Societe Generale is the first global investment bank to strike an agreement with an emerging fintech company to provide equity research that is compliant with evolving research unbundling requirements.

Societe Generale has announced a new agreement with Smartkarma, a curated online platform for investment insight focused on the Asian markets. Under this global agreement, Societe Generale will provide its institutional clients access to a new form of equity research based on demand driven and customised content.

Smartkarma provides investors with direct access to insight providers, the firm claims this creates a much stronger correlation between research demand and supply and addressing information overload concerns. The fintech's predictive search engine matches research in real time with investor mandates, helping clients consolidate relevant information and stay abreast of evolving, complex financial issues.

Major Banks Under Pressure

Societe Generale is the first global investment bank to have an agreement with an emerging fintech company to provide equity research that is compliant with evolving research unbundling requirements, such as MiFID II.

Major banks are under pressure to cut costs amit dwindling revenues, throughout 2016 investors have been constrained by geopolitical uncertainty, and with 2017 densely packed with more election speed humps, the new Societe Generale «outsourcing agreement» may be the first of many more to come.

Raghav Kapoor 512Smartkarma’s rapidly growing platform currently provides access to over 100 investment insight firms, comprised of approximately 400 analysts. Its community of analysts have written on more than 1600 companies across 15 Asian markets. «We are committed to bringing unbeatable efficiency and unprecedented transparency to the market while promoting revolutionary economics and seamless access,» said Raghav Kapoor, (pictured left) CEO and Co-Founder of Smartkarma.