Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment Teams Up with Former Professional Athletes

Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment (GSE) announced today that former NFL linebacker Bart Scott and former NBA forward Antoine Walker will serve as consultants for the division, helping to provide insight to clients and Financial Advisors based on their first-hand experience with the financial opportunities and challenges encountered by professional athletes. In this role, both Walker and Scott are participating in the rollout of GSE programs, including a financial education program tailored to the unique needs of those in the sports and entertainment fields.

GSE’s consulting relationship with Scott and Walker is part of the division’s commitment to provide experience, tools and resources that help meet sports and entertainment professionals’ unique wealth management needs. Their personal experiences with navigating financial issues that come from sudden wealth and careers spanning varied timeframes – along with the social, mental and physical demands of their professions – will complement the experience of GSE’s Financial Advisors, who by virtue of their knowledge and education are designated as Sports and Entertainment Directors.

Both Walker and Scott bring unique sets of experiences to GSE as they led different professional career paths with varying degrees of financial success. On the heels of winning the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship at the University of Kentucky, Walker was the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft. He played 13 seasons in the NBA, was a three-time NBA All-Star and won an NBA Championship with the Miami Heat in 2006. After earning more than $108 million during his career, Walker filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy two years after retirement. Since then, he has regained footing working as an NBA Analyst for 120 Sports in Chicago. Walker is committed to helping others avoid the mistakes he made and is teaming up with GSE to tell his story. Scott began his NFL career in 2002 as an undrafted free agent, played 11 seasons and was selected to the 2006 Pro Bowl. After the NFL, Scott embarked on a broadcasting career with CBS Sports beginning in 2012.

“We are thrilled to have Antoine and Bart affiliated with our team to provide first-hand insights on the financial realities athletes face during their playing careers and beyond,” said Drew Hawkins, Managing Director and Head of Global Sports & Entertainment. “GSE is providing a game-changing, interactive wealth management experience that combines financial education and planning with insights of retired athletes based on their real-life experiences, and these professional sports veterans are a complementary fit to help us achieve this goal. Our specialized approach, along with the global power of Morgan Stanley's Wealth Management Division, Investment Bank and Private Bank, enables us to help our clients make smart decisions in how they save, spend, invest, borrow and give.”

Empowering Athletes and Entertainers through Financial Education

The Morgan Stanley GSE Financial Education Program, announced in November 2014, is a tailored financial literacy initiative dedicated to educating and empowering athletes and entertainers at all levels to help them make smart decisions and take control of their financial futures. The program features important educational information along with real conversations with former professional athletes, Bart Scott and Antoine Walker, allowing the course to resonate in an authentic manner without the use of complex theories, jargon or sales pitches. Earlier this year, Scott participated in a successful pilot of the program at Boston College for its men’s basketball and hockey teams.

“As an institution of higher education, our upmost responsibility is to prepare our students for life after college − whether they are a point guard in the NBA or teaching algebra in a public high school,” said Alison Quandt, Assistant Athletic Director, Student Athlete Development, Boston College. “With GSE’s financial education program, our student athletes had the opportunity to directly engage with former pros in order to learn real-life lessons about financial responsibility. As a result, we started an important dialogue among the students, their coaches and administrators that continues today.”

GSE has since expanded the program to the professional level, and last month held a two-day financial education session with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.

“Helping our players succeed on and off the field has always been a priority for the Jacksonville Jaguars,” said Marcus Pollard, Director of Player Engagement & Youth Football, Jacksonville Jaguars. “While we accomplish this in a number of ways, the Financial Education program recently delivered by Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment empowered our rookies with the knowledge needed to make smart decisions – and the perspectives shared by Antoine Walker and Bart Scott made the discussion real and actionable.”

Announced in November 2014, Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment (GSE) is a division of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management dedicated to serving the unique and sophisticated needs of professional athletes and entertainers. With approximately 70 designated Sports and Entertainment Directors nationwide with an average of 22 years of experience who are handling over $31 Billion in assets¹, GSE’s Directors are seasoned professionals in wealth management, as well as the sports and entertainment fields, and have access to the full scope of Morgan Stanley’s products and services to provide clients with a range of financial offerings specifically designed to help meet these professionals’ exceptional needs. For further information, please visit Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment.

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, a global leader, provides access to a wide range of products and services to individuals, businesses, and institutions, including brokerage and investment advisory services, financial and wealth planning, banking services, annuities and insurance, retirement and trust services.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 43 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.