Matt Le Tissier – Head of Personal Pensions, Sovereign Pension Services (CI) Ltd
- You’ve grown your career with Sovereign over the years. What has that journey been like, and what have been some key milestones?
I started at Sovereign when I was 25 as an administrator, and I often tell others that my working career started at Sovereign. Historically, I never had a connection or drive with my working career, however, at Sovereign something just clicked. My first key part of my progression was when I challenged a third-party company being used for a particular service and was able to evidence that around 50% of the assessments were being completed incorrectly. I then took on the responsibility myself to complete the assessments, which were some of the early days of what eventually became the IAS in-house dealings assessment, which became far more sophisticated than my basic spreadsheet. From there I gained the confidence to look to improve other areas of the business, and over the years I have been involved with the Operations Directors Meetings, where I had the chance to present on what was my “favourite subject”, suspended funds, which lead to a group process being introduced on how we treated them. In my more recent years, I have been involved in some large group projects, such as the NOPAS, Utopia, and Mapping Processes which will link to group standardisation of pension administration.
As a journey it’s been a bit of a roller coaster, which has had its lows at times, but it’s not only shaped my career, but me as a person. I am privileged to have worked with the people I have, and during that time I have made good friends and worked with individuals that have been excellent mentors.
- What makes Guernsey such a strong jurisdiction for personal pension solutions, and how do clients typically benefit from this?
In Guernsey, out biggest strength is certainly our technical knowledge and our ability to seek solutions for clients. Due to certain restrictions, we have had to overcome various hurdles as a jurisdiction we have become more forward thinking and understand what options are available for clients. In addition to this, we have a vast array of products and options for those looking to set up a pension from a young age, anyone looking to relocate to retire in Guernsey, and those looking to set up an international savings plan in a well-regulated and stable jurisdiction.
- How do you and your team approach helping clients plan for retirement in a way that feels both personal and practical?
The team really do have desire and drive to excel in customer service, and with this they must be able to present all options available to clients and this sometimes can be complex, so the team do not have templated responses, so every response must be carefully considered though out, without including confusing and overly jargony terminology. Being able to provide the clients with best solutions is always at the forefront of the team, and even if it’s not the client’s wanted outcome, a full explanation will be provided, with confirmation of why we cannot proceed, which is most likely to protect from any unwanted risk.
- What’s one common misconception you encounter about personal pensions, and how do you help clients navigate it?
The biggest misconception for someone not having a pension from outside world perspective is they see a pension as an “old persons thing”, and that they do not have to worry about until they get older, with other priorities being more pressing, such as a house, nice car, or a luxury holiday. We all live in a world that’s more about today, rather than a focus on tomorrow. For clients of ours, it’s more about understanding the rules of a pension, when they can drawdown and how much, as well providing them with an understanding of what they can invest in. Our team are very good at educating clients on our processes, providing a clear understanding on what is needed for that process to be completed correctly and as quickly as possible, with an explanation why.
- When you’re not working with clients on their retirement goals, how do you like to unwind and enjoy life in Guernsey?
I have a busy family life, and spending time with my wife and son is very important to me because life goes so quickly. However, from a personal perspective I’ve always had a passion for fitness, and sport in general, especially football and boxing.
