50 Ways to Bank

Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of the NBA’s best young players. The 7-foot-tall Greek-born forward has already won two MVP awards and one championship at just 27. His on-court earnings are in the tens of millions annually, and his many lucrative endorsement deals. Until recently, Giannis also held accounts at over 50 different banking institutions.

The young NBA star, aware of the FDIC insurance limit of $250,000, did not want to exceed that amount at any one bank. So he decided to solve this problem by opening over 50 separate accounts at both national and smaller local banks. Diversification is a good thing, right?

After hearing about this, Milwaukee Bucks team owner, Marc Lasry, decided it was time to help his young superstar with a financial literacy lesson. Lasry, a professional financier who has made billions running a New York-based private equity firm, sat Antetokounmpo down and told him that what he was doing was greatly complicating his financial situation. The personal advice Lasry offered was to purchase US Treasuries, where it has full backing from the US Treasury, large sums can be invested without separate accounts, and the bonds can earn higher yields.

Lasry has since decided to make financial education part of being a Milwaukee Bucks team member. “I now spend a lot of time with them explaining where they should invest.” He recently told a conference audience in New York.

Antetokounmpo grew up in poverty during the height of Greece’s financial and debt crisis. As a result, he had good reason to be skeptical of any banking system and lacked a high-level financial knowledge despite amassing generational wealth.

Giannis is also a millennial. And according to a recent study by Blackrock, millennials nationwide are saving for retirement but choosing to keep on average 65% of their long-term money in cash. This is despite the decades these young investors have ahead of them and the fear of inflation diminishing that value of time. So whether it is a generational mindset or our own experiences, we all have something that causes us to use and invest money the way we do.

Basketball stars, along with nearly every other professional career, require a massive commitment of time to reach the skill and experience needed for success. Financial education can be complex and is constantly changing. It is certainly possible to manage your finances, but it takes time that could be spent elsewhere. Even then, it is hard to tell if the path you are taking is the easiest and best way to get where you want to go.

When establishing any investment plan, it is best to seek the advice of a fiduciary advisor, even if only for a second opinion. You may not have 50 bank accounts and a history of growing up in Greece during the financial crisis, but your personal situation is still unique. The online solutions may not be exactly the ones for you and your family. Much of the time, there is a more straightforward way.