IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Nicholas Blake-Knox, Jonathan Sheehan, Damien Barnaville and Joe Mitchell, Walkers
3.2.2 Legal Structures Used by Fund Managers
accepting an investment in the fund, all UCITS must provide investors with either a PRIIPs KID or a key investor information document (KIID), which are short form offering documents sum - marising the key features of the UCITS. The PRIIPs KID and the KIID are similar but have certain differences. Under legislative measures, UCITS are required to make an annual submis - sion of KIIDs to the Central Bank (to the extent KIIDs continue to be produced), and to submit an annual report detailing the types of financial derivative instruments invested in by the fund during the period. Funds that are required to provide PRIIPs KIDs to EEA retail investors are required to submit the PRIIPs KIDs to the Central Bank. Irish investment funds are also required to pro - vide financial statements and an annual report on the financial state of the entity to investors. Umbrella ICAVs may publish separate financial statements for each sub-fund. In addition, the Central Bank requires ad hoc reg - ulatory reporting in certain circumstances, such as the suspension of a fund, material breaches of the investment policy, and if there are material errors in the calculation of the fund’s NAV. 3.2 Fund Investment 3.2.1 Types of Investors in Retail Funds Investment in Irish UCITS is not limited to retail investors: all types of institutional investors and high net worth individuals invest in UCITS, which are the most popular fund type in Ireland. According to figures published by the Central Bank, the total assets held by Irish UCITS at the end of November 2024 amounted to EUR4,027 trillion, an increase of EUR810 billion from the end of 2023, driven by transaction inflows and positive market movements.
UCITS management companies are typically established as private companies limited by shares. 3.2.3 Restrictions on Investors There are no regulatory restrictions on the types of investors that can invest in Irish UCITS, pro - vided they comply with on-boarding and anti- money laundering due diligence requirements. 3.3 Regulatory Environment 3.3.1 Regulatory Regime UCITS established in Ireland are authorised under the European Communities (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securi - ties) Regulations 2011 as amended (the “UCITS Regulations”), which transpose the UCITS Direc - tive (2009/65/EC). The Central Bank (Supervi - sion and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48(1)) (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Trans - ferable Securities) Regulations 2019 (the “Cen - tral Bank UCITS Regulations”), together with the Central Bank’s Q&As on UCITS and other guidance, provides information on the specific requirements relating to UCITS. UCITS may invest in transferable securities and other liquid financial assets, but the following restrictions apply in terms of permitted invest - ments: • limits on the types of investments in which UCITS can invest; • diversification limits; • limits on the use of financial derivative instru - ments; and • limited use of leverage. For example, a UCITS may invest no more than 10% of its net assets in securities that are not
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