Asset management is a crucial issue for elite sportspeople, whose careers, while lucrative, are often short and subject to many uncertainties. With an average working life of 10 to 15 years, the income of these athletes comes mainly from salaries and the exploitation of their image rights.
These resources, while important, need to be carefully managed to secure their future and ensure a smooth transition to their sporting retirement. Rigorous financial planning from the start of an athlete's career is essential to save part of their earnings, optimise taxation, preserve confidentiality and cater for their international mobility.
Wealth management is a crucial issue for elite sportspeople, whose careers, although lucrative, are often short and subject to many uncertainties.
This progressive and evolving management must also anticipate the need for the athlete, at the end of his sporting career, to generate additional income to compensate for the loss of activity.
Taxation represents a major challenge in this planning process. Income earned by professional sportsmen and women is often taxed in the country where the activity is carried out, in accordance with the principle of taxation at source laid down by the OECD, even where there is a limited physical presence in that country. This specificity can give rise to situations of double taxation, particularly when it conflicts with the principle of worldwide taxation linked to the athlete's tax residence. An effective wealth management strategy must therefore anticipate these complexities and propose appropriate solutions to minimise the risks, while respecting the legal and tax frameworks of the various jurisdictions. Added to this are confidentiality considerations, as the notoriety of sportspeople means that they are particularly exposed to the risks associated with the disclosure of their personal information and assets.
Against this backdrop, Luxembourg life insurance and capitalisation policies are perfectly suited to the needs of elite sportspeople.
Life insurance offers unique flexibility thanks to its portability: it follows changes in the elite athlete's tax residence without the need to surrender the policy, while benefiting from the tax neutrality specific to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
During an athlete's sporting career, life insurance is an effective way of building up solid savings through regular or occasional payments into the policy. Luxembourg also boasts one of the most diversified investment universes in Europe, offering the possibility of diversifying the underlying assets while aligning them with the athlete's values, notably via ESG assets, private equity and others.
Once the athlete's career is over, it guarantees income management via one-off or scheduled partial redemptions according to the athlete's needs, ensuring a controlled financial transition.
It also meets the requirements of asset protection and enhancement, while offering maximum confidentiality thanks to Luxembourg professional secrecy and the exclusion of the life insurance policy from the register of beneficial owners.
For athletes who choose to manage and optimise the commercial enhancement of their image via a dedicated structure, commonly known as a "star company", the Luxembourg capitalisation contract is in turn an additional tool of choice in the management of company assets. It offers simplified accounting and optimum cash management. What's more, depending on the country in which the company is established, the funds invested in the contract can benefit from the capitalisation effect, allowing assets to grow without immediate taxation.
Luxembourg life assurance and capitalisation policies are a winning combination for elite sportsmen and women.
In addition, thanks to the freedom to provide services, the wealth advisor who distributed the athlete's life insurance or capitalisation policy can continue to monitor and manage his or her assets, even if he or she changes tax residence or moves abroad.
In conclusion, Luxembourg life insurance and capitalisation policies are a winning combination for elite sportsmen and women. Together, these tools constitute a real "decisive pass" for transforming sporting success into lasting financial security. They enable athletes to prepare for the future with peace of mind, by protecting not only their assets but also their reputation and discretion".