Marlborough Stirling, a UK-based provider of software to the pensions and investments industry, has opened offices in Milan and Madrid in a move intended to take advantage of changes in European pension regulations.
The vendor says pension and savings reform on the continent is leading to a transition from defined benefit to defined contribution pension arrangements and the introduction of lower charges or tax breaks to encourage people to save for their retirement. This is presenting product providers with the challenge of developing new administration systems to cater for the new savings schemes.
David Edwards, director of European operations at Marlborough Stirling, comments: "Fiscal reforms in many European states are creating demand for technology solutions and systems such as ours."
The offices in Milan and Madrid build on Marlborough Stirling's existing operations in Europe. The company currently has has over 50 employees focused on the continental European market and has recently appointed Patrick Mason, formerly of Solcorp/EDS, as director of European business development and Angelo Ballarin from CSC as general manager of its Italian operations.
Other target markets include Germany, France and Benelux, says Edwards.