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Being able to hit the ground running is one skill that Dentons' Martin Tilley has achieved, both at work and when at play.

The keen runner has come on leaps and bounds in the pensions sector, after observing the arrival of stakeholder pensions, Sipps, the A-Day simplification process and counting down to personal accounts.

With 27 years in the industry, the business development manager noted with distinction about what significant changes have moulded the face of the pensions world.

The 43-year-old said: “There is a huge change in pension vehicles, regulation and advice.

“For example, the demonstration of competency is like chalk and cheese. Now we have advisers who specialise in specific areas, whereas 20 years ago, we had salesmen.

“There were people out there who just wanted to sell a product, make as much commission as they possibly could without thought for the well-being of the client. Now we have genuine people who advise their clients and charge an appropriate rate for their services and provide a far better service. The industry has changed beyond recognition.

“In terms of product change, going back 20 years or so, it was all about very expensive non-transparent contracts and the sector was previously very opaque.”

He said: “We had the biggest shake-up in pensions legislation in 2006, and the whole point was aimed to be a simplification of horrendously complicated things that had gone on before.

“Having spent 25 years before in the market and now three years after 2006, nothing we have now is any simpler than before.

“The problem we have with the government making continual changes, is that it is almost impossible for an adviser to advise a client on a long-term strategy, when you get the sort of changes we have just seen.

“The changes that have been made are significant, but do not provide much confidence for the consumer.”

Noting all the many chameleon-style changes in the sector, Mr Tilley’s changing career has also had an impact on the way he currently views pensions.

Mr Tilley then decided keep in the family tradition to follow in his sister’s footsteps next, by joining Sunlife Alliance Insurance Group in 1982 working for four days a week, while studying for a BTEC course in business and finance one day a week.

Having passed the course at Mid Sussex College, he decided to stay on with Sun Alliance for a total of five years.

Mr Tilley then moved from there to Crown Financial Management for a year, before landing at Surrey-based Dentons Pensions Management.

Although moving into the small actuarial practice for Mr Tilley “was a real culture shock” with only 14 employees – in comparison to the current 43-strong firm – he said it was a step in the right direction.

And like the many changes in his career, the introduction of the Finance Act 1989, heralded a major change in the birth of Sipps.

Mr Tilley said: “This opened up pensions to a much wider audience. Although Sipps really did not come into their own until 1995 when income drawdown came about.

“They were very new on the market but they had the wider flexibility and everyone realised that this was a good product.

“Sipps have been consistently pushed into the spotlight, and every time they are, even if it is bad news, then the Sipp concept is put out there and the other things it could do.

“I appreciate that Sipps are not for everybody, or just aimed at the high net worth individual either. There is one there for everybody, but people should not be fooled into thinking that they are a fashion accessory. It has to be the right one and the right time to do it.

“For those individuals who know all they ever want to do is manage a portfolio of collective funds, it is fine for them, but there might be other things that crop up with other features, as they might want to do this.”

Mr Tilley also said it is a minefield within which Sipps has to offer, considering all the features that they kick out.

He said that this was partly down to the problem of costing, for example, a low headline fee will not necessarily cover all the costs and services.

Mr Tilley feels strongly that if this problem continues, this could embark on an already tainted view of the pensions sector.

But, with influence from the FSA, he said that this sentiment can be reversed.

He added: “The FSA is very used to regulating products, whereas a Sipp is a product with features, and a service as well. The FSA had been feeling their way down the line, and have got its act together now. So it is in shape to make sure procedures are conducted in order. It is quite right and about time that it happened, and will give the consumer a bit more confidence. First, advisers have been given a good shake-up and second, so have the providers in the areas that it can afford to devote resources to, so it is doing quite a good job now.”

Mr Tilley also emphasised that the value of transparency within pensions is vital, as it is one of the main questions the FSA addresses and details in its audit.

He explained: “Transparency is a concern for them. I expect them to enquire about disclosure of those fees, so you cannot be regarded as complying with treating customers fairly if you have not given the full information to make an informed decision.

“That means specifying in the literature what features you have and have not got, and where your charges are being taken from on a discreet, clear basis.

“The IFA and their client will then have an informed decision, as it is a huge commitment and making sure it is the right vehicle for the right time.”

Mr Tilley pointed out that for Dentons, it aims to practice what it preaches and has taken a three-pronged approach to fulfilling this.

He said: “TCF is one of those things, where many firms and advisers think they are treating customers fairly. But the emphasis is on proving that you are.

“We devised a series of questionnaires issued to clients, asking them about the process both before and during when the scheme is running, whether they fully understood what is happening, how clear it was, treated well in correspondence and giving them the opportunity to tell us how they were treated, which is all done internally.

“We also commissioned the Investors in Customers external body to do an audit on all our own cases, where we contacted our client base to make sure they were happy for their details to be released. The third-party body contacts the customers with its own set of questions, so that it then collate the information and report back to the company, before publishing the results.

“Finally, we also have an exit questionnaire for those wanting to get out of a Sipp. We need to demonstrate that all our clients are getting a good service and what they are signing up for. We do this consistently and with confidence.”

Martin Tilley CV

1982-1987: SSAS administrator, Sun Alliance

1987-1988: SSAS team leader, Crown Financial Management

1988-present: Business development manager, Dentons Pensions Management Ltd