Financial management and business management do require talent.
But Lu Ke just doesn't have such talent.
Under the influence of his parents since he was a child, Lu Ke has no business acumen, nor does he have a luxury consumption concept. In the past two years, all wages and bonuses have been kept in the bank account. Occasionally small daily expenses, there are no big purchases at all. From the off-season to the playoff position, everything is completely immersed in During training and competition, even his spare time life is lackluster, let alone squandering.
In the eyes of most people, such a life is really boring - isn't making money just for spending money?
In fact, it’s not that Lu Ke doesn’t know how to spend money, it’s just that he has no obsession with luxury goods:
On Lu Zhengze’s birthday, Lu Ke gave his father a set of high-end golf equipment and registered a membership in a private golf club for his father; on Jiang Youning’s birthday, Lu Ke gave his mother a set of gardening tools and a Hermès Birkin bag, in addition to his birthday On that day, I recorded a "Happy Birthday Song" as a souvenir for my mother.
On the wedding anniversary of Lu Zhengze and Jiang Youning, Lu Ke personally booked a three-day and two-night winery trip, allowing them to go to a high-end winery in Napa Valley to enjoy and relax for a few days.
As an undrafted rookie, Lu Ke's bonus and salary were not high. He gradually became rich after signing endorsement deals with Rolex and Mercedes-Benz - but after that, Lu Ke was always sprinting with all his strength. During the Super Bowl, there was no time to squander it properly, so all the income was still sitting in the bank gathering dust.
Without confirming his bank account, Lu Ke had no real sense of his assets. So, now that Leh suddenly mentioned the financial manager, his first reaction was, "I don't need one."
But then he was stunned, and then he caught up with the rhythm of his thoughts, "You mean, next, my income may need to be taken care of by a professional financial manager, right?"
"Yes." Lech said crisply, "Bambi, on the court, you are always full of confidence and fighting spirit, and won the Super Bowl championship in one go; you should be the same off the court. No matter what happens next, Whether you stay in San Francisco or transfer to another team, you will inevitably sign a big contract; in addition, in the next period of time, endorsement contracts will also be signed one after another, and your income will soon reach the top level in the league. ”
In his understatement, Laihe didn't say much, but with the confidence that burst out from the inside out, he revealed too much information in just a few words.
Lu Ke chuckled lightly, "This is good. I am confident on the court, and you are confident off the court, and then we can help each other and complete the plan to build 'Rugby Beckham'." That cheerful voice Let Laihe couldn't help but laugh, and then Lu Ke returned to the topic, "What about Anderson?"
Lech hesitated for a moment.
The relationship between agents and players is very delicate.
First of all, the player is the employer of the agent, and the agent is the player's external spokesperson; secondly, the agent has no decision-making power, everything must be nodded by the player. If the player is not satisfied, they can also fire the agent at any time. ; Finally, agents have extensive connections in the industry. If a player offends them, they can spread negative news about the player in the industry and create obstacles for players to increase their salary and transfer. This is also a piece of cake.
Because of this, how agents and players define the relationship between friendship and partnership is a profound knowledge.
So far, Laihe has always maintained a business-like distance and has never interfered with Lu Ke's personal matters. He mainly hopes that both parties can maintain a professional attitude. From the cooperation to the present, the relationship between the two parties has also been very pleasant. It can be said that they hit it off. Lu Ke can He put his heart and soul into fighting on the court, and Lech's plan was able to work smoothly.
The matter of the financial manager involves the personal assets of the players. If the financial manager performs well, then that's it; but if the financial manager performs poorly and loses all the players' savings, the relationship between the players and their agents will inevitably become awkward - —What's more, investment matters are inherently risky. Financial managers can only estimate and control, but they cannot guarantee that they will definitely make money.
Lech said to Anderson before that Lu Ke is a smart man, he has his own judgment and is very outstanding; now he himself has not forgotten this.
After hesitating thoughts ran through his mind for a moment, Leh made a decision.
"I have never worked with Anderson, and I don't have an intuitive understanding of his vision and abilities. All the news is just rumors from the league. But you also know that rumors are always lies, otherwise Inside information on Wall Street wouldn’t be that valuable, would it?”
Lech did not comment directly.
Because he knew that unless Lu Ke asked directly, "Do you think I should hire Anderson?" Otherwise, what Lu Ke needed was not opinions but information, and then he would make judgments and decisions based on the information.
"All I know is some exact facts. After graduating from university, Anderson worked for a top financial consulting company in the industry, from a small clerk to a department manager, and qualified to become a senior partner; but last year During the offseason, he left that company and started his own business. It wasn't because he had strengthened his wings and could stand alone that he abandoned the company, but because he had another hidden agenda."
"About this matter, there are a lot of rumors in the NFL and NBA. Everyone has their own version. I know this version from Big Ben. Maybe it can be used as a reference."
"In early or mid-2007, Anderson's predecessor company received an investment project, which was a real estate project related to a resort. I don't know if you have been to Miami. After leaving Miami, there was relatively little development in other areas of Florida. Well, many immigrants who smuggled themselves over from Cuba live nearby, so the land there is very cheap. At that time, there was a business opportunity to build a resort, and the investment amount was about 10 million US dollars."
For a top-level resort, the cost of US$10 million is nothing, but if it is in the undeveloped pristine areas of Florida, US$3 million to US$5 million can be used to build a junior resort, and the investment continues to increase. It can make the resort more luxurious.
But Lu Ke knew the ending.
The real estate bubble came in 2008, and the financial crisis caused a collapse of the entire market, even affecting the world.
The movie "The Big Short" details the origin of the real estate bubble, in which four different groups predicted the financial crisis in advance and took advantage of the crisis to make a fortune; and at that time, how did those four different groups How do you know that the bubble is about to disappear? The source is Miami and the entire state of Florida.
The detailed process is very complicated to explain. To put it simply, there is an abnormal situation in Florida's real estate where a large number of people with bad credit are able to complete the purchase of a house. After they buy the house, they are unable to pay the mortgage, and then a vicious circle is formed.
Anderson chose to invest in the resort around 2007, which was a terrible decision.
For financial managers, this can be said to be a wrong decision at a professional level.
Objectively speaking, Anderson was only thirty years old at the time; and the real estate bubble swept the entire United States, and even the Wall Street elites were not aware of it. They were all inevitably reduced to cannon fodder, not to mention the young and immature Anderson. But one thing after another, any listener would inevitably be wary of suddenly hearing that Anderson had made a wrong investment decision.
Just when Lu Ke thought that Lech would defend Anderson, what Lech said next was slightly unexpected.
"Anderson thought this was a project worth investing in, and he called together a group of his most trusted customers at the time - and also his most trusted friends. He hoped that everyone could invest together. Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu ( Troy-Polamalu was one of them, and Ben also learned about this project unexpectedly and invested $300,000."
"As a result, the project failed. The ensuing real estate bubble wiped out all their investment. Polamalu invested a total of five million US dollars, but all of it was lost on the Caribbean coastline. At that time, Polamalu Ramalu has just signed a new contract, and his average annual salary is only 7.5 million."
There was no whitewashing of peace, but those simple and plain words revealed a sense of tragedy and sadness.
Nowadays, it is just a series of numbers, which seems to have no meaning at all, but placed in the time background and social situation at that time, the pessimism and despair are enough to destroy all a person's defense lines.
"Polamalu and Anderson had a complete falling out and a sworn feud."
If the story ends here, then Lu Ke obviously does not want to sign with Anderson.
For Lu Ke, Anderson was a stranger. The only information he could learn was that Anderson ruined a $10 million project. He didn't have that much wealth for Anderson to take risks and squander slowly.
"After that, Anderson still stayed in the previous company and worked intensively under the name of the company. It was not until August 2012 that he officially resigned. Before resigning, Anderson sent a letter of five million US dollars. The check was made out to Polamalu, and Ben also received a check for $300,000. Soon after, Anderson announced he was setting up his own business."
The ending wraps up a bit quickly, but the amount of information is extremely large.
In just four years, Anderson made back all his losses? This has proven his ability, so why did he leave his previous company? Is there any unknown link behind this that makes the whole story seem very fragmented?
