EUROPE – Standard & Poor’s has named Alex Weiland as head of business development for its new European pensions business.

"We have had a very positive response from the market for our new pensions services, which provide trustees with the first independent means of assessing their overall credit and investment risks,” said Jim MacLachlan, head of S&P’s European pensions services business, in a statement.

He told IPE that around a dozen “large or very large” schemes have approached S&P about the new services. He declined to name them, saying it is up to the schemes themselves to disclose that information.

“We are now recruiting to build the new operation and Alex's appointment will be key in driving forward the business," the statement said. MacLachlan added that two further people were in the process of being recruited, in actuarial and client facing roles. The team would eventually number around eight.

The company said that the UK pensions assessment services, announced in March, would be launched to the market in June.

Weiland will be responsible for marketing and sales of S&P’s pensions services. S&P said he has held pension roles at Gartmore and Fidelity and was also at Schroder Investment Management.

It said the he was most recently director of European sales and marketing for alternatives firm First Quadrant.