Charity knows no bounds. And Wall Street is looking to do its part.
Agency-only brokerage Bloomberg Tradebook held its inaugural “Trick or Trade” event on Thursday, November 8, to help raise money for charity. While the event was originally slated for October 30, it was postponed due to Hurricane Sandy.
On a trading floor decorated by autumn colors, hay bales, costumed employees and cornucopias, $500,000 in trading commissions were generated Thursday. Fifty percent of the net amount will be distributed equitably across the involved charities and the other 50 percent is allocated to the charities by Bloomberg Tradebook customers. The money was donated to charities supporting Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, as well as other charities that support human services, youth development, the arts, healthcare and medical research.
“The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy continues to have a significant impact on families up and down the East Coast, including many of our clients, colleagues, family and friends. To help address these continued needs, Bloomberg Tradebook will be donating a portion of the money we are raising to hurricane relief efforts,” said Ray Tierney, president and chief executive officer at Bloomberg Tradebok.
“We are committed to doing all we can to help move forward, and through efforts like our Trick or Trade event, will continue to do whatever we can to contribute during this time of need.”
The storm cancelled Halloween celebrations along most of the Eastern seaboard. Moreover, it left millions without power for days, as well as created shortages of food, gas and other essentials. Many were left homeless as the storm destroyed homes along the water either directly or indirectly by fire caused by downed power lines or ruptured gas lines.
“One hundred percent of U.S. equity commissions generated, outside of our costs will go towards this philanthropic effort,” he added. The hope was to raise 1.5 to 2 times the broker’s daily U.S. equity commission.
Tierney said he hopes the event will grow over time, donating to more charities and transform the Bloomberg Tradebok culture into one that is not just driven by electronic executions but philanthropy.
“We need to give something back to the community and develop a closer connection to these charitable organizations,” he said. “I want us to develop a culture of giving.”
Celebrity sales traders such as Jerry Stiller, Mariska Hargitay, Tiki Barber and Darryl Dawkins manned the phones taking orders throughout the trading day interacting directly with clients. Clients when placing their orders were able to select which charity receives a portion of their trade’s commission.
Among the charities that received a portion of the day’s $500,000 in commissions were The Fresh Air Fund, the Joyful Heart Foundation, Ronald McDonald House New York and the The Actors Fund. Hurricane relief charities were yet to be determined, Tierney said.
Given this, a portion of the day’s commissions will be donated to hurricane relief efforts.
Other firms were joining in the effort. Morgan Stanley announced Tuesday it has established a charitable giving effort to support people and communities impacted by Superstorm Sandy. The brokerage will match every dollar of its employees’ contributions to the American Red Cross’s relief operations up to the level of $2.5 million, and it will make a minimum contribution to the Red Cross of $1 million.
Also, Jefferies announced that Wednesday was the firm’s global trading day for Hurricane Sandy Relief. The broker donated all net trading commissions, which totaled $5 million, from U.S., European and Asia equity, fixed income, futures, foreign exchange and commodities trading to the relief effort.
In addition, Jefferies will itself donate $1 million.
The contributions will be allocated to The American Red Cross and other charities involved in providing aid and recovery.
Bloomberg’s Tierney is personally involved with several charities including Wings Over Wall Street, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and Ronald McDonald House. To him, giving back is simply the right and necessary thing to do.
“I am involved and it was time to get TradeBook to get connected with some of these organizations,” he said.
