Jon Hayes, former president and founding father of Constellation Sports activities Council, realized someday he by no means had teammates working in his identical identical area of interest as a result of he was all the time the “specialist” on the agency when it got here to advising high-net-worth athletes.
Final yr, he determined it was time to search for a spot with a bench of advisors who understood and will even assist his apply.
“It’s humorous, I’ve had a couple of completely different vintages in my profession on the sports activities facet, and it by no means actually dawned on me that the locations that I used to be at didn’t have a sports activities specialty as a result of I used to be that sports activities specialty,” he stated.
In early April, after contemplating a couple of completely different companies, Hayes and accomplice Tim Hightower joined Cleveland-based MAI Capital Administration in its Cincinnati workplace. The pair is now poised to carry over $280 million in shopper property and be part of a bunch with many years of historical past in advising athletes.
The match additionally labored within the different path. Ed Kuresman, regional president and market chief at MAI Capital Administration, stated he had lengthy admired Constellation Sports activities Council’s work and was glad to listen to that Hayes and Hightower had been on the lookout for a brand new dwelling.
“I used to be an admirer from afar when it comes to the enterprise he was operating,” Kuresman stated. “In my thoughts I used to be pondering, ‘Wouldn’t it’s neat sometime (to work with them).’”
A former faculty athlete, Hayes joined Reinhart Companions out of Mequon, Wis., because the director of professional sports activities in 2008, with Reinhart later altering its identify to Pegasus Companions. He began Constellation Sports activities Council in 2021 with Hightower, with the 2 of them operating that apply as a part of the bigger Constellation Wealth Advisors, a Cincinnati-based RIA.
Hayes is now a senior wealth advisor and managing director with MAI Capital, and Hightower is a wealth specialist and senior affiliate. They work with athletes, together with former NBA three-point specialist Ray Allen, two-time NBA champion David West and MLB Corridor of Famer Barry Larkin.
MAI Capital advises 16 Corridor of Fame athletes, executives and purchasers throughout 13 skilled sports activities leagues.
Hayes stated there are nuances to offering monetary recommendation to athletes, similar to easy methods to advise them on their funds and planning once they make the bulk of their earnings between the ages of 20 and 28.
“It’s a really completely different profession arc and a really completely different pay cycle to handle,” he stated.
Hayes has additionally been contemplating his personal time on the enjoying subject. He stated an NBA participant and his fiancé, who’re purchasers, not too long ago requested him, “What would we ever do if one thing occurred to you?”
“That encapsulated one of many causes we went to MAI,” Hayes stated.
Kuresman and Hayes additionally spoke to what they see as a burgeoning marketplace for advising skilled athletes. They famous potential staff enlargement within the U.S. with cities like Las Vegas and Nashville, worldwide development into account in cities like Mexico Metropolis, and the rise of gambling-related advertising and marketing alternatives and income streams.
“That cake is getting baked with quite a lot of elements that will point out that is an business that may proceed on an upward curve,” Hayes stated.
MAI Capital oversees over $30 billion in shopper property throughout 24 places of work. It has been steadily buying RIA’s throughout completely different apply varieties, together with a $1.2 billion fee-only RIA Halpern Monetary in October 2024, its eighth acquisition of the yr.
Republic Capital Group suggested Constellation Wealth on the transaction by which Hayes and Hightower left.
