College and professional athletes may be clients financial advisors love to get, but many also find good homes on the other side of the desk.

Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, for example, is discovering that its three-year, $1.5 million sponsorship, through 2017, of the Collegiate Rugby Championship, is not only getting the company's name out there, but is bringing in some enthusiastic new hires.

Erin Sinclair, who played rugby at the University of Kansas, started with Penn Mutual about two months ago. Sinclair brings the same passion for rugby to tackling insurance sales.

“Rugby players are used to performing under pressure; we’re very driven,” Sinclair said. “All athletes are driven.”

Attracting athletes to the ranks also has other benefits. As advisors, they can tap into their network of former and current players. Having a former high-level athlete on board also telegraphs to clients that the firm understands the needs of players and is reputable.

Another former athlete with Penn Mutual, Adam Paoli, joined soon after he graduated from Northwestern University, where he played football all four years despite five knee surgeries. Paoli said his persistence gave him the discipline and faith to keep going as an advisor, even in the early years.

“That competitive spirit doesn’t die in you,” Paoli said.

Jon Rotter, co-founder of Penn Mutual’s The Heartland Group, in Chicago, recruited Adam.

Athletes, he said, are used to being coached so they take direction well and their competitive spirit means they are self starters who do not need their hands held every step of the way.

“We look for people who possess the traits that we can’t train,” Rotter said.

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