Ireland consults on enhancement to Corporate Governance for Fund Managers

19 September 2014

The Irish Funds Industry Association has welcomed the consultation by the Central Bank of Ireland (the 'CBI') to enhance fund management company effectiveness and efficiency.

The consultation also proposes further enhancements to the existing governance structure and includes a proposal to rationalise the current list of 15 designated functions under AIFMD to six functions. It is also proposed that UCITS management companies (and self-managed UCITS) managerial functions will similarly be rationalised to six.

In order to ensure the availability of the necessary skillsets required to oversee these functions the CBI are relaxing their requirement to have two Irish resident directors. Firstly, the CBI are defining what Irish resident means (i.e. that a director will have to spend at least 110 working days in the country per annum). Secondly, it will be possible to replace one Irish resident director with a director who has the necessary competencies and who commits to making themselves available to the CBI if needed.

Under the proposed regime Boards will also have to document the adequacy of their combined expertise and provide a rationale for the Board's composition ensuring they have an appropriate balance of skills and competencies, and keep the effectiveness of the board under on-going review. The consultation also proposes guidance for boards on the oversight of delegates such as investment managers and distributors.

Pat Lardner, CEO of the Irish Funds Industry Association said:

The funds industry in Ireland has achieved strong growth through a combination of excellent practices with pragmatic, proportionate and sound regulation. This new consultation from the CBI reflects a further evolution to ensure Irish investments funds and management companies continue to have efficient and robust oversight and governance procedures. We welcome this period of consultation on such an important subject, as well as the need for an appropriate transitional period once the Guidance Note is finalised. This will ensure Boards have sufficient time to implement the new regime.

The IFIA has continually promoted good governance practices, through the publication of Guidance Papers, Information Notes and also the publication of our Corporate Governance Code for Collective Investment Schemes and Management Companies. We also assisted in the development of the Certified Investment Fund Directors Program, which we fully endorse. This consultation is a further example of a thoughtful focus on governance which should continue to ensure a robust and appropriate governance environment for both users and investors in Irish domiciled funds.

The Central Bank of Ireland Consultation Paper may be accessed here.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Supriya Mathur; Jamie Wynn Williams; James Dumelow

Hume Brophy

Email: ifia@humebrophy.com

Tel: +44 (0) 203 440 5656

Pat Lardner

Chief Executive, Irish Funds Industry Association

Email: info@irishfunds.ie

Tel: +353 (0)1 6753200

Follow us on Twitter: @IrishFunds

About the IFIA

The Irish Funds Industry Association (IFIA) is the representative body of the international investment funds community in Ireland, representing the administrators, custodian banks, managers, transfer agents, fund promoters and professional advisory firms involved in the international fund services industry in Ireland.

The IFIA's 100+ members are responsible for in excess of 12,500 funds with a net asset value of over €2.9 trillion. The objective of the IFIA is to support and complement the development of the international funds industry in Ireland, ensuring Ireland continues to be a location of choice for the domiciling and servicing of investment funds.

Over the last 20 years Ireland has become a premier jurisdiction for fund managers establishing regulated investment products for distribution in the global marketplace. In recent years Ireland has been the fastest growing international fund administration centre and boasts the largest hedge fund administration centre in the world. Ireland is also a leading European domicile for money market funds and exchange traded funds, as well as the world?s premier jurisdiction for the stock exchange listing of investment funds.

International investment managers are attracted to Ireland due to its open, transparent and regulated investment environment and its strong emphasis on investor protection.

Over 430 fund promoters from across the globe have used Ireland to set up regulated investment funds distributed to shareholders throughout the world. Fund promoters can rely on expert service supported by 13,000 skilled employees across the entire service provider community, including fund administrators, trustees, legal advisers, auditors, tax advisers, compliance, listing and other industry specialists.

For further information about the IFIA, please visit www.irishfunds.ie