Asset Management & Investment Funds Publications - UCITS

UCITS

The Central Bank of Ireland announces UCITS liquidity questionnaire.
The CBI contacted certain Irish UCITS fund management companies and Irish UCITS on 6 February 2020 to advise that a detailed UCITS liquidity questionnaire will become available for completion in March 2020.

ESG in 2020: What’s relevant for UCITS Managers and AIFMs?
A look at ESG-related policy, regulatory and legislative developments at EU level and their relevance for the asset management and investment funds sector.

Harmonisation of cross-border distribution of UCITS and AIFs
A European Directive and Regulation on the cross-border distribution of funds (CBDF) came into force on 1 August 2019

The Central Bank of Ireland clarifies certification process following July 2019 guidance on UCITS financial indices.
The CBI issued revised guidance in July 2019 on UCITS financial indices. In January 2020, the CBI clarified the pre- and post-authorisation certification and confirmation process in that guidance. 

Updated and Consolidated Central Bank UCITS Regulations 2019
The Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48(1)) (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations 2019 (S.I. No. 230 of 2019) (the Central Bank UCITS Regulations) have issued.

Brexit- UK Temporary Permissions Regime
The FCA has announced that the notification window for the TPR has been further extended until 30 October 2019.

UCITS Performance Fees - ESMA consults on guidelines July 2019
ESMA issued a consultation on guidelines for performance fees in UCITS on 16 July 2019. The date for responses to the consultation is 31 October 2019.

ESMA UCITS Q&A update March 2019 - UCITS KIID benchmark disclosure
The ESMA UCITS Q&A updated on 29 March 2019 clarifies benchmark and past performance disclosure obligations in UCITS KIIDs.

China Bond Connect: Irish UCITS and AIFs
The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) completed its review of China Bond Connect and from 21 March 2019 Irish UCITS and AIFs may use Bond Connect. Bond Connect is designed to provide international investors with access to the China bond market.

Second Shareholders’ Rights Directive
SRD II contains transparency provisions which are applicable specifically to AIFMs, UCITS ManCos and SMICs. One requirement is to have a shareholder engagement policy - or explain why one is not in place. Another is a requirement to disclose certain information annually to institutional investors with which a certain arrangement is in place. There is no member state discretion to exempt UCITS or AIFs from these requirements.

PRIIPs Regulation: 2019 update
At the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019 there were a number of proposed updates to the PRIIPs regulations. The net result is that a comprehensive review of the PRIIPs Delegated Regulation will take place in 2019.  You can read a summary of the recent developments, including those related to the exemption for UCITS, and proposed next steps in this publication.

Does your Irish fund need a PRIIP KID?
This publication contains a summary of the EU Regulation on Packaged Retain and Insurance-based Investment Products (EU 1286/2014) the PRIIPs Regulation which was effective on 1 January 2018. It also provides analysis to help make an initial assessment whether your Irish fund is in scope to produce a PRIIP KID.

Benchmark Regulations
On 29 June 2016, Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts or to measure the performance of investment funds (the Regulations) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
The Regulations are a European legislative response to the LIBOR scandal and the allegations and subsequent investigations into manipulation of the setting of LIBOR, EURIBOR and other benchmarks.

The Central Bank of Ireland has improved certain aspects of the authorisation and post-authorisation process for UCITS and Retail AIFs
The Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) has improved certain aspects of the authorisation and post-authorisation process for UCITS and Retail AIFs. The Central Bank will no longer carry out a prior review in relation to:

• the establishment of new share classes
• depositary agreements
• trust deeds (for unit trusts)
• deeds of constitution (for CCFs)
• (most) UCITS financial indices

This is subject to receipt of relevant Central Bank application forms and written confirmations.

The Central Bank has also issued an application form for UCITS merger applications which reflects the requirements under the UCITS Regulations 2011 and does not introduce any new requirements.

Central Bank moves to self-certification for most UCITS using financial indices
On 8 October 2018, the Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) introduced:

• a self-certification regime in respect of (most) financial indices used by UCITS for investment or efficient portfolio management purposes
• a pre-approval submission to the Central Bank will be required in limited circumstances
• no certification is required where an index is used solely as a performance benchmark.

The changes are reflected in updated guidance on the use of financial indices by UCITS (the Guidance).

The Securitisation Regulation
The Securitisation Regulation (Regulation 2017/2402) (the Regulation) came into force on 17 January 2018 and will be directly applicable across the EU from 1 January 2019. It is part of the European Commission’s reform measures on the EU’s capital markets union. It contains significant changes to the current securitisation regulatory framework in its consolidation of the existing patchwork of sector-specific rules. It also introduces rules for issuing simple, transparent and standardised (STS) transactions. These harmonised rules impact UCITS management companies, AIFMs, internally-managed UCITS and AIFs and certain other types of investor (collectively, Institutional Investors) that engage in certain transactions. 

Money Market Reform – update to Reverse Distribution Mechanism
Regulation (EU) 2017/1131 of the European Parliament on MMFs (the MMFR) came into effect on 20 July 2017.

CP119 Central Bank Consultation on amendments Central Bank UCITS Regulations
On 29 March 2018, the Central Bank of Ireland published a consultation paper which includes proposals to amend and consolidate the Central Bank UCITS REgulations (CP119), whihc is the statutory instrument that forms the basis for the Irish regulatory framework for UCITS.

ESMA final Opinion on UCITS share classes
On 30 January 2017, ESMA published its opinion on the use of share classes in a UCITS investment fund in response to the ESMA Discussion Paper on Share Classes of UCITS (the Opinion). The Opinion was issued due to diverging approaches taken by regulators across the European Union and focusses on the extent to which different types of share classes of the same UCITS sub-fund may differ from one another.

Detailed Analysis of UCITS Remuneration Provisions
On 23 July 2015 the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a consultation paper in respect of its guidelines on sound remuneration policies under the UCITS Directive and AIFMD (the CP). This consultation closed in October 2015.

UCITS V - Spotlight on the Depositary
A spotlight on UCITS V and how clients are planning and preparing for its impact from a depositary perspective.

Detailed Analysis of Central Bank UCITS Regulations 2015 
On 5 October 2015 the Central Bank of Ireland (Central Bank) published new Central Bank UCITS Regulations which will commence on 1 November 2015 (CB UCITS Regulations).

UCITS - Remuneration Guidelines 
ESMA published their consultation on guidelines on the UCITS V remuneration requirements.