IRELAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Nicholas Blake-Knox, Jonathan Sheehan, Damien Barnaville and Joe Mitchell, Walkers
listed, traded or dealt in on a regulated market, and is precluded from investing more than 10% of its assets in any one issuer, other than in the case of certain exempted categories of issuers where higher limits are applied. Where a UCITS invests more than 5% of its assets in any issuer, the maximum amount of any such holdings in excess of 5% is limited to 40% of the NAV of the investment fund (known as the 5/10/40 rule), other than in the case of certain exempted cate - gories of issuers where higher limits are applied. 3.3.2 Requirements for Non-Local Service Providers All Irish investment funds (whether AIFs or UCITS) must have an Irish-domiciled deposi - tary and administrator, which are regulated and supervised by the Central Bank. While Irish investment funds structured as investment companies and ICAVs may be self- managed, there has been a move towards funds that are externally managed by a UCITS man - agement company, in the case of a UCITS. A non-Irish UCITS management company based in the EU can manage Irish investment funds if it has made the requisite application to its home regulator. In recent years, there has been a rise in so-called “Super ManCos”, which are entities seeking authorisation from the Central Bank as both an AIFM and a UCITS management com - pany in order to act for AIFs and UCITS. A person must be approved by the Central Bank to act as a director of a UCITS, and is required to comply with the requirements of the Central Bank’s fitness and probity regime as well as the common and additional conduct standards, as set out in 2.3.2 Requirements for Non-Local Service Providers .
Irish investment funds are required to file any material contracts they enter into with the Cen - tral Bank. 3.3.3 Local Regulatory Requirements for Non- Local Managers The approval process for a discretionary invest - ment manager of a UCITS is the same as the process for AIFs, as set out in 2.3.3 Local Regu- latory Requirements for Non-Local Managers . 3.3.4 Regulatory Approval Process As the Central Bank reviews key fund documen - tation as part of the application for authorisation of a UCITS (as well as retail investor AIFs), the timeframe for obtaining authorisation depends on the level of comment received from the Cen - tral Bank on the documentation submitted. For applications for new UCITS or RIAIFs that are not clones of previously authorised funds, the Central Bank aims to respond to initial com - ments within 20 business days of receiving a complete application, and to respond to all sub - sequent comments within ten business days of receipt. This timeframe also applies to applica - tions for the approval of new sub-funds that are considered to be complex. Where it is intended to invest in contracts for difference (CFDs), collateralised loan obliga - tions (CLOs), contingent convertible securities (CoCos), binary options or such other asset classes as the Central Bank may prescribe from time to time, the application will be subject to enhanced scrutiny by the Central Bank and additional information may be sought, including model portfolio information. For new sub-funds that are clones of previously approved sub-funds or are considered to be non-complex, the Cen - tral Bank aims to respond to initial comments within ten business days of receiving a complete
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