Central Bank of Ireland’s Year-End Approval and Amendment Timeframes for Investment Funds

 
September 29, 2020

On 28 September 2020, the Central Bank of Ireland (the “Central Bank”) sent a letter to the Irish funds industry outlining the timeframes for receipt of: (i) new fund applications; and (ii) post-authorisation amendments that have approval deadlines before Christmas or year-end (the “Year-End Letter”).

It is worth noting that amendments to fund documents that will be required to ensure compliance with Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability related disclosures in the financial services sector (the “SFDR”) will not need to be included as part of any pre-year-end submission on the basis the deadline to comply with the SFDR is 10 March 2021.

Deadlines for receipt of complete applications are set out below:

QIAIF Filings

Applications Submitted Through ORION (the Central Bank’s online reporting system)1

Normal timeframes will apply until Tuesday 22 December 2020.

For authorisation / approval / noting on:Deadline for Receipt:
Wednesday 23 December 20205 p.m. on Tuesday 22 December 2020
Tuesday 29 December 202023 p.m. on Wednesday 23 December 2020
Monday 4 January 20215 p.m. on Wednesday 30 December 2020

Non-ORION Based Applications (including post-authorisation amendments)3


Normal timeframes will apply until Tuesday 22 December 2020.

For authorisation / approval / noting on:Deadline for Receipt:
Wednesday 23 / Thursday 24 December 20203 p.m. on Tuesday 22 December 2020
Tuesday 29 December 20203 p.m. on Wednesday 23 December 2020
Monday 4 January 20213 p.m. on Wednesday 30 December 2020

Change of Service Provider ("COSP") Filings

Effective Date of COSP:Deadline for Receipt:
Tuesday 29 December 2020 - Friday 1 January 20215 p.m. on Tuesday 15 December 2020

Individual Questionnaire ("IQ") Filings

Normal timeframes apply until Friday 20 November 2020.

IQ Application Type:Deadline for Receipt:
IQs relating to QIAIFs5 p.m. on Tuesday 1 December 2020
IQs relating to Other Fund Types and Fund Service Providers5 p.m. on Friday 20 November 2020

Fund / Post-Authorisation Applications (Excluding QIAIFs)

Application Type:Deadline for Receipt:
Umbrella / Standalone Funds and Non-Fast-Track Sub-Funds45 p.m. on Friday 16 October 2020
Fast-Track Sub-Funds55 p.m. on Friday 13 November 2020
Post-Authorisation - Major Items5 p.m. on Friday 16 October 2020
Post-Authorisation - All Other Items5 p.m. on Friday 13 November 2020

Full Review Investment Manager Applications

Application Type:Deadline for Receipt:
Full Review Investment Manager Applications (i.e., non-EU based applicants)5 p.m. on Friday 13 November 2020

ICAV Registration / Conversion / Migration Applications

Application Type:Deadline for Receipt:
ICAV Registration / Conversion / Migration Applications5 p.m. on Tuesday 1 December 2020

UCITS and RIAIF Authorisations / Approvals / Notings

For authorisation / approval / noting on:Deadline for Receipt:
Thursday 24 / Tuesday 29 December 2020612 p.m. on Wednesday 23 December 2020
Monday 4 January 202173 p.m. on Wednesday 30 December 2020

Revocations

The Central Bank has noted that all applications must be complete when submitted, and that incomplete applications will be returned and will not be considered for pre-Christmas/pre-year end timeframes.

If you have any queries, or require any advice in relation to the Year-End Letter, please contact one of the authors. If you are contemplating any pre-Christmas or year-end applications, please get in touch with your usual Dechert contact.

 

Footnotes

1. Applications for Authorisation and Sub-Fund Applications for Approval.

2. 29 December 2020 is the first day after Christmas that funds may be authorised / approved.

3. Amendments to documents previously filed with the Central Bank and not subject to review.

4. This deadline also applies to self-managed / internally managed investment company / ICAV applications.

5. Funds that are reviewed under the ‘fast-track’ process are either: (i) clones of (umbrella or standalone) funds recently approved by the Central Bank; or (ii) non-complex funds (i.e. plain vanilla equity funds which do not use derivatives).

6. Tuesday 29 December 2020 is the first day after Christmas that funds may be authorised / approved.

7. Monday 4 January 2021 is the first day of 2021 that UCITS and RIAIF funds may be authorised / approved.

8. Funds seeking to revoke at end of December 2020 must submit a complete revocation application, including payment of the funding levy.

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