IRELAND: IFSRA Publish Regulatory Connection Issue 13

Thursday January 10 2008

IFSRA has published the latest edition of its Regulatory Connection Newsletter. This can be viewed at the above link. The publication reviews a number of issues relevant to funds, including:

*Organisation of UCITS Management Companies

*Eligible assets for UCITS

*Amendments to existing Guidance Note for Promoters

Organisation of UCITS Management Companies – New Guidance Note

In November 2007, IFSRA issued revised UCITS Notices and a new Guidance Note on its requirements for the organisation of UCITS Management Companies.

Primarily the Notices and Guidance Note put in place measures to ensure that a robust corporate governance regime exists and to enable the persons who conduct the business of the management company to monitor effectively the activities of the company.

The Notice amendment and Guidance Note also provides specific guidance to UCITS management companies with regard to capital, fitness and probity of shareholders and directors, management of business, reporting, and books and records along with applying additional requirements for management companies, which provide individual portfolio management services.

The revised Notices can be found on the IFSRA website – http://www.ifsra.ie/industry/in_fds_leg.asp. The Guidance Notice will be published on the website shortly.

Eligible assets for UCITS

IFSRA also confirms its intention to issue further revisions to the UCITS Notices and related Guidance Notes to reflect the EU Level 2 and Level 3 requirements for eligible assets. A consultation with regard to some related matters, including stock lending and stock borrowing, was issued on 20 December and comments are requested by 1 February.

Promoters – Amendment to existing Guidance Note

The Financial Regulator issued a revised Guidance Note 2/96 on Promoters to Collective Investment Schemes. The revised Guidance Note applies a fast track approval regime of one week for promoter firms that are authorised under the MiFID Directive or are established as credit institutions in the EEA. The revised Guidance Note is now available on the IFSRA website – http://www.ifsra.ie/industry/in_fds_pol.asp