In addition to the precautionary measures money managers are taking to protect their China-based employees from contracting the coronavirus, some firms are donating funds for humanitarian and medical relief as well as for research to develop an effective vaccine.
Partners of Chicago-based Citadel LLC, including Kenneth C. Griffin, founder and CEO, and its sister company, Citadel Securities LLC, pledged $7.5 million of personal funds to help China deal with the coronavirus outbreak, a news release said.
Citadel's efforts are multifaceted and include "procuring difficult-to-obtain medical supplies, donating to China-based humanitarian organizations, facilitating relief efforts for families displaced by the virus and supporting efforts to accelerate medical research and vaccine development," Citadel spokeswoman Megan Ingersoll said in an email.
Citadel has sent more than $1 million in medical supplies critical to treating virus sufferers to Hubei Xinhua Hospital in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.
Citadel's donation also will provide humanitarian aid through the Hubei Charity Federation and China Charity Foundation, Ms. Ingersoll confirmed.
"Our first priority was delivering much-needed supplies required by local medical professionals and enabling experts to administer aid as effectively as possible," said Peng Zhao, CEO of Citadel Securities, in the Citadel news release. Mr. Zhao is one of many Citadel employees born in China.
Mr. Griffin said in the news release "our hearts go out to all impacted by this situation, particularly those in China, which is the native country of many of our colleagues."
Citadel has offered investment management and brokerage services in China since 2014, Bloomberg reported.
Citadel manages $30 billion in multistrategy hedge funds mostly for institutional investors.
The office of corporate engagements of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., New York, worked with non-profit partners to determine "where our assistance can be most effective" in China, according to a Feb. 4 employee memo provided to Pensions & Investments.
The company will donate a total of $1 million to support medical efforts regarding the virus of the Chinese Red Cross, International Medical Corps, and CDC Foundation's Emergency Response Fund, the memo said.
Goldman Sachs runs a total of $1.8 trillion in assets under supervision and management.
On Jan. 30, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., New York, announced a $1 million commitment to the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation in a memo on its website.
The organization supports relief efforts in disaster zones by providing immediate health care, including distribution of needed medical supplies.
J.P. Morgan's memo said part of its donation will support the CPFA's coordination activities with local government throughout China to strengthen disease-prevention efforts and improve resiliency in these areas over the long term.
"We recognize that it has been a challenging time for many of our employees, our clients, their families and the wider community," said Mark Leung, managing director and CEO China, in the memo.
"During difficult times like these, it's important we come together and harness the resources of our business to help those in need," Mr. Leung added.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management has $2 trillion in assets under management.
Specialist Asia equity manager Matthews International Capital Management LLC, San Francisco, has a permanent charitable-giving program that provides grants to organizations to support education, poverty prevention and economic opportunity in the regions where the firm operates, including in China, said Celine L. Colgan, head of North America institutional business, in an email.
The firm also assesses relief aid on a case-by-case basis and will make a donation to support humanitarian aid focused on the Wuhan coronavirus, Ms. Colgan said. Matthews Asia also will match its employees' donations to coronavirus relief efforts from the firm's established donation-matching program.
The size of Matthews Asia's total donation to China virus relief efforts has not been determined, Ms. Colgan said.
Matthews Asia manages a total of $27.3 billion in active equities.
