The prospect of a night listening to bands comprised solely of hedge fund managers causes some to get a little sniffy.
So much so that one brokerage house that shall remain nameless yesterday sent round an email which read, “the Sad-ometer has just gone bid-only….We learn that one of our rivals is hosting a rock gig for fund managers that play in a band, aren’t these the sort of things that you keep quiet…?”
Miserable sods.
The event in question was May-Fair, held at Cafe de Paris - the inaugural British version of Rocktoberfest, the New York battle of the hedge fund bands which has been running for three years. Both are raising money for A Leg To Stand On, the charity set up by Mead Welles, founder of Octagon, to provide prosthetic limbs and corrective surgery to children in the developing world.
Welles started ALTSO in 1999 after a due diligence trip to Asia brought him into direct contact with disability among children in the region. A severely disabled boy on his final stop in Jakarta was the catalyst for the charity, which has now helped over 1,000 children, fitting prosthetics, treating club feet and providing corrective surgery, initially in India and subsequently in Haiti and Columbia.
Next up is expansion into Latvia and Russia - but the ALTSO team still comprises just one full-time employee based in the Octagon offices and a part-time assistant.
Welles, sporting Union flag socks, is adamant that there were “no expectations” for the first London event, which was put together over the course of just eight weeks, coordinated at the UK end by Saleem Siddiqi from Tapestry Asset Management. Volunteers from Sony BMG, the London Business School and Merlin for the PR also got behind the frantic trans-Atlantic effort to put on a London fundraiser.
“No egos” seems to be something of a catchphrase among the organisers - they applaud other industry charities that use the competitive instincts of their peers to extract five-figure entrance fees and million dollar auction bids but have no desire to follow their example. Tickets for May-Fair went for £125 including drinks and food. Once inside, there’s no collection, no charity auction, no raffle.
Just a load of drunk money managers dancing (badly) to classic tunes. With ticket sales, and sponsorship from SocGen, Tapestry, Winton, RAB Capital, Weavering and Octagon, one organiser quietly predicts that the event might hope to make £60,000 after costs.
The US equivalent though has quickly developed something of a following. Last year’s event drew 1,100 people to watch more than 70 performers across two stages and raised about $250,000. The bands now have to bid for their favoured numbers to avoid endless duplication - a process coordinated by Lazard’s Chris Heasman, who also took on the role of musical director for last night’s gig.
The Hypothecators, fronted by Tim Fletcher from Nylon, covered some of the classic bases early on, with Brown Sugar and Mustang Sally.
Heasman and Welles themselves took to the stage half way through the evening with their band, The Subscribers, who flew in from New York for the night. Together since 2003, and sporting a lead singer in Timothy Wheeler from Lowenstein Sandler who looks (and behaves on stage) astonishingly like Jonathan Ross, theirs is a slick, well-practised set, covering Message in a Bottle and These Boots Are Made for Walking.
In contrast, The Systematics, who had the unenviable task of following them, were having their fifth rehearsal in the back room at 8.30pm, having had rehearsals three and four earlier that day. Hailing from Winton Capital, (well the head of IT, one lawyer and a couple of ringers), they nevertheless managed to pull it off, if only by producing a slightly chaotic Brit-pop edge after the polished American performance.
Music critics may sneer. But in an industry reputed for secrecy and excess, a hedge fund event trying to raise money and awareness for a good cause with minimal grandstanding came off as refreshing and good fun.
