Borders ex-rugby ace on the path to protecting investments

Born in Galashiels and educated in Kelso, Bryan played professionally for Melrose, before spells with Racing club de Narbonne Méditerranée in France and Sale Sharks in England.

He also won 60 caps for Scotland, captaining the team on a number of occasions, and participated in the Rugby World Cups of 1999 and 2003.

After retiring from playing, Bryan moved into coaching and was backs’ coach at Gloucester Rugby in 2005 before being promoted to head coach in June 2009.

He resigned from Gloucester three years later and joined Sale Sharks, where he took up the director of rugby post. He became head coach later in 2012.

Then, in March 2015, he left Sale and became head coach for RFU Championship side Yorkshire Carnegie.

In January 2017, Bryan announced that, at the end of the season, he was leaving rugby coaching roles to take up a job outside the game.

Today, he works with international sport stars and high-earning business people,to help protect their earnings when they move money between currencies.

Many top players receive salaries and sponsorship payments in a variety of currencies and they need to bring their money home. It’s the same for business executives who do work abroad.

Brian said the coronavirus pandemic saw the pound fall to its lowest rates in 35 years, bringing with it the risk that some household names could lose a lot of money simply by accessing their earnings at a bad time.

The Elite FX team has seen a surge of interest in its service, as players and business leaders have seen how fluctuations in currency values could lead to a crash in their personal finance.

“Elite FX provides a service to sportsmen and women that helps them maximise their earnings,” said Bryan.

“Whether it’s established players and managers or young people starting off in sport but earning large sums of money, I know from my experience that you need all the financial support you can get, or it’s overwhelming.”

“The business allows them to put risk behind them and manage their budgets with a system that’s honest and transparent. In sport, you have to make the most of what you earn in a 10-to 15-year window of a playing career.

“That can mean saving each year on their currency exposure. You’d be surprised how many people in sport aren’t aware of the value of adopting this type of strategy, and that’s where we come in.”

Coronavirus has meant foreign currency rates remain especially volatile, with more dips to the lowest rates since the financial crash still expected.

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