A cycle ride to support Elizabeth’s Smile, a charity set up by Nutmeg co-founder Nick Hungerford before his passing, has “tapped into a vein of support across the financial services industry”.
The cycle, which has been organised by Tam Asset Management one year after Hungerford’s passing, spanned from Brussels to Amsterdam - a 330 kilometer journey - and will feature 67 riders from firms including J.P. Morgan, Amber River, and Janus Henderson.
In 2019, Hungerford had been diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and sadly passed away in July 2023.
He founded charity Elizabeth’s Smile, named after his daughter, to provide resources for children who lose a parent.
Tam Asset Management chief investment officer, James Penny, said: “I don’t know of another event in the city that does something like this".
He pointed out that, while there are lots of people who do individual challenges to raise money, which he described as a “phenomenal idea”, this was the only event he was aware of to bring people across the industry together to raise money for a good cause.
“Bringing everyone together under one banner to do one single activity, I’ve never seen that in the wealth or asset management industry,” he said.
Hungerford's influence
Penny explained how the ride was set up, saying last year he read about Hungerford’s passing, what he had achieved with Nutmeg, and his work around setting up Elizabeth’s Smile for his daughter.
“I was reading about this guy who was really emblematic of the City, had a massive profile, had started something and worked so hard at it,” he said.
“He was also faced with the tragedy of being a parent with a young child and having to face what is, as a dad myself with young kids, just unimaginable. To have the strength to go through all of that is incredible.”
As a result of this, Penny thought something that would be really positive to do in 2024 was to get behind the charity which had a common thread between all of the riders.
“Everyone is from fund management, wealth management, and asset management and what Hungerford started in Nutmeg is a tie to every single one of these riders,” he explained.
“Everyone has a common theme in that they are riding for somebody who has a legacy within financial services.
“That was a really strong pull for people stepping up and riding in Hungerford’s memory. This is a great cause to be representing.”
Penny also pointed out that Elizabeth’s Smile won’t be the only charity represented on the ride as the cyclers will also be raising money for Ruth Strauss Foundation and Winston’s Wish.
“This has tapped into a vein of support across the industry, not just for Nick and not just for Elizabeth’s Smile, but they really like the idea of helping smaller charities that need that boost and that’s really good,” Penny added.
