Local News

11 September 2008 by Alice Hunter for Square Mile magazine

Zac helps to raise funds for Cruse Bereavement Care

Trading Places

Ali Hunter reports on BGC’s annual fundraiser, and meets the celebrities who jacked in their day jobs to work the trading floor in the name of charity

You don’t run into the Cheeky Girls every day while reporting on financial affairs in the Square Mile (nor is it the norm to find one half of the duo bursting through the door while you’re on the loo, asking if she left her “brown baaaag” in there). That said, with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, anything is now possible, so it’s good to know that for one day each year, international inter-dealer brokerage firm, BGC Partners, injects some rather more light-hearted (dare I say it?) fun, into the world of the average City broker.

The charity day, held annually on 11 September at BGC’s offices around the world, has raised more than $15m over the past three years. It was founded by Lee Amaitis, chairman and CEO of the then-named Cantor Fitzgerald, who lost over 600 of his colleagues in the 9/11 tragedy.
The famous faces were drafted in to help brokers execute deals with clients on the trading floor, with all commission from the day’s trading going to their chosen charities.

Money broking conjures up an image of City sharks, megalomaniacs and the most macho workplace culture in the City. So it was gratifying to find that, in the words of David Mamet, it’s a “cliché because it’s true” – the broking floor was like a zoo at feeding time.

It would appear that broking is triple-bypass-city, where wild gesticulation, mild threats and general abuse are par for the course. Aggressive, loud and blokey: I wasn’t surprised to see only a few female faces dotted around the multi-screen workstations.

But however heated it might appear on the surface, on the BGC Charity Day it was all in good spirit. Lesley Joseph (of Birds of a Feather fame) hit the nail on the head: “I’ve never seen so much testosterone in my life.”

Along with familiar daytime TV faces, such as Philip Schofield, Eamon Holmes and Cilla Black, there were a few suprises: Hollywood stars such as Kevin Spacey, heavyweight names such as Cherie Blair QC and even politicians, such as the middle of the Goldsmith siblings, Zac.

Zac Goldsmith will contest the seat of Richmond Park for the Tories in the next election (currently held by Susan Kramer for the Lib Dems) and is just as well known for his philanthropic and environmental work (he has been the editor of The Ecologist since 1997) as for his political aspirations. Zac sports a slightly darker shade of the famous Boris Johnson Swedish blond, but without anything like the dear Lord Mayor’s case of Bed Head.

I ask him how he became involved in the BGC day, and supporting the charity Cruse, which provides voluntary support for people struggling to cope with loss. “I took part in last year’s BGC day to raise money for a variety of environmental causes,” he says. “This year I was asked by Cruse, and was delighted to help. Until they approached me, I didn’t know much about Cruse Bereavement Care. It’s not the most glamorous charity, but the contribution it makes to society is vast. With nearly 6,000 volunteers, providing almost half a million hours of voluntary support each year, it makes a big difference.”

Zac is partial to the odd gamble himself and has a stake in Fitzdares, the upmarket bespoke bookmaker in Mayfair. Had he enjoyed the experience on the trading floor? “Fascinating: I watched as Rory Bremner handled what I think was a €1bn trade.”

Although he spends less time handling his business interests now that his political career is gaining pace, it is a little-known fact that Zac has been involved in campaigning on the outside since he was 18, admittedly with varied success. “But with the right approach and the right ideas, there’s a lot to be done inside Parliament,” says Zac. “There’s certainly a lot that needs doing,” he adds. What then, is the first thing he will do, should he win the Richmond seat? “The big issue is democracy. People don’t engage in politics because they don’t see the point. One choice between two similarly exclusive clubs, every 1,500 or so days is not enough. People should be able to take ownership of decision-making. As in some US States, and even more so in Switzerland, people should be able to initiate and veto legislation through referenda. That would transform politics, it would restore trust in the process, and people would have a reason to engage in politics.”
And who has been the most inspiring person for him on the day? “In the event, it has to be Lee Amaitis, who has created a mechanism for raising millions of pounds each year. He lost hundreds of colleagues on 9/11 and has transformed his experience into something hugely positive.”

Amaitis was on hand during the afternoon to welcome perhaps the most anticipated guest of the day, Sir Alex Ferguson. Introduced as the “real deal” and “the greatest football manager of all time”, Sir Alex was accompanied by flat trainer, Michael Stout and former West Indies legend – and one of the quickest bowlers ever to play Test cricket – Michael ‘Whispering Death’ Holding, all of whom were representing the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

“It’s a great pleasure to be here again,” said Sir Alex, addressing the throngs of journos and paps huddled around him. “When you take on a charity such as MS, you realise what they do is fantastic and of course, the research they do needs a lot of money. It is rather like having a car that you need to service – it is never-ending, and so it is absolutely great to have a company like BGC helping to raise millions each year for charities such as ours.

The Manchester United manager presented football strips to both Amaitis and BGC president, Shaun Lynn, each with his surname emblazoned on the back, before taking to the broking floor. Unable to resist a characteristic parting shot at those whose allegiances might lie with the nearby East End club, Sir Alex took his leave with the words, “To all you West Ham fans here, believe me, my charity extends to you also.”

While HRH the Prince of Wales was greeted in somewhat hushed and reverent tones, Sir Alex’s welcome was uproarious, jubilant and tumultuous. It seems that sporting heroes such as he are really the new royalty in this football-bonkers nation of ours.
In fact, it was our sporting stars who seemed to display the most natural proclivities for trading: our Glaswegian hero brokered two deals worth £150m and £200m respectively, which meant an all-in profit of around £12k for the MS Society, while both John Barnes and David Seaman were also proudly and loudly talking the talk and walking the walk during the afternoon’s activities.

Even now, ‘Safe Hands’ Seaman appears to be blighted by his Dancing on Ice appearance (in which he fell on his partner once and then later dropped her on her head) as various brokers chucked screwed up paper balls for him to catch. One can only imagine how wearing it must be going through life with complete strangers testing at every opportunity your already proven ability to apprehend airborne objects.
1980s legend John Barnes told square mile that his brother is a trader, and so it was a great experience to do it for real and find out how stressful broking really is. Barnsey even rapped his way through one FOREX trade. As BGC broker, Lee Hedges commented afterwards, “He got the trade done at a good price and even sang a few songs on the back of it; he’s a natural hustler.”

The camaraderie on the broking floor was great fun to experience and particularly satisfying, given that trades in the millions and billions were resulting in cash for good causes. In simplistic terms, it was a pleasure to put aside predictions of Armageddon for a short while to focus instead on more basic human values. We, at least, have our health to count on, and when the City can help those who do not, that can only be a great thing.

We can only hope that one half of the Cheeky Girls isn’t still searching for her misplaced bag in the loo. If only we’d had the nerve to ask her what she was thinking going out with that MP oddball Lembit Opik…

If you enjoyed this article then please visit www.squaremileclub.com
Click on the ‘Subscriptions’ tab for free subscriptions.