Supervision of Investment Funds

Irish authorised investment funds are supervised by the Central Bank through a combination of proactive supervision, reactive supervision, thematic reviews and inspections in accordance with PRISM™ - Probability Risk and Impact SysteM™.

PRISM is the Central Bank’s risk-based framework for the supervision of regulated firms. PRISM provides supervisors with guidance on the level of required engagement with a particular firm and a means to document their actions and judgements. Under PRISM, Irish authorised investment funds are classified as “Low Impact”.

Supervisory Requirements for AIFs

The Central Bank’s AIF Rulebook includes details of all requirements which the Central Bank imposes on Irish authorised AIF and the service providers to those AIF. The Central Bank’s AIF Rulebook is available here.

Reporting Requirements for AIFs

The AIF Rulebook details the supervisory requirements applicable to Irish authorised AIFs and includes, inter alia, criteria on the content and frequency of reporting obligations for these funds.

The reporting requirements for each authorised AIF are also set out in its letter of authorisation issued. The following reports must be submitted to the Central Bank:

  • Monthly, half-yearly and annual reports
  • Annual audited accounts of the related fund management company
  • The quarterly OFII return

The OFII return must be submitted to the Statistics Department of the Central Bank within ten working days of the end-quarter to which it refers. This data should be consistent with what is reported on the equivalent monthly NAV return.

A reporting code is assigned to each AIF upon authorisation.

Fitness and Probity

A sound and effective fit-and-proper test is a critical component of the regulatory regime. To ensure the proper discharge of their responsibilities, it is important that Directors and Managers have the skills to manage an AIF.

“Fitness” requires that a person appointed as a Director or Manager has the necessary qualifications, skills and experience to perform the duties of that position. “Probity” requires that a person is honest, fair and ethical.

Before a Director is appointed to an AIF established as an investment company, they must complete an Individual Questionnaire which must be submitted to the Central Bank via the Central Bank Portal. View the Central Bank’s Fitness & Probity