National Post July 30, 2005

CA finds his groove and scores off the ice Winnipeg Jets gave Grant Skinner his big break by becoming clients

By Deena Waisberg

By turning down an amateur tryout agreement (a type of free agent contract) with the Winnipeg Jets in 1979 to become an accountant, you would think Grant Skinner missed his chance at a career in professional hockey. But he made his way to the NHL anyway -- just not as a player.

Mr. Skinner is president and chief executive of Wellington West's Pro Ice Division, which provides wealth management services to professional hockey players. The framed Leafs and Team Canada jerseys on the wall behind his pool table at the far end of his Winnipeg office reveal some high-profile clients: former Toronto Maple Leafs Doug Gilmour and Dave Ellet, as well as Wade Redden of the Ottawa Senators.

Mr. Skinner also acts as a chief financial officer for his 25 clients and their families, managing all aspects of their finances, from planning and taxes to endorsements and prenuptial agreements. He has just signed on four new families, but he often deliberately limits growth of his client base. "We become very involved in our clients' lives and it's very time consuming," he says.

It's a great niche, especially because it's one the big brokerage boys can't easily muscle in on. "There are a limited number of players in the NHL and it's hard to gain access to these kids. It's really a word-of-mouth business," he says.

Mr. Skinner got the inside track because of his own hockey background. As a freshly minted chartered accountant, working at Ernst & Young in 1984, he started doing taxes for Winnipeg Jets players.

(A memento of those days is his Winnipeg Jets jersey that was signed by all the players there in 1996, the last year the Jets were an NHL team.)

Soon he was doing taxes for other players and heavyweights in the league, including Bob Goodenow, then a player agent in Detroit, who was until this week executive director of the National Hockey League Players' Association. Eventually his practice grew to include 150 national hockey league and minor league players.

It was the players, he says, who gave him the idea for his wealth management business. When salaries escalated in the 1990s, the players came to Mr. Skinner for other services. "I was asked to give estate-planning advice, assess business opportunities and track disparate assets." He started that arm of the business in the mid-'90s and then teamed up with Charlie Spiring, an old school mate and chief executive of Wellington West, to head up the Pro Ice Division in 2001. He now cherry picks his wealth management clients from his tax business.

Sports agents, Mr. Skinner says, are not competition: "Sports agents stick to their core business, which is negotiating contracts. They aren't CAs and don't have the time or expertise to manage the money and keep on top of changing tax laws."

When clients come to town, Mr. Skinner often shoots a game of pool in the office with them or shoots the breeze while seated in one of two red leather seats he bought from the old Winnipeg arena, before getting down to business at his desk.

But he and his assistant, Kimberly Senff, spend a lot more time on the phone because of the players' travel schedules.

Interestingly, last season's NHL player lockout hasn't slowed his business to a crawl.

"We saw it coming and we were prepared for it," Mr. Skinner says, pointing out he continues to work with players long after their professional careers have ended.

"The on-ice career is the asset-gathering stage, but they've got a whole lifetime ahead of them. Some, like Doug Gilmour, go on to start businesses and then have business issues to deal with," Mr. Skinner says.

That's one way to score.