Smartkarma, the premier provider of collaborative solutions for investment research, has announced the official opening of its Hong Kong office. Building on recent international expansion and significant platform growth, the Hong Kong office will provide ongoing support for Smartkarma’s network of insight providers and clients focused on the Asian markets.

“Hong Kong is an obvious choice for Smartkarma as we continue our global expansion, given its role as a key financial hub for Asia,” says Raghav Kapoor, CEO and Co-Founder, Smartkarma. “In particular, Hong Kong strengthens our offering in the equity space, a focus area for many of our Insight Providers, as well as the institutional investors who rely on the Smartkarma platform. This is another chapter in Smartkarma’s international success story.’

The Hong Kong team includes David Blennerhasset who joins Smartkarma from BGC Partners. David brings a wealth of knowledge from his time as Head of Research at BGC, as well as from positions at Knight Capital, Main First Bank AG and JS Cresvale. Additional hires will be announced in the coming months.

Since emerging from closed beta in April 2016, Smartkarma has experienced rapid uptake. The platform has more than doubled the number of contributing analysts, as well as experienced 500% year on year growth in platform activity. Currently more than 140 global professional institutions use Smartkarma.

Smartkarma Hong Kong will be based in the Central district.

Featured Image: Smartkarma’s LinkedIn