Why? Ireland
The Irish Funds Industry Association (IFIA) is the representative body for the funds industry in Ireland, with the administrators, custodians, managers, transfer agents, fund promoters and professional advisory firms involved in the international fund services industry in Ireland. The Irish funds industry services assets worth over Euro 1.8 trillion held in over 11,000 funds. The objective of the IFIA is to support and compliment the development of the international funds industry in Ireland, ensuring it continues to be a location of choice for the domiciling and servicing of investment funds.
“The primary strength of the Irish funds industry, in my opinion, lies in the strength of the service providers and the integration of those providers across disciplines. In particular I think the administration companies and legal firms integrate well and this is of great benefit to clients. There is, amongst these providers, a “can-do” attitude which serves clients very well.”
(Source: Managing Director, UK Boutique Asset Manager)
“We found Ireland’s tax offering to be the most attractive and beneficial to our fund range. For us it was a key motivating factor in locating our fund platform in Ireland”
(Source: CFO, leading US Asset Manager )
Excellence
§ Ireland offers unrivalled experience and expertise in establishing and servicing the widest range of funds through a support structure including more than 11,000 people providing a range of value-added services, including fund administration, transfer agency, custody, legal, tax and audit services.
§ Irish service providers are recognized for their professionalism, responsiveness and desire to facilitate clients, which defines Ireland as the international investment fund centre of choice.
§ Founded on the principles of openness, transparency and investor protection, Ireland’s regulatory environment is internationally recognized as pragmatic and governed by an approachable financial regulator that is willing to meet clients and work through any issues.
§ Ireland has developed an effective and robust regulatory framework which enables efficient fund and promoter approval.
§ Ireland’s effective, favourable tax environment delivers the best tax outcome for the investor.
§ The Irish Government is fully committed to the competitiveness and ongoing development of the funds industry, which it views as an important growth sector for the Irish economy.
Innovation
§ From traditional ‘long only’ to complex alternative strategies, Ireland offers world class, innovative product solutions catering to the widest spectrum of investment strategies. Ireland was the first regulated jurisdiction to provide a regulatory framework specifically for the alternative investment fund industry.
§ The Irish funds industry is at the forefront in preparing for and reacting to regulatory developments at EU and national level. This responsiveness and adaptability enables clients to bring innovative products to market quickly, supported by the most developed regulatory, product and service infrastructure available.
§ With an unrivalled track record in the alternatives space, the Irish funds industry remains at the forefront of product innovation, providing opportunities and solutions for this complex sector.
§ Thought leadership is the cornerstone on which the industry is built, evidenced by the important contribution Ireland makes to developing industry practices.
§ The Irish funds industry recognizes that technology is key to responding effectively to increasing regulatory, reporting and efficiency demands and with a total automation rate of 86%, Ireland is leading the drive for greater efficiencies through fund processing standardization.
Reach
§ With over 388 fund promoters from over 50 countries, Ireland is a major centre for the cross-border distribution of UCITS and other funds to approximately 70 countries across the globe.
§ Ireland’s fund industry supports a total of 852 promoters across both domiciled and non-domiciled funds.
§ Almost all of the world’s major fund service providers have a presence in Ireland, combining local excellence with global reach.
§ Ireland is a member of the EU, eurozone, OECD and FATF and IOSCO and is an internationally recognised jurisdiction. Ireland does not operate banking secrecy and was the only international funds centre to appear on the original OECD white list of countries of countries that are in compliance with internationally agreed tax standards.
§ With a continuously expanding tax treaty network approaching 60 countries, Ireland has one of the most developed and favourable tax treaty networks in the world.
§ Ireland has signed bilateral Memoranda of Understanding with 19 jurisdictions including China, Dubai, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jersey, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE and USA and cooperates with all EU Member states through the EU legislative framework.
§ With over 3,000 funds and sub-funds listed on the Irish Stock Exchange, Ireland is recognised worldwide as the leading centre for listing investment funds.
§ A wide range of languages are supported in the Irish funds industry and with 10% of Ireland’s resident population coming from abroad, the Irish funds industry has access to a workforce which includes many native speakers of European and Asian languages
“Ireland’s Central Bank is respected for the firmness and clarity of its regulation but also for its approachability and willingness to show flexibility where it is allowed to within the European regulatory framework on matters of form rather than substance.”
(Source: Japanese Asset Manager who established a UCITS in Ireland and migrated other funds to the Irish structure )
Please see below the Why?Ireland Brochures:
Versión en Español - Spanish Version
