Asset Management & Investment Funds: Irish Practice Developments: Dec 2019

Some Approaching Compliance Deadlines

  • 31 December 2019. Corporate Governance – completion of reviews of board and individual director performance. Under the Irish Funds Corporate Governance Code, the overall board's performance and that of individual members must be reviewed annually with a formal documented review and a review of the chairperson taking place at least once every three years. 
  • 31 December 2019. Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Terrorist Financing - collective investment schemes and management companies should be aware of the regulatory expectation to offer training to their boards on the law relating to AML/CTF on an annual basis (and at such other times as may be appropriate). Boards should consider guideline 6.6 of the Central Bank of Ireland Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Guidelines for the Financial Sector in the context of reviewing the AML/CTF policy and ensuring that it receives appropriate confirmations from relevant persons, as appropriate. 
  • 31 December 2019. Business Plan/Programme of Activity - UCITS ManCos, self-managed UCITS, AIFMs and internally managed AIFs, where they have not already done so, may need to complete their annual performance review on service providers. They should also:
    • obtain annual confirmations from service providers and relevant persons in accordance with their business plan/programme of activity
    • complete onsite visits with service providers
    • ensure adoption of valuation policy
    • make disclosure in respect of connected party transactions
  • 31 December 2019. Fitness & Probity - RFSPs, where they have not already done so, will need to obtain their annual certification from persons performing PCFs (e.g. directors) and CFs (e.g. money laundering reporting officer and company secretary) that they are aware of the Fitness and Probity Standards (the Standards), agree to continue to abide by those Standards and will notify the board if they no longer comply. This forms part of ongoing performance monitoring set out in Section 22 of the Guidance on Fitness and Probity Standards.
  • 31 January/28 February 2020. Fitness & Probity - RFSPs will need to submit their annual PCF Confirmation Return to the CBI. The submission due date for the annual PCF Confirmation Return (for the year ending 31 December 2019) for UCITS ManCos and for AIFMs is 31 January 2020. The submission due date for investment funds will likely be 28 February 2020. The current annual PCF Confirmation Return and associated reporting date and submission deadline for each entity will be detailed on the ONR system.

The Annual PCF Confirmation Return is made via the ONR system and involves a mandatory declaration to confirm that the CEO or equivalent, has confirmed in writing that:

  • the RFSP has brought the Standards to the attention of all PCFs
  • the RFSP is satisfied on reasonable grounds that all PCFs comply with the Standards
  • the written agreement of all PCFs to abide by the Standards has been obtained
  • all necessary due diligence has occurred
  • the RFSP will investigate any fitness and probity concerns, take appropriate action and notify the CBI of any action taken without delay
     
  • 31 January 2020. UCITS ManCo and AIFM ownership confirmation - UCITS ManCos and AIFMs need to file the annual ownership confirmation by 31 January 2020.
     
  • 19 February 2020. UCITS KIID/ PRIIPs KID - A UCITS must update its KIID on an annual basis for each sub-fund / standalone fund within 35 business days of the end of each calendar year. The annual update of the KIID must be filed no later than 19 February 2020 (where required). Any update to the KIID filed with the CBI must be translated (as necessary), filed in any other host jurisdictions where the UCITS is registered to market its shares and uploaded on the UCITS' website. AIFs which have issued a PRIIPs KID must review KIDs regularly, when there is a significant change, and at least annually. The KID must be revised as necessary. Unlike the UCITS KIID, there is no annual refresh deadline. UCITS are currently exempt from the obligation to produce a PRIIPs KID until 31 December 2021.
     
  • 28 February 2020. Fund Profile Return - The annual CBI Fund Profile Return is required for each sub-fund of an Irish authorised fund and each standalone fund. It is to be prepared for the period up to 31 December 2019, with a submission deadline (via the ONR) of 28 February 2020. The CBI does not anticipate that the fund profile will change from year to year, as changes would most probably reflect changes within the fund's offering documents.  Therefore, year-to-year updates to the fund profile are expected to be minimal and reflect significant changes. The CBI issued guidance and a template.
     
  • 31 March 2020. Thematic review of closet indexing - CBI requires documentation updates triggered by its thematic review of closet indexing to be completed by 31 March 2020.
     
  • 31 March 2020. MMFR quarterly reporting - MMF managers must send their first quarterly reports to national regulators by the end of Q1 2020 (as clarified by ESMA).

The above list does not cover tax, FATCA or CRS filings, ad hoc filings (such as regulatory reports) or filings of annual accounts (and related documents which include any annual FDI Return) and semi-annual accounts or other similar returns which deadlines vary to reflect the particular entity's year end. By way of example, the Companies (Accounting) Act 2017 obliges UCITS investment companies and AIF investment companies to file annual accounts with the CRO within eleven months of their financial year end.

CBI Christmas and year-end deadlines for:

The CBI issued its Christmas and year-end deadlines for:

  • fund and sub-fund applications that have pre-Christmas or pre year-end approval deadlines including self-managed/internally managed investment company/ICAV applications
  • approval of post-authorisation amendments that have pre-Christmas or pre year-end approval or noting deadlines

Go to publication for more detail.

CBI Supervisory Priorities for 2020

Michael Hodson, CBI Director of Asset Management and Investment Banking delivered a speech entitled Resilience in the face of changing winds on 3 December 2020.

Mr Hodson discussed the changing landscape of the asset management sector, the evolution of supervision and supervisory convergence. Mr Hodson also identified CBI supervisory priorities for 2020 which included:

  • Implementation of the new bespoke prudential regime for investment firms, the Investment Firms Regulation and Investment Firms Directive (also discussed under EU & International Developments). The new bespoke regime aims to be an appropriate, tailored and proportionate prudential regime that will categorise investment firms based on their nature, scale and complexity. Critically each category of investment firm will have a differing set of requirements in respect of reporting, capital, liquidity, remuneration etc.   
  • A review of the Irish Client Asset Regime (CAR). The review is considering broadening the scope of the CAR to include credit institutions. CBI intends to engage with industry through consultation, particularly on any revisions to the CAR. Credit institutions can therefore expect further engagement from the Client Asset Specialist Team, as the team seeks clarity around the governance and operational arrangements that impact on client assets
  • Continued focus on the market based finance sector domiciled here in Ireland. “We will therefore continue to work towards ensuring that the market-based finance is monitored appropriately and that the actual risks from non-banks are understood”
  • On-going supervision work. "I would argue that it is the single most important body of work that we undertake as regulators." CBI supervision work will continue in 2020 across a number of areas including but not limited to:
    • the conclusion of the thematic review on fund management company effectiveness
    • further consultation work on errors in investment funds
    • a focus on liquidity risk and leverage in the non-banking sector both of which remain important issues on the CBI's agenda
    • the engagement meetings and full risk assessments that supervised entities have come to expect in line with the CBI's risk-based approach to supervision

For more information in relation to this topic please contact your usual contact on the A&L Goodbody Asset Management & Investment Funds team.

Date published: 16 December 2019