About

Presentation

EFA was founded in 2003 in Hong Kong by Iain Reed and Robin Hammond, former research analysts at CLSA and ABN Amro, who, having continually faced the same recurring issues, saw an opportunity to develop a software solution for finance professionals and the broader investment community.

EFA has subsequently evolved into a leading software solutions company with over 30 multi-lingual staff providing market leading products, the EFA Platform and EFAdrin, and related consulting services to customers worldwide.

EFA’s top priority remains staying close to its customers and constantly adapting products to meet changing market needs.

For example in 2012, when we found that hedge fund community could improve their day-to-day operations with our help, we developed and created EFAdrin, a solution designed to improve their performance.

Both the EFA Platform and EFAdrin cater to and meet the most rigorous demands of global investment banks, hedge funds and other financial professionals.

EFA’s strength lies in the fact that it teams financial analysts who have a deep and thorough understanding of IT, with management expertise in  business and financial markets. This combination provides the formula for the creation of products and solutions that put it at the forefront of the industry today.

Founders

Robin Hammond

Robin is one of the founders and the CEO of EFA.

He has 14 years of equity research experience, having held positions as a highly ranked writing analyst throughout his time as Head of Asian Banks Research at ANB Amro,  Head of HK and China Research at Paribas Asia Equity, Head of Asian Research at Bear Stearns, Deputy Head of HK & China James Capel (HSBC), and a Senior Analyst at SBCI Asia ( Swiss Bank).

Robin has always been passionate about efficiency in research generation, and use of technology to automate key processes, thus allowing analysts to work more effectively and more efficiently. He is also a keen programmer who honed his skills, particularly with regard to automation of Microsoft Office, building in-house systems used to raise the productivity and rankings of the research teams he ran.

Robin is the lead architect of the EFA Platform, aiming to achieve a balance of power and functionality with ease of use, while ensuring that most rigorous analytical integrity is maintained at all times.

Robin has also trained extensively in financial analysis and modelling for several global banks, has been a guest lecturer for the highly ranked HKUST MBA programme, has been a board member of the Hong Kong Society for Protection of Children for 30 years, and is the Chairman of the society’s Executive Committee.

He holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Computing. He first started programming in 1979, at which time he used to hand write assembly language in hexadecimal when computers were tiny and memory was scarce.

Iain Reed

Originally from the UK, Iain has lived in several regions of the Asia Pacific since 1989 including Thailand, Indonesia, India, Singapore and now Hong Kong.

After graduating from Cambridge University he immediately set up his first Company, trading consumer goods between Indonesia and the UK. He then spent 10 years as an investment analyst for Barclays De Zoete & Wedd, Société Générale, and CLSA before leaving to found EFA in 2003, of which he is now the Chairman.

Iain’s role as Chairman includes acting as a brand ambassador, overseeing the financial and legal functions as well as the Consulting Services division, and business development for the group. He is currently working to diversify the group’s product range, focusing on EFAdrin.

He is a member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, sitting on the Financial Markets, IT and SME committees and the Vice Chairman of the Angel Committee, a programme which connects entrepreneurs with angel investors in Hong Kong.

He is also the founding President of TiE Hong Kong, the local chapter of TiE, which is a global non-profit organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship through mentoring, education and networking.

Iain is an active member of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Hong Kong and the Asian region and an angel investor.

When he is not travelling, on Sunday mornings he coaches mini rugby and goes to the beach in the afternoon. He is a keen golfer and enjoys scuba diving in tropical locations.