Buyside equity trading venue IEX will host Block Day on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2015 with all funds generated going to support MDAs Wings Over Wall Street, the charitable gala benefitting finding a cure for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The disease is most commonly known as Lou Gehrigs Disease.
The charity is an important one for John Schwall, COO and co-founder of IEX. “Growing up, my mother encouraged my sisters and me to spend many of our weekends raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.My mother later succumbed to ALS, but not before gifting me with a lifelong sense of purpose.I’m honored to serve as 2015 Co-Chair for Wings Over Wall Street, the preeminent event for raising awareness and support to find a cure for ALS,” he said.
[Take a tour of the IEX Trading Floor]
In support of Schwalls connection to the fight against ALS, IEX will give away all revenues associated with block trades on its venue. Block trades are defined as trades of at least 10,000 shares or notional value of at least $200,000, which typically represents 10 to 12 percent of IEX volume.According to a press statement, IEX will also donate all non-block revenue from Block Dayin excess of the trailing 5-day average to ensure that MDA receives any incremental revenue on IEX related to this event.
To promote IEX Block Day, CNBC Market Analyst and Wings committee member Jon DRJ Najarian will broadcast live from the floor of IEX on the day of the event. Najarian will also be honored with the Michael P. Beier Award at the Wings gala, on October 22.
“We are proud to support John’s commitment to MDA and fighting ALS.We are honored to host IEX Block Day as a way for IEX and our supporters to get behind such an important cause,” said Brad Katsuyama, IEX CEO and co-founder, in a press statement.
MDAs Wings Over Wall Street is an annual cocktail benefit to fund research to cure ALS. This event, now in its 15th year, is one of the largest Muscular Dystrophy events in the country and has already provided over $10.7 million to MDAs ALS Division Research Grants Program including the distinguished teams at The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig MDA/ALS Research Center at Columbia and The Packard Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins.
This years gala will take place on Thursday, October 22, 2015 at The Lighthouse, Chelsea Piers.
