Asset Protection Trusts in Focus as Kiwi Firm Targets US Sports Stars and Hollywood

A Bay of Plenty financial services company administering more than $6.8 billion in assets is expanding into California’s sports and entertainment market, seeking to work with advisers to professional athletes and Hollywood figures whose fortunes can grow rapidly.

Southpac Group is pursuing opportunities in Los Angeles after approaches from US lawyers seeking ways to safeguard the increasingly complex assets of wealthy clients. The expansion, which has been featured on TVNZ Breakfast, brings asset protection trusts into focus for sportspeople and entertainers whose financial interests extend well beyond their main careers.

Rather than approaching celebrities directly, the New Zealand-headquartered firm intends to develop relationships with the lawyers, accountants and wealth advisers already managing their affairs. The strategy centres on identifying circumstances in which international trust structures may be suitable.

Asset protection trusts draw interest from US advisers

Southpac Group chief executive Mike Arand says the company is responding to a growing need among professional advisers whose clients have acquired considerable wealth in a short period.

“We are seeing increasing interest from advisers whose clients can accumulate substantial wealth very quickly, but whose asset protection measures may not have kept pace with that growth.

“California is a natural market for us because it combines enormous concentrations of private wealth with a highly developed legal and advisory sector. Our strategy is to build relationships with the lawyers, accountants and wealth advisers who are already working with these clients and can identify when more robust asset protection structures such as international trusts may be appropriate.”

The firm says initial enquiries have come from US legal professionals seeking asset protection trusts for clients with rapidly increasing wealth.

Top athletes earn US$4.1 billion in a year

The scale of wealth accumulating in professional sport provides a backdrop to the company’s US strategy. According to Forbes’ 2026 analysis of the world’s 50 highest-paid athletes, the group earned an estimated US$4.1 billion over the 12 months to May 2026, compared with US$1.9 billion for the equivalent ranking in 2017.

Of the 2026 total, US$1.1 billion was generated away from competition through activities such as endorsements, appearances and business interests. More than half of the athletes in the ranking were younger than 30, demonstrating how early substantial earning power can arrive.

Matthew Smith, Southpac Group lawyer and director of business development, says the financial affairs of elite athletes increasingly resemble those of entrepreneurs, with investments and commercial relationships developing alongside playing contracts.

“The modern professional athlete can look as much like an entrepreneur as a highly paid employee, because alongside the playing contract there can be property, private investments, equity stakes, endorsement income and direct ownership interests in businesses.

“That creates a much broader range of opportunities for them to build wealth beyond sport, which is obviously positive, but it also means there are more moving parts in their financial lives and more places where a commercial dispute or legal problem can potentially arise.”

Investment deals, not on-field disputes, are the concern

Southpac’s discussions with American advisers have identified professional baseball, basketball, American football and ice hockey players as potential clients. Smith says the principal exposure being discussed is not typically connected to incidents during matches or training.

Instead, property purchases, private investments and interests in businesses can create financial obligations and disputes outside an athlete’s sporting career.

Smith says some sportspeople begin receiving multimillion-dollar incomes while still in their teens, creating an unusually compressed period in which to establish appropriate financial arrangements. Asset protection trusts are among the structures advisers may consider as a client’s holdings become more varied, although suitability depends on individual circumstances.

“The issue is not that these people do not understand money. It is that their level of wealth and the complexity around it can increase much faster than would normally happen for someone building their assets gradually over 20 or 30 years.”

Southpac’s approach puts the emphasis on advisers who can assess individual holdings and decide whether asset protection trusts may be appropriate for a client’s circumstances.

California’s litigation costs add to the focus on protection

California also presents a substantial legal and commercial environment for high-net-worth individuals. A Brattle Group study prepared for the US Chamber Institute for Legal Reform estimated the state’s tort-system costs at approximately US$72.3 billion in 2022, equivalent to US$5,429 per household. Those are statewide costs, not a measure of the litigation risk facing any individual client.

Smith says the state’s combination of substantial private wealth and established legal advisory networks makes asset protection trusts part of a wider discussion about managing complex holdings and commercial risk.

“California has an extraordinary concentration of private wealth across a number of sectors, but it is also an environment where litigation risk is something advisers and their clients are already accustomed to thinking about.

“When those two things come together, asset protection becomes a much more relevant part of the wider conversation, particularly for people who have significant property holdings, private investments or business interests.”

For Southpac Group, the immediate priority is building referral relationships with California advisers rather than pursuing individual celebrities or athletes directly.

Financial services PR and international business communications

Impact PR is an Auckland-based New Zealand public relations agency appointed by Southpac Group in July 2026 to support its international communications programme. Its work with the financial services firm covers media relations, reputation management and thought leadership, including communicating complex asset protection and wealth planning subjects. Explaining these services to journalists and business audiences requires accurate descriptions of financial structures, well-supported claims and credible spokesperson commentary. Impact PR provides business positioning and media engagement through its corporate PR specialists. These services can help companies entering international markets communicate with professional advisers, prospective clients and other stakeholders. Asset protection trusts are an example of a specialist financial subject where precise, accessible communication matters.