Country links with Asia-wide research firm

Thanachote said that as asset managers around the world prepare to comply with MiFID II in January, Country Group’s collaboration with Smartkarma will provide Thai domestic asset managers independent, differentiated and unbundled research that will be compliant with new regulations in Europe.
“Country Group Securities have also been able to draw on the premium services of Smartkarma Insight Provider A. Stotz Research to provide a fully revamped and independently powered Thai equities research product which will be made available via Smartkarma.
“A.Stotz Research integrates their proprietary world class benchmarking methodology to drive new insight into Thai equities.
“Our decision to partner with Smartkarma and A.Stotz Research has been driven by many factors including new MiFID II regulations. We see that our clients will benefit greatly from the independent and high quality insight provided by Smartkarma’s network and our own re-imagined equity research thanks to the services of Smartkarma provider A.Stotz Research. 
“As first movers in Thailand, we want to show our clients that our focus is to add value in a range of areas, whilst keeping up with global best practice regulations. Smartkarma aligns very well with enabling us to offer transparent pricing on research and trading.”
Smartkarma has recently secured a Series B round of funding, led by Sequoia Capital India, one of the world’s biggest technology venture capital firms. Smartkarma’s model offers value to both, independent research analysts and institutional investors. Smartkarma has grown rapidly across Asia and has recently announced their expansion into the UK and Europe with the opening of a London office, the partners said.
Smartkarma co-founder and CEO Raghav Kapoor said: “We are excited to be working with Country Group Securities and providing their clients with curated content that best serves their individual needs.”