Trust Without Knowledge

I’ve watched CEOs lose companies, athletes lose millions, entrepreneurs discover they were robbed blind – all by people they trusted. And now we’re doing it again with our NIL athletes.

We’re now asking athletes to make long-term financial decisions about large sums of money. A logical step is for an athlete and their family to seek out a wealth manager or financial advisor.

How do we protect them? How do we know if the advice they’re receiving from friends, agents, or advisors is actually in the athlete’s best interest?

I’ve seen firsthand how agents and wealth managers, people these individuals trusted, took everything. CEOs lost their companies. An athlete waking up to the IRS knocking on his door to take everything (yes, that actually does happen). All because they didn’t “know enough” to believe they could push back or question the “expert.”

Trust without knowledge is an extremely dangerous thing.

As I’ve shown countless people, if a person has a solid understanding of their day-to-day money, it’s very difficult for someone to take advantage of them in any area of their financial life. After working with clients and allowing them the space to develop financial confidence, they realized they could be a ‘money person.’ While they don’t have to be the financial manager, they had the confidence to look over financial information rather than gloss over it. They had the right to push back, question and spot bad advice.

A solid financial foundation affords someone the confidence to stand up for themselves and speak intelligently on financial matters relating to their money, even without the expertise in areas like ‘retirement’, ‘the market’ or ‘IRAs.’

Foundation doesn’t mean you manage everything yourself. It means you can’t be taken advantage of because you know enough to ask the right questions.