries himself like it's still draped across his wide shoulders as he talks about finding confidence in his second career from a
When asked about making the transition from collegiate and professional basketball star to quick-rising rookie at the Midwest TAMP, the 6-foot-8 former
That exhale is followed by a cadence of movements and mannerisms that resemble a humble athlete recapping a highlight reel performance to a room full of reporters during a post-game scrum. Taps of his fingers on a conference table — standing in for a podium engulfed by microphones — are paired with statements about finding his game, trusting the process and being propelled by the competitive spirit that exists within the world of financial services.
“I don't think anything is ever going to fulfill me like athletics … but I think the great thing about working here at GeoWealth is that we're still a fairly new company, so there are still certain roles to be filled,” Harangody told Financial Planning. “And let's be honest. There is a target on your back when you’re someone coming into the financial world who doesn't have any experience. But I think over this past year, I've proven myself. I've thrown myself into this, and I've kept my head down. It's a humbling experience.”
But wherever there is a star player too humble to brashly toot their own horn, a proud coach willing and ready to do some bragging is somewhere nearby. Playing the role of coach to Harangody at GeoWealth is company president and fellow
The two men shared the court together in a previous life. Falls was a senior team leader and Notre Dame’s most prolific three-point shooter in history when Harangody arrived in South Bend, Indiana, as a freshman for the 2006-2007 season.
Letting him tell it, Falls sees big things in the off-the-court future of his second-time teammate, just like he did years ago when he first saw him on the hardwood.
“When I introduced Luke to the team about a year ago, I removed myself from the interviewing process, so the real question was our chief operating officer. Is he really going to buy into this? Is he going to buy into a guy that has made millions of dollars coming in to start an entry \-level job?” Falls said. “But it was evident that Luke was someone who was willing to work.
“He’s the first one in the office. He's a grinder. He soaks up information. He won't say it because he’s humble, but his trajectory at GeoWealth is very high.”
And with the same quiet confidence that marked his run as a three time All-American for Notre Dame, Harangody nodded and lowered his head while letting out a slight grin as Falls spoke. His body language expressed both discomfort at the lofty praise and an eagerness to get up from the table to continue earning it.
“There were humbling times. But now I've almost been here for a year, and I’m getting more confident,” Harangody said. “And I think that somebody with my background and my work ethic … it’s dangerous when I get confident and I get an understanding of the industry. It’s fun at the same time.”
Life after basketball
As the annual NCAA Tournament begins, Harangody’s March Madness is now confined to office pools and bracket talk with his colleagues.
It’s a role the tournament mainstay didn’t know he would be playing after his basketball career came to an end in his early 30s, but one that has provided him the jolt he needed after retirement brought his daily grind to a grinding halt.
After graduating from Notre Dame in 2010 as the first-ever Fighting Irish player to be inducted into the
“I told my wife before I retired how excited I was to have some time away from all the grinding from being at Notre Dame and playing professionally. And I was miserable,” Harangody said with a laugh. “You can only golf so many times.”
As Harangody struggled to come to grips with his much slower daily schedule, he continued to stay in touch with his former teammate and mentor Falls. About six months after declaring that he was stepping away from the game he loved, Harangody mulled the possibility of entering a new game after a friendly chat between teammates.
“At this point, I'm 33 years old, and I'm done playing, but I don't have any real-world experience or professional skills. I have the soft skills, and I have the work ethic, but I don't have anything in the experience column,” Harangody said. “Colin brought up the idea of possibly taking on a career GeoWealth, but it was something I've never really thought about before because our relationship up to that point was 100% social.”
Overtime
Still unsure if this was the right move for him and how’d fit into an “office atmosphere,” Harangody met with more members of the GeoWealth family, many of them fellow former athletes who have seen success upon switching from PPG to AUM.
In addition to Harangody and Falls, GeoWealth boasts a roster that includes two more NCAA men’s basketball players; Notre Dame men’s and women’s tennis players; an NCAA track and field athlete; and the former-captain of the women’s ice hockey team at Providence College. The company will highlight these employees throughout the month of March on social media.
With so many athletes under one roof, Falls said sports have become a big part of the company culture. But the arrival of these competitive personalities came organically as GeoWealth grew to the 75-person company that it is today.
“I wouldn't say that we targeted athletes, but I do think that when you're starting to fill roles and you're comparing resumes and you’re comparing interview candidates, there's something that sticks out about it,” Falls said. “I think having our career trajectories and our history, there's a dependability that comes along with that. For example, if you can play hockey at Providence for four years, you understand that there's probably some very good attributes that come along with that in terms of teamwork, selflessness, toughness, the willingness to grind and be part of a team. And I think that radiates throughout the culture at the company.”
GeoWealth’s head coach also has big goals for his team. The company is primarily a software company, building a tech stack for RIAs in-house rather than integrating with third-party vendors.
Since launching in 2018, the J.P. Morgan Asset Management-backed company has grown to more than $18 billion in platform assets and $8 billion in AUM. Falls said those figures are four to five times better than they were roughly three years ago, and the plan is to keep that momentum going.
In November 2021,
“We did our series B round to basically accelerate everywhere … and when we talk about the TAMP space exploding, in terms of growth I think we're still in the early innings of that,” Falls said. “We feel that if you look at the competitive landscape, there's a large number of incumbents, and there really haven't been many firms to carve out that they can really challenge those incumbents. I think with the products we built with the team, we've capitalized and we’re focused on the right things. There's another decade of growth ahead of us, so it’s a really exciting time.”
As far as where he fits into that growth, Harangody puts the good of the team front and center while making it clear he also has personal goals for himself.
“I think at the beginning, it was like drinking from a fire hose for a time. But it’s fun. We're growing at such a rapid pace, and there's potential here to grow and to really find your niche within the company,” he said with another tap of the conference table. “I've shown people that I belong here, and I see that athlete moniker kind of going away, and it's a goal for me. I tell people all the time, my playing career is going to be such a small part of my life. What I do afterwards is going to be very important.”
Falls, the proud coach, one again throws his support behind his promising rookie.
“For people who have such a successful career, it's tough to transition and be as successful in the next phase of life,” Falls said. “I would bet on Luke to do that.”
