A Bay of Plenty financial services business managing billions in assets is targeting America’s sporting and entertainment elite, with US lawyers providing the introductions. But protecting celebrity fortunes from litigation is a legal business with some serious complications.
From the Bay of Plenty to Beverly Hills is not the usual career trajectory for a New Zealand financial services firm. But for Southpac Group, the extraordinary wealth being accumulated by American sports stars and Hollywood celebrities represents an opportunity that is difficult to ignore.
The New Zealand-headquartered business, which says it administers more than $6.8 billion in assets, is expanding into Los Angeles, targeting the lawyers, accountants and wealth advisers who look after America’s increasingly wealthy sporting and entertainment stars.
And the interesting part is that it is American lawyers who have helped open the door.
Southpac says approaches from US legal advisers seeking sophisticated asset protection arrangements for wealthy clients have encouraged its California expansion.
The firm’s strategy is to develop relationships with professional advisers rather than pursue celebrity clients directly.
When the Money Arrives Before the Financial Experience
The extraordinary athlete-earning numbers help explain the attraction.
According to Forbes’ 2026 highest-paid athletes ranking, the world’s 50 biggest sporting earners collected an estimated US$4.1 billion over the previous 12 months.
Around US$1.1 billion came from activities away from sport, including endorsements, appearances and commercial ventures.
Cristiano Ronaldo topped the list with an estimated US$300 million, while Los Angeles stars LeBron James and Shohei Ohtani were among the biggest earners.
But the real opportunity for wealth advisers is not necessarily the established superstar with a team of experienced professionals already managing a substantial fortune.
It is the young athlete who suddenly acquires millions of dollars, an expensive property portfolio, business interests and a growing collection of people offering investment opportunities.
Southpac Group lawyer and business development director Matthew Smith, (above) with NZ/UK legal qualifications, says the modern professional athlete increasingly resembles an entrepreneur rather than simply a highly paid employee.
“The modern professional athlete can look as much like an entrepreneur as a highly paid employee,” Smith says.
Alongside the playing contract, there may be property investments, equity holdings, endorsements and private business ventures.
Each creates opportunities to grow wealth. Each can also introduce legal and financial risks.
And unlike the athlete’s sporting career, commercial disputes do not necessarily end when the final whistle blows.
The Lawyers Behind the Celebrity Fortunes
For Southpac, the real business opportunity lies in the professional advisory network surrounding America’s wealthy.
The group specialises in international wealth structuring, including offshore trusts and fiduciary services associated with jurisdictions such as the Cook Islands and Nevis.
It has operated in the international trust and fiduciary sector since 1982.
Southpac CEO Mike Arand (above) says California combines two particularly attractive characteristics: substantial private wealth and a sophisticated legal advisory market.
“California is a natural market for us because it combines enormous concentrations of private wealth with a highly developed legal and advisory sector,” Arand says.
“Our strategy is to build relationships with the lawyers, accountants and wealth advisers who are already working with these clients.”
The company identifies professional baseball, basketball, American football and ice hockey players as potential clients.
But its ambitions extend beyond sport to entertainment figures and other high-net-worth individuals whose financial circumstances can change dramatically in a short period.
Offshore Trusts: Protection, Not Immunity
There is, however, an important legal distinction between legitimate asset protection planning and attempting to defeat creditors.
International trusts can form part of lawful estate planning, wealth management and asset protection arrangements. But they are not an automatic escape route from American court judgments.
California’s rules governing creditor claims, fraudulent transfers and self-settled trusts create significant considerations for lawyers advising clients on offshore structures.
As the Chambers Private Wealth 2026 California guide explains, asset protection depends heavily on the trust’s structure, the beneficiary’s rights and the circumstances in which assets are transferred.
A trust established for legitimate advance planning is a different proposition from one used to move assets beyond the reach of an existing creditor.
US tax reporting and disclosure obligations can also continue to apply to offshore arrangements.
For lawyers, the message is straightforward: international asset protection requires careful planning, proper disclosure and an understanding of how different jurisdictions treat creditors’ rights.
The attraction of offshore trusts is not that US law somehow disappears when assets cross a border. It is that different legal systems can create additional protections and practical obstacles to enforcement, depending on the circumstances.
A Growing International Market for Kiwi Expertise
Southpac’s American ambitions also reflect a broader trend in international private wealth planning.
The company has previously reported growing US interest in Cook Islands trust structures, particularly among professionals and business owners concerned about litigation exposure.
Its latest expansion takes that proposition into a particularly lucrative corner of the American economy.
The opportunity is substantial, but so is the competition. California is already home to some of the world’s most sophisticated private wealth lawyers, family offices and financial advisers.
Southpac’s challenge will be convincing those advisers that its international trust expertise offers something their existing arrangements cannot.
For a New Zealand business, it is an ambitious move into a market where fortunes can be made at remarkable speed and where preserving them can become a legal industry in its own right.
Hollywood has always been good at creating stars. Southpac is betting there is equally good business in helping their lawyers protect the money.
Source: Southpac Group media release, 13 October 2026, with additional background from Forbes, Chambers and Southpac’s published services information.
