Investment Funds

Central to the objective of the EU Action Plan on Sustainable Finance is transition to a low-carbon, more sustainable, resource-efficient and circular economy in line with the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs) and goals of the Paris Agreement. Regulation and policy requirements emanating from the EU Action Plan impact directly on our clients, their fund management companies and the investment funds they manage and service.

The Asset Management & Investment Funds team engages day-to-day with clients on climate action-related advice. Our clients establish and service investment fund products. These products are increasingly focused on their role in fostering sustainability in the global financial services system and how funds can meaningfully integrate ESG factors.

Regulated fund management companies and investment funds are amongst the entities that must disclose under the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/2088) and Taxonomy Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2020/852). This is particularly important for so-called light-green and dark-green investment fund products. These are funds which promote environmental or social characteristics and have sustainable investment as an objective. We have been at the forefront of advising clients on the first phase of website and pre-contractual disclosure and are working with clients to plan for the next phases and ongoing requirements.

Sustainability disclosure is a very important aspect of sustainable finance. Sustainable investment product design and launch is the action with potential to re-direct capital flows consistent with a more climate-resilient economy and deliver impact aligned with the SDGs and Paris Agreement. We work alongside clients at fund product design stage to develop investment funds which meet the requirements of the light-green and dark-green categories and include other sustainable features such as carbon offset mechanisms, or draft appropriate disclosure of sustainability risks.

Changes to the UCITS and Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directives will require sustainability risks and sustainability factors to be taken into account for UCITS management companies, AIFMs and investment funds. We monitor European and Irish legislative, regulatory and policy developments that are part of broader sustainability initiatives, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, to identify how they interact with asset management and investment fund regulation and are relevant to our clients' products and their business.