Smartkarma, an Asia-based independent investment researcher, has opened a New York office and launched a new cloud-based platform.
The New York office, which will be headed by Warren Yeh, expands Smartkarma’s US operations to support US fund managers looking to the Asian markets.
Smartkarma’s cloud-based platform brings together more than 400 insight providers, covering in excess of 2,400 companies across 15 Asia Pacific markets.
The platform also provides instant access to analysts, creating on-demand and instant coverage, as well as a business model that enables asset managers to pay a single subscription for unlimited, personalised access to insight across all providers.
According to Smartkarma, by adopting this model, US managers are responding proactively to evolving regulatory changes with global impact, such as the second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).
The move to New York comes after Smartkarma recently completed its series B funding round, led by Sequoia Capital.
Commenting on Smartkarma’s move to New York, Yeh said: “Smartkarma is an excellent fit for US funds investing into Asia, providing a level of transparency and independent insight that has not been available until now.”
Raghav Kapoor, co-founder and CEO of Smartkarma, commented: “The demand for differentiated and unconflicted research is rapidly rising and US markets are no exception. Our insight providers, based in-country, provide US funds with local insight in areas underrepresented in traditional investment bank research, including initial public offering/mergers and acquisition analysis, event-driven special situations as well as small- and mid-cap company research.”
