Tuesday January 9 2018

News Source: Fund Regulation

Focus: Other

Type: General

Country: Ireland




On 2 January 2018, the Central Bank published the fourth edition of its Investment Firms Q&A containing an amendment to existing question ID 1001 regarding who the Investment Firms Regulations apply to, and new questions ID 1032-1037. ID 1014 has been deleted as a template for the annual outsourcing return is now available. ID 1025 is no longer relevant given the amendment to Regulation 19 of the Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 (Section 48(1))(Investment Firms) Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 604 of 2017).

ID 1032

  1. When is the first return of the Management/Annual Accounts (upload and data entry) specified in Part 1 of the Schedule of the Central Bank Investment Firms Regulations, due to be submitted to the Central Bank by fund administrators?
  2. Yes. All fund administrators are required to submit an annual outsourcing return. If you have not entered into any outsourcing arrangements, you should submit a nil file.

ID 1033

  1. I do not engage in outsourcing. Do I need to submit an annual outsourcing return?
  2. Yes. All fund administrators are required to submit an annual outsourcing return. If you have not entered into any outsourcing arrangements, you should submit a nil file.

ID 1034

  1. Am I required to include administration activities which I have outsourced to another legal entity in the annual outsourcing return where these activities were never previously carried out directly by the firm in Ireland?
  2. Yes.

ID 1035

  1. Will existing documentation need to be redrafted due to changes in terminology as a result of the integration of the Client Asset Regulations and the Investor Money Regulations into Parts 6 and 7 of the Central Bank Investment Firms Regulations?
  2. No. Any future updates to documentation should amend relevant references.

ID 1036

  1. Is the auditor who performs the client asset examination or the investor money examination required to be the same auditor who audits the financial statements of the investment firm or fund service provider?
  2. No.

ID 1037

  1. I intend to comply with reporting requirements in relation to client assets as required under Article 63 of Commission Delegated Regulation 2017/565 by making statements of client financial instruments available in a secured area of my website, specifically dedicated to the individual client, and sending the client a notification of the availability of the document on the website. Is this sufficient?
  2. Yes, if: – Your reporting to clients, as required under Article 63, is consistent with the approach set out in Q&A No. 3 under the heading “suitability and appropriateness” of the ESMA Q&As on MiFID II and MiFIR investor protection and intermediaries topics; and – You have and maintain evidence that the client has accessed the statement via the secured area of the firm’s website at least once during the relevant quarter.

Click on the above link for further information.