New US operations & NYC office to support US fund managers looking to the Asian markets.
SINGAPORE, LONDON, NEW YORK, January 29, 2018 – Smartkarma, Asia’s largest provider of independent investment research, today announced the opening of its New York City office, headed by 30-year industry veteran Warren Yeh. Smartkarma is well positioned to expand into American markets after recently completing its Series B funding round, led by Sequoia Capital. With a base in New York, Smartkarma aims to bring unprecedented on-the-ground reach and insight into Asian markets for US-based asset managers. Smartkarma has expanded from its headquarters in Singapore to five locations around the world, servicing a global client base comprising of some of the world’s largest asset managers.
By bringing together the best independent insight providers and asset managers in one collaborative ecosystem, Smartkarma is reinventing the way research is created and consumed, with timely insights delivered in an intuitive and engaging way. Smartkarma has demonstrated rapid growth since its launch in April 2016, with its top ten clients alone accounting for US$13.5 trillion of assets under management.
Raghav Kapoor, Co-founder and CEO of Smartkarma comments, “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 IPO/M&A analysis, event-driven special situations as well as small and mid-cap company research.”
Smartkarma’s cloud-based platform brings together:
- Over 400 Insight Providers covering in excess of 2,400 companies across 15 Asia Pacific markets.
- Instant access to analysts, creating on-demand and real-time coverage which is invaluable to investors sitting in a distant time zone.
- A unique Spotify-esque business model that enables asset managers to pay a single subscription for unlimited, personalised access to insight across all providers.
By adopting a model such as Smartkarma’s, with transparent subscription pricing. US managers are responding proactively to evolving regulatory changes such as MiFID II in Europe, which came into effect on 3rd January 2018 and has had a global impact. This aligns interests as many managers are starting to pay for research services out of their own P&L.
Leading Smartkarma in the US, Warren Yeh brings 30 years of buy-side experience in Asian and the US financial markets. Yeh notes, “As US investors hunt for alpha, many are looking for opportunities outside the domestic market of the US and see the emerging markets of Asia as still cheap, relative to historical levels and other asset classes. 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.”
Smartkarma media contact:
Chanda Shingadia
Tel: +44(0)7951163615
Email: [email protected]
About Warren Yeh
Warren Yeh is the Head of US Operations for Smartkarma and has over 30 years of industry experience. Prior roles include setting up and developing the New York office for Vickers Ballas’ – Singapore’s largest brokerage firm – as well as Managing Partner of Adapa Partners, LLC a long/short Asian equity hedge fund which he co-founded in 2000. Yeh has also managed the Japanese and Asian equity investments for the USAA International Fund and had various roles in the equity investment research space.
About Smartkarma
Smartkarma unlocks the value of independent insight, providing investors with high-quality, unique, expert opinion on timely themes and topics across companies, industries, and markets in Asia. Insight can be customized to individual investor needs and updated in real time as investment strategies change, helping investors consolidate relevant information and stay abreast of evolving, complex financial issues. In addition to large-cap bottom-up, coverage also includes frontier markets, small and mid-caps and in-depth event driven/IPO analysis, helping Smartkarma’s global client base generate new trade ideas.
Smartkarma saves investors and insight providers valuable time by providing new ways to create, engage with, and distribute insight with its innovative use of technology and direct access to experts through its responsive, intuitive platform. Its market changing business model also meets evolving regulatory requirements, such as MiFID II. For more information please visit www.smartkarma.com
