Professional cricketers are swelling the ranks of the sporting elite looking for bespoke financial services. A new alliance is helping them navigate FX.

Argentex, the foreign exchange broker for companies and institutional investors, this week signed a partnership with the Professional Cricketers’ Association that represents top-flight cricketers in England and Wales.

The Mayfair-based currencies service that launched in 2011 and has a roster of sports clients, said the exclusive deal will give players past and present access to bespoke private client services for currency transactions and advice.

The announcement comes ahead of a bonanza of international cricket, starting this week with England and Wales hosting the 10 nation Cricket World Cup, and the Ashes series playing out on UK soil later this summer.

Off the field, more sterling volatility is expected to add FX friction as the UK girds itself for a Tory leadership campaign, a new face in No 10, and Brexit's next day of reckoning on 31 October. A summer of cricket before that is a welcome diversion even for fair-weather fans.

Sports and financial services are becoming more intertwined. Sportsmen and women often have a specific income-earnings profile that creates financial planning and investment challenges. Wealth managers have also embraced sports as a way to push their brands, such as UBS with its backing of Formula 1 motor racing, or BNP Paribas' sponsorship of global tennis. (To see a collection of stories and features about these topics, click here.)

Marquee event
Like other sports franchises, cricket has become a marquee event for players and sponsors, reaching a global audience of over one billion. The broker's partnership with the PCA is a sign of the compensation players and teams are now getting, boosted by overseas contracts and sponsorship deals.

“Members of the PCA and current players are still adjusting to some of the more lucrative aspects of the sport,” said Harry Adams, group co-CEO of Argentex.

Winners of this year’s Men’s World Cup will share $10 million in prize money, the biggest pot to date. The purse for the women's event is also expected to rise to $660,000 for the winning team.

Professional cricketers are constantly moving across borders to make the most of their peak earning years. A number of English cricketers play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) off season, including the young Sussex bowler, Jofra Archer, who plays for the Rajasthan Royals.

“If a cricketer is paid $1.5m to play in the IPL, he will want his money back in sterling when he returns. Even a small percentage loss made by exchanging at the wrong time, rates or fees can be hugely punitive,” Jon Goss, head of partnershps at Argentex told WealthBriefing.

PCA members will get specialist advice on currency exchange, including converting prize money from international tournaments, and exchanging and transferring lump-sum sponsorship deals, which are often paid in dollars rather than the home currency, Argentex said.

In the last year, the firm has signed similar deals with the Rugby Players’ Association and the sports management agency ISM.

Services can span any level of a given sport, Goss said, "from the governing body, who may be converting funds from television rights for a major tournament, to the club who may be purchasing a football player, and then the player themselves, who may be remitting money to support their families."

He argues that existing retail banks charge excessive transaction fees and are not set up for the demands of these types of clients. "The world of elite athletes is built on reputation, performance and professionalism, as well as flexibility. Many clients will be in contact after hours or at weekends with various requests from the straightforward to the very complex," he said.

The firm's business in the elite sports sector has grown significantly. It is a small world, Goss said, where a good deal of word of mouth referral and trust is involved.