Who We Serve
Athletes
Professional athletes face a financial reality unlike almost anyone else: high income, compressed into a short window, earned across multiple jurisdictions, with a career transition coming whether you’re ready for it or not. At Sartorial Wealth, we work with professional athletes in both Canada and the United States who need more than a standard wealth manager, they need a team that understands the pace, the complexity, and the stakes.
Using our Bespoke Process, we custom-build every strategy around your specific situation. Because no two athletes’ financial lives are the same, and a plan built for someone else won’t protect yours.
The Window is Shorter Than You Think
The average professional sports career spans between 3 and 5.5 years depending on the league. That means the income you earn now needs to work for the 40+ years that come after. Without a coordinated plan, one that accounts for taxes in multiple jurisdictions, cross-border account structures, post-career income, and long-term wealth protection, that window closes faster than it should.
Why Cross-Border Planning Matters for Athletes
Playing in both Canada and the U.S., whether during your career or after, creates financial complexity that most advisors aren’t equipped to handle. As a professional athlete, you may be navigating: income earned and taxed in multiple provinces and states; retirement accounts on both sides of the border that need to be coordinated; cross-border investment structures that affect how your portfolio is taxed; estate planning that needs to hold up in both countries; and tax treaties that only work in your favour if someone’s actually applying them correctly.
We are dual-registered in both Canada and the United States, which means we can manage your financial life across both systems, not just hand you off when it gets complicated.
Core Areas of Planning
Investment & Asset Management
We manage your portfolio using The Sartorial Method, a disciplined, evidence-based investment process that removes emotion from the equation. For athletes with cross-border income and accounts, we build structures that are tax-efficient under both Canadian and U.S. rules, with investment strategies that align with your timeline and goals.
Cash Flow & Lifestyle Management
Most athletes didn’t get where they are by loving spreadsheets. We handle the financial infrastructure that keeps your life running, budgeting, expense management, monthly reporting, debt elimination strategies, and the day-to-day financial organization that frees you to focus on your game. We use purpose-built tools and platforms to manage it all on your behalf.
Financial Planning
Everything starts with a plan. We build a comprehensive, long-term strategy tailored to your career trajectory, lifestyle goals, and post-career vision, whether that means funding a foundation, acquiring real estate, supporting family, or simply knowing your wealth will outlast your playing days. The plan is detailed where it needs to be, and simple enough to actually follow.
Tax Planning & Optimization
Tax is the largest financial obligation most athletes face over a lifetime, and one of the most manageable with the right strategy. We work alongside cross-border tax professionals to coordinate your filings in Canada and the U.S., identify deferral opportunities, structure income efficiently across jurisdictions, and navigate multi-state and multi-province obligations. Areas we address include: tax deferral strategies, estate and immigrant tax, domestic and family trusts, cross-border and multi-state tax planning, personal and corporate tax planning, and income splitting.
Retirement & Career Transition Planning
Retirement for an athlete often comes in your 30s. That means decades of post-career life to plan for. We help you build a retirement strategy that reflects your actual timeline, not a generic one, including how your Canadian and U.S. retirement accounts interact, when and how to draw from them, and how to structure the transition from active income to investment income without creating unnecessary tax events.
Protection: Insurance & Estate Planning
Protecting what you’ve built means planning for what you can’t predict. We coordinate with insurance and estate specialists to ensure you and your loved ones are covered, life, disability, critical illness, long-term care, and travel insurance, alongside estate planning strategies that minimize probate, gift, and income tax exposure. This includes powers of attorney, executor selection, wills, prenuptial agreements, and referrals to qualified legal professionals.
Charitable Giving & Legacy
Many athletes want their success to mean something beyond the game. We help you structure your philanthropic initiatives in a way that aligns with your values and your tax situation, whether that means facilitating donations to causes you care about or helping you establish and manage a foundation in your name.
Who We Work With
Active professional athletes in the NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB, MLS, and other leagues playing in Canada and the U.S. Athletes managing income, contracts, or endorsements across multiple jurisdictions. Retired athletes navigating the financial transition out of professional sport. Athletes who have experienced sudden wealth and need a coordinated plan that actually holds up long-term. Athletes with families or philanthropic goals that require careful estate and legacy planning.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
How does playing in both Canada and the U.S. affect my taxes?
Significantly. Income earned in each province and state may be subject to local tax, and your overall filing obligations depend on your residency status, where your contracts are structured, and how your accounts are set up. We coordinate with cross-border tax professionals to ensure everything is filed correctly and efficiently.
I already have an agent and an accountant. Do I need a wealth manager too?
Your agent negotiates contracts. Your accountant files taxes. A wealth manager builds and manages the financial strategy that sits between those two — investments, retirement planning, cash flow, insurance, estate planning, and long-term coordination. These roles work best together, and we’re experienced at working alongside your existing team.
What happens to my retirement accounts when I move between Canada and the U.S.?
This is one of the most common gaps we see. Retirement accounts that work well in one country can create tax complications in the other. We help you understand how your existing accounts will be treated, what needs to be restructured, and how to build a retirement plan that works across both systems.
How early should I start planning?
As early as possible. The earlier in your career we can put a coordinated strategy in place, the more options you have, particularly around tax deferral, investment structuring, and building post-career income streams. Waiting until the end of your career limits those options considerably.