APEX FUND Services is to create 50 jobs in the Republic over the next 18 months when a new office opens in Dublin.

The company is one of the world’s largest independent global fund administration businesses.

Apex, which set up an office in Cork four years ago, said it had successfully recruited the highly skilled financial services staff required to develop its business in Ireland.

Apex managing director John Bohan said it was already recruiting for the new positions in the Dublin office, which will be mainly graduate roles in fund accountancy, compliance and IT.

Chief executive of Enterprise Ireland Frank Ryan said financial services was an important sector with significant potential for export and employment growth.

Further jobs are to be created when US company Marketo establishes a European headquarters in Dublin. Marketo chief executive Phil Fernandez is meeting the IDA this week to finalise the move.

Fergus Gloster has been recruited as managing director for Europe and has already begun the process of staffing the office, but the company was unable to specify the number of jobs that would be created. Mr Fernandez said the Dublin office would receive “significant investment”.

Founded in 2006, Marketo helps firms to improve and predict revenues by utilising information gathered online and through social networks. The company has more than 1,000 clients and has raised $57 million (€39 million) in venture capital funding to date.

“Buyers today, where so much takes place in social channels, leave behind a tremendous amount of information,” said Mr Fernandez. “For example, when three people from the same company come to our website in the same week, that’s a very clear indicator that they’re interested in the product.”

Mr Fernandez was chief operating officer of Epiphany before it was sold to SSA Global in 2005 for $329 million. Mr Gloster was formerly a technology director with Oracle and was one of the founders of Salesforce.com.

According to Mr Fernandez, Dublin was selected for a number of reasons, but particularly due to the skills available.

“All of our software deals were done on the telephone following online leads and we need to have the same culture and process in our European operation,” he said. “There’s great experience for this kind of selling here.”

He said low corporate tax was an incentive to the company as it had big ambitions for growth, however it was not a priority.

“If you think about tax first, I think you’re making a great mistake,” he added.