Wealth management for college and professional athletes and their families
An athletic career moves money fast. Income can come early and in large amounts, and it can end sooner than anyone planned. Chris Conover founded Hudson in 2008 as a fee-only fiduciary practice. He works with athletes and their families to make that money last well past the playing years.
What Chris does, and what he does not
Chris does not negotiate endorsement deals. He manages the people who do, and he manages the money. He works alongside the agent, the attorney, and the accountant and keeps them all working from the same plan. He also makes sure the athlete and the family understand what each person is doing and what it costs.
For college athletes
Name, image, and likeness income has changed what a college athlete earns and what a family has to keep track of. Chris helps set up the basics early: a separate account for athlete income, a plan for the taxes owed on it, a spending budget the athlete can live with, and a clear record of every agreement. He also presents to Division I programs on the money decisions athletes face before they turn pro.
For professional athletes
A professional contract brings different questions. How much should be spent, and how much set aside for the years after the last contract? How should signing bonuses, income earned in several states, and deferred pay be handled? What happens to the family if there is an injury? Chris builds the answers into one plan. That plan covers cash flow, investment management, tax work with the CPA, and estate documents drafted with the family’s attorney.
For the family
Parents are often an athlete’s first advisers, and sometimes the first people asked for money. Chris works with the family directly. He helps settle who is responsible for what, how requests for help from relatives and friends get handled, and how the athlete’s wealth fits with the parents’ own retirement and estate plans. The goal is fewer surprises, and fewer hard conversations at the wrong time.
Why fee-only matters here
Athletes get pitched all the time: private deals, insurance products, business ventures from people they just met. Hudson is fee-only. Chris is paid by the families he advises, not by the products he recommends, and he acts as a fiduciary. When an opportunity shows up, he can look at it without a sales incentive attached to the answer.
Where the athlete work lives
Chris has more than 30 years in investment management, including a decade or more on Wall Street at Guardian and Van Eck. He holds a BA and an MBA from Fordham and completed coursework in behavioral economics. The athlete work also lives at Athlete GM.
Talk with Chris
Meetings are at 1 Blue Hill Plaza, 1st Floor, Pearl River, NY 10965. Schedule a conversation or call (845) 920-1600.
