Investment Funds Established in Ireland

The Central Bank is responsible for the authorisation and supervision of investment funds established in Ireland ("investment funds"). Investment funds are established for the purpose of investing the pooled funds of investors (held as units or shares) in assets in accordance with investment objectives and investment policies published in a prospectus.

There are two main categories of funds authorised by the Central Bank

UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities)
AIFs

UCITS

UCITS have their basis in EU legislation and once authorised in one Member State, may be marketed throughout the EU, without further authorisation. This is described as a EU passport. UCITS are retail investment products.

Alternative Investment Funds

AIFs are authorised under the following pieces of domestic legislation:
Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle (ICAV) Act 2015;
Unit Trusts Act, 1990;
Companies Act, 1990 Part XIII;
Investment Limited Partnerships Act, 1994; and
Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2005.

Additional Supervisory Levy

Who pays the levy?

In accordance with the provisions of the Central Bank Act 1942 (Section 32D) (Investment Funds – Additional Supervisory Levy) Regulations 2017 (“S.I. 441”):

All investment funds authorised and/or approved by the Central Bank on or after 1 December 2017 are liable to pay an Additional Supervisory Levy in the year of authorisation/approval.
Standalone Funds will be levied €5,000
Umbrella Funds will be levied based on the number of sub-funds within the Umbrella Structure.

Find out more about the associated amounts. It should be noted that where the number of sub-funds received in a single application for authorisation of an Umbrella fund exceeds 10, the amount to be charged will not exceed €23,000. For the avoidance of doubt, all further sub-funds approved are liable to pay the Additional Supervisory Levy upon approval.

Timelines

The Central Bank is committed to providing a clear, open and transparent authorisation process while ensuring a rigorous assessment of the applicable regulatory standards.

Applications will be assessed within the below timelines.

FundType	Initial Comments	Subsequent Comments
Non-fast track UCITS / RIAIF (i.e. umbrellas other clones and complex sub-funds)	20 working days	10 working days
Fast track UCITS / RIAIF (i.e. clone umbrella, clone sub-fund and non-complex sub-fund)	10 working days	5working days
QIAIF / QIF sub-funds	24 hours*	N/A

Service Standards Performance Reports

The reports set out on a half-yearly basis, the Central Bank's performance against Service Standards that we have committed to, in respect of:

Authorisation of Funds
Approval of Sub-Funds
Authorisation of Financial Service Providers
Processing of Fitness and Probity applications