Re-Domiciling An Investment Fund To Ireland

Introduction

Over the course of the last 20 years, Ireland has earned a reputation as one of the most attractive jurisdictions in which to establish an investment fund, ranking amongst the most flexible and advantageous international fund domiciles due in no small part to the wide variety of funds (from traditional long only to sophisticated alternatives) which may be established under the Irish legal and regulatory system as well as Ireland's ability to react promptly to the demands of both fund promoters and investors.

The latest development in Ireland's offering is the proposed new re-domiciliation process which will enable funds from other jurisdictions re-domicile to Ireland in an efficient manner.

Ireland's growth in the investment funds arena may be attributed to a number of factors including:

Regulation: Ireland is a regulated jurisdiction offering both UCITS and non-UCITS products across the whole spectrum from plain vanilla long only products through to UCITS alternatives, hedge funds and FoHFs, real estate and private equity schemes. The Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (the "Financial Regulator") has many years of experience in authorising and regulating sophisticated investment strategies and products and has adapted and developed its regulations to keep pace with developments in the funds industry internationally. Tax: Ireland has a favourable tax regime for investment funds including (i) exemption from tax on the fund's income and/or gains (ii) no withholding taxes on distributions to non-Irish resident investors and (iii) a wide (and expanding) network of double taxation treaties. Legal Environment: Ireland operates under a common law legal system with a variety of suitable fund structures (corporate, trust, CCF and ILPs). Service Providers: All of the leading fund custodians and administrators have operations in Ireland staffed by teams with in depth experience across the full range of fund products. This is demonstrated by the fact that approximately 50% of all global hedge funds are administered in Ireland. International Status: Ireland is a member of the European Union (EU), the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). As well as being an attractive jurisdiction for the establishment of new investment funds, Ireland now offers a relatively straightforward process for re-domiciling to Ireland an investment fund established in another...