Refinitiv to donate fees to bushfire charities

Refinitiv, the data and tech firm owned by private equity firm Blackstone and Thomson Reuters, has pledged to donate a chunk of its brokerage fees to help fight the effects of the Australian bushfires.

Refinitiv, which is in talks to sell itself to the LSE Group for $27bn (£20.7bn), said in a statement on Tuesday it will donate its brokerage fees from Australian dollar business over three days in early February.

The firm said it will donate fees from 0900 on February 4 to 0900 on February 7 to a range of accredited charities supporting volunteer firefighters and communities hit by the bushfires.

Refinitiv said it will donate fees on all Australian dollar currency pairs accrued from trading platforms such as Refinitiv Matching and FXALL across various asset classes including spot, forwards, swaps and options.

Refinitiv managing director, Pacific, Daryl Sission, said: “Australia is experiencing its worst ever bushfire season. This situation is serious, and I am grateful that Refinitiv, a global organisation, is fully supportive of local bushfire support efforts. I would encourage all of the FX community to get behind this initiative to ensure we can maximise relief efforts.” Refinitiv said in its statement that funds raised from this initiative will be used to support volunteer firefighters, help displaced families and communities, as well as the rehabilitation of injured wildlife. In addition, Refinitiv’s employee-led Pacific Sustainable Action team is arranging a number of local fundraising events over the coming weeks. Refinitiv is also matching employee donations to the bushfire crisis using its proprietary TicketAid solution.  

Refinitiv’s efforts are similar to those of inter-dealer brokers ICAP (now TP ICAP) and BGC Partners which host every year charity trading days where their brokerage fees for that day are donated to charity.

On these days, the brokers’ clients tend to route all of their business to these firms to maximise the money that goes to the charity. Refinitiv will be hoping its clients do the same between February 4 and February 9.