The approaching millennium has focused more than a few minds in the financial services sector on product development changes that can and should be made - and no more so than in the pensions area.From January 4th, the first day of trading in the new year, share dealings will be done in euros - and the market can expect a range of euro investments to appear, to join the ones that came out last year which are aiming to capitalise on the growth in Europe and the heightened awareness of pension fund investment there.The changes announced in the Budget also pave a new way in which personal pension funds will be funded and utilised: the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, detailed plans from April for a sliding scale of age-related contributions, the delaying of the annuity purchase and the right ofretirees to make capital drawdowns. These changes are preparing the way for a more "grown up" approach to pension provision for the next millennium.As a result, a more sophisticated approach by individual pension-holders to their investment strategy is evolving. It began over the last five years, driven partly by the growing awareness of the costs and value implications of conventional pension advice and the increasing numbers of self-employed and contract workers who accept that they will probably never be able to rely on an employer's occupational scheme to fund their retirement.Hibernian Life took this bull by the horns when it launched a pension scheme a couple of years ago that offered a choice of fund management operations in addition to its own. These included Bank of Ireland Asset Management, the ESB and Ulster Bank Pension Fund managers. The idea behind it was a radical admission that pension risk should be spread around - an option promoted by the best independent financial advisers.Then they went a step further with annual pension statement, OpenPlan, which gives a banktype statement report on all costs and charges incurred during the year, the percentage growth rate in each fund and the cash return over the year. Though hardly a radical move, it is rare among the conventional pension providers who usually go years without updating their investors.The latest development is the launch (or rather re-launch) by NZI Life Ireland, this time with BCP Stockbrokers of an equity-based pension called the Pension Share Account, aimed at higher net worth, self-employed and company pension investors who want more control over the asset mix of their pensions.Davy Stockbrokers, in association with NZI, brought out its Davy Personal Pension Fund a couple of years ago which also gave the self-employed and company directors a direct hand in choosing their pension fund assets.With initial minimum contributions of £15,000 and £7,500 per annum thereafter, this BCP version is not a contract for the fainthearted since it is exposed to all the risks associated with direct stock investment. Typically, Irish pension funds have a 3040 per cent exposure to non-equity assets, but this asset spread is reflected in returns, which over the past seven years, for example, would be half the value of the performance of the Irish stock market index, states BCP.The attraction of a product like this is that the investor gets to choose not just the investment region - but individual stocks located in Ireland, Britain, the US, Japan, etc. This is best done in detailed consultation with professional assistance - hence the stockbroker's role, after taking independent financial advice as well.Nearly all the pension companies have accelerated their pension product development in recent years, especially in the spreading of charges over the lifetime of the contract, rather than only front-loading them. However, this is not always as transparent as it should be, and there is still some abuse of the system by intermediaries, some of whom have the temerity also to charge a fee in addition to accepting commission.The charges that apply to the NZI/BCP Pension Share Account are high compared to the similar Davy Stockbrokers' product. At 6 per cent on every contribution, it is double the 3 per cent initial charge by Davy; the annual management fee of 1.5 per cent is a full 1 per cent higher than the Davy 0.5 per cent fee. When the standard stockbroking fees are included for buy-and-sell orders, the charges could eat a rather large hole in both your fund and profits.A high exposure to equities is a good idea in a pension fund, especially for younger pension investors who have 30 or 40 years in which to build up a fund. But charges are a factor that need to be taken into account before you buy any pension product, however tempting the idea of running your own fund may be. Independent financial advice should be your first priority.