Lopez, 34, counts his brother Steve and sister Diana, both Olympic medalists, among his clients. While he would be happy to work with more Olympians, realistically, he knows that few meet the Swiss bank's high net worth targets.
The U.S. Olympic Committee provides all Olympians with health insurance, but the stipend each athlete is paid depends on the sport and can vary from about $6,000 to tens of thousands per year.
Even celebrity Olympians, who net lucrative sponsorships and professional contracts, often fail to plan for the future.
"The average athlete has a 15- to 20-year career with a 60-year retirement," said Jordan Waxman, a financial advisor at HighTower HSW, who works primarily with athletes with $30 million or more, including Olympians.
Waxman said his clients are laser-focused on the next game, not so much on retirement, budgeting or how to avoid being "prey for fly-by-night investment ideas."
David Emma, a professional hockey player who played in the 1992 Olympics, said he lost 80 percent of his savings in the tech bubble because his financial advisor invested the majority of his portfolio in the technology sector.
The loss decimated the nest egg Emma had saved over his decade-long career, and it drove him to pursue a career in wealth management, first at Merrill Lynch and later at HighTower.
Emma currently advises 35 professional hockey, golf and tennis athletes, including several Olympians.
"The less in the dark you are, the better," Emma said. "These guys enjoy the opportunity to be empowered, to be involved in the markets and investment decisions."
This article was provided by Reuters.