Ramon Vega Now: Update on Swiss Footballer and Asset Manager. If finews.com is to be believed, Ramon Vega’s career as a fund manager has not been going well. He says Brexit, or the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, is to blame but finews.com says that it ain’t just about Brexit.

Meanwhile, in June 2022, the Daily Star has a quote by Vega on why decided to close his firm: “This is not something I decided yesterday. I’ve been trying to close it in the last two to three years. There’s nothing particularly wrong, I’m just going in a different direction. When Brexit came in place and everything was uncertain regarding tax and regulation, there was also a question mark whether you should have this type of business in London. With smaller firms, you just don’t know what will happen and I decided to get out.”

So what’s our Swiss footballer doing these days? Well, according to his LinkedIn profile, he continues to be a board advisor for Creed and Bear, a Dubai-based IT Services and IT Consulting company. He is also a senior advisor for the Aventus Network, a software development firm based in London.

In 2019, Vega wanted to challenge incumbent FIFA president Gianni Infantino but he did not garner enough support to be included in the ballot. Infantino was re-elected as he was the only one whose name was in the ballot.

But Vega hasn’t given up yet, he hopes to contest the position in the future. In an interview with worldsoccer.com, he tells us more about his plans: “FIFA is a closed shop. I’m an outsider and I’m up against a cartel. I’ve spent my own money travelling around the world speaking to associations and they want change. They are not happy with the current system but they’re too scared to speak out. They’re scared that the money they’ve been promised will be withheld. However my ambition remains the same in that I’ll return to my hometown of Zurich in four years’ time as FIFA president and nearer the time I’ll speak to you again.”

He sure looks good in a suit, doesn’t he?

Ramon and wife Claudia attending a Football for Peace event at the Guildhall in London.

Next photos are for those of you wondering what he looked like when he was younger. He’s a handsome dude, that’s for sure.

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Ramon Vega Football Star is Fund Manager (29 August 2014). Let’s add ex-football star Ramon Vega to our list of Swiss hunk athletes. What do you think of his modeling stint above? Those outfits they made him wear (stupid see-through tank tops, oversized necklace, and bikini underwear) are all silly but he still manages to rock it and not look totally ridiculous. To use the words of our fabulous gay friend Kevin, Ramon’s manliness shines through despite a stylist’s attempt to gay him up.

Ramon Vega Asset Management Specialist: What do football stars do when they retire? In the case of our Swiss hunk, he became a fund manager. Apparently, he’s successful at his new career such that The Times puts him at #6 in its list of “Ten Sports Stars Who Made it Big in Business”.

Here’s what the paper says about Ramon Vega as an investment specialist: “Ten years ago, the former Tottenham Hotspur centre half and Swiss international quit football to try his hand as an investment specialist. Now his Vega Swiss Asset Management has $1 billion of client funds under advisory management. He recently made a nice profit by betting on a recovery in Italian government bonds.”

We learn more about how Vega is shaping his post-football career, in a recent interview with Financial News where he talks about his investment philosophy, football, and fund management:

How has your experience in sport helped your career in fund management?
It’s definitely been very good in terms of being a fund manager, I can clearly see both worlds and can talk about that from both sides. First of all, the ability to work as a team and the discipline that comes from sport generally. Discipline, without doubt, helped a lot when I went into the business world – getting into the office at 7am and staying until 9pm. That was the biggest and most challenging task. Also, there have been other crucial skills that I’ve brought to the business side such as focus and communication.

How could sports coaching help fund managers’ performance?
Coaching helps you handle some of the pressure. The pressure in sport, that public pressure, is much more intense than for example working in a little office in Canary Wharf, where there’s only you and the screen. [In sport] pretty much everyone knows what’s going on, everyone can see the mistakes.

And how can sports coaching in particular help asset managers deal with the pressure?
It’s all about communication, teamwork and offloading the pressure to individuals within a [funds] team. Some take [the pressure] very, very personally. When you work as a team you can move the pressure, you have got a team behind you, you have got back-up. You don’t have to think too much about the negative pressure.

What is the best advice you would personally give to fund managers?
From day one in sport, you learn from a very young age how to win or lose the next day and how to respond. A season is long and you need to see the long term. You may be hammered against Arsenal on Saturday but you can’t cry as on Tuesday you’ll have another massive game against Manchester United. And for fund managers it’s the same: you may have a good position in US equities on Monday and on Wednesday it could suddenly be completely the opposite. But if you think long term you can always recover.

What is your investment philosophy?
You need to have in today’s market an opportunistic strategy. You can discuss philosophies about the market all day long, such as going long or short, and within a couple of weeks the market is moving. And if you were to stick to that strategy, it would be murder. And, of course, don’t be greedy when you make money – try and make a little bit and get out.

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Looks like he is doing well for himself, no? Question: In your opinion, who among your favorite football stars who are currently active on the pitch are equipped to succeed in a second career when their footballing days are over?

Ramon Vega Asset Management Specialist: Football Star Turned Fund Manager. Posted 29 August 2014. Last updated: September 2, 2023 at 9:57 am.