Regulator Insights: Private Funds in Ireland - Present and future

With a number of reforms to the Irish private funds framework in recent years, Ireland is increasingly being considered by private fund managers as an attractive domicile for onshore EU fund ranges. James O’Sullivan, Head of Funds Authorisation at the Central Bank of Ireland (and previously Head of Funds Policy) joined us for a discussion on private funds and the Irish regulator’s approach to AIF approvals, including pre-submission for certain asset classes.

We also covered the continued development of the private funds infrastructure in Ireland, including the new license available to depositaries for closed-ended funds, as well as proposed ELTIF reforms and AIFMD2 loan origination fund proposals and how these compare to the current regulated loan origination fund regime which has been in place in Ireland since 2014 (the so-called “L-QIAIF”).

We were also joined by key industry experts, Fiona De Vega, Legal Counsel at Centaur and Eamon Lyons, Client Solutions Director at Waystone both of whom shared insights on the topic.

Moderator:

• James McKnight (Partner - Simmons & Simmons)

Panel:

• James O’Sullivan (Head of Funds Authorisation - Central Bank of Ireland)
• David Williams (Partner and Head of Private Funds - Simmons & Simmons)
• Eamon Lyons (Client Solutions Director - Waystone); and
• Fiona De Vega (Legal Counsel - Centaur)