Michael Spencer, legendary philanthropist and global broking mogul has, for the past 23 years, committed one day’s revenue and commissions from his inter capital broking business to benefit 200 charities dotted around the world.
Over this time the “ICAPCharityDay” events have raised £127 million and benefitted 1800 Charities. Every year there are many supplicants for this innovative act of corporate generosity, each applicant has to participate in a rigorous selection process by an expert committee. Successful Charities are typically orientated towards medical treatments and research, education, alternative energy, conservation and disadvantaged or disabled children. All the numerous stories are worthwhile but two recent success stories are providing 5,100 free cataract surgeries to the rural population of Buxar- India and launching a pan-European ‘hotline’ dedicated to finding missing people, the first emergency number of its kind.
Over this time the “ICAPCharityDay” events have raised £127 million and benefitted 1800 Charities. Every year there are many supplicants for this innovative act of corporate generosity, each applicant has to participate in a rigorous selection process by an expert committee.
On 9th December ICAP threw open it’s floors in the Square Mile to celebrities associated with the designated 13 UK Charities. From the main entrance and across all the trading floors fancy dress is de rigeur. The ICAP team joyously indulged the British obsession with dressing up, saucy German frauleins and herrs in ledehosen greeted the celebrities as they arrived to flirt with brokers and encourage deals in markets hundreds or thousands of miles away. The various broking teams are collectively disguised as Star Wars characters, Mexicans, Zoros, Tranvestites or individually disguised as Vikings, Pilots, historical characters and of course many seasonal variations of Santa Claus, to name just a few of the themes. Each Charity is encouraged to bring celebrities to promote their cause and clinch the deals. The Mulberry Bush Organisation (a school and home for traumatised children between the ages of 7-13), whose patron is David Cameron, brought Samantha Cameron representing her husband. Mrs Cameron charmed the brokers with her shy sense of humour, during her first telephone exchange she was heard to say “16million, done” and she continued to work the floor exchanging chat and posing for “elvies” with the Elves Team. Many celluloid celebrities — Jeremy Irons, Carrie Mulligan, Matt Lucas – closed similar deals whilst waiting for Prince William and The Duchess of Cambridge to arrive, the Duchess was representing SportsAid , whose mission is to help young sports people overcome the financial challenges in their quest to become the next generation of British athletes. The Prince and the Duchess played an energetic game of ping pong and joined in the trading heartily.
The ICAP mantra of “together we give 100%” was truer than ever this year as the combined efforts of ICAP’s employees, customers and suppliers raised £7,500,000.
ICAP provide a wide variety of electronic execution, broking, risk mitigation, messaging, and information services to wholesale market participants, facilitating the flow of capital and investment through the financial system and supporting government and corporate borrowing.