GBST has signed up three clients in the UK as the firm continues to expand its wealth management business in the UK market.
Among the three clients is Scottish life insurance company Aegon.
GBST will be working with Aegon to develop its investment trading platform, with other product developments to follow.
The firm has been able to capitalise on opportunities on the back of reform in the UK financial services market, according to GBST chief executive of wealth management Robert DeDominicis.
In 2006, the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) launched the Retail Distribution Review (RDR). Following the review, the FSA announced that independent financial advisers (IFAs) must move away from upfront commissions.
The move by IFAs towards a fee-for-service or trail-based commission has had significant implications for industry, DeDominicis said.
"It is creating opportunities for GBST as product providers need to create new offerings as a result of the changes under the RDR. Our composer platform is compliant with the requirements of the RDR. In particular, composer already provides unbundled pricing and open investment architecture," he said.
DeDominicis said while the UK is only now starting to embark on these reforms, the industry is well positioned to implement advanced technology.
He said GBST's clients such as Novia have integrated financial planning tools into the firm's composer platform. This provides the IFA with a one-stop solution from the wrap provider, replacing financial planning desktop applications, he said.
DeDominicis said the firm will also be hiring more people to its UK business, further expanding its operations in the region, as well as in Australia.
GBST began its move into the UK market following the acquisition of software company InfoComp in August 2007.
Existing clients in the region include Macquarie and Novia. The other two clients were not disclosed due to confidentiality reasons.
