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knowledge 7 July 2022 |

Good News for QIAIFs

On 1 July 2022, the Central Bank of Ireland (the “CBI”) updated its pre-submission process for Qualifying Investor AIFs (“QIAIFs”) to remove pre-submission requirements for certain QIAIFs, including loan-originating QIAIFs (“L-QIAIFs”), life settlement QIAIFs and QIAIFs investing in non-Irish property assets. The CBI has now confirmed that these QIAIFs will no longer be subject to the CBI’s pre-submission process and will instead be able to avail of the CBI’s fast-track approval process which provides for approval of QIAIFs within 24 hours of submission of an application for authorisation.

Background

A QIAIF is a form of AIF which benefits from a proven track record as a regulated and flexible fund structure for AIF managers. QIAIFs operate under the full AIFMD regime and can avail of the AIFMD pan-European passport for investment funds. The CBI requires that certain QIAIFs make a pre-submission to the CBI prior to applying for authorisation, depending on the strategy being pursued by that QIAIF.  Prior to this change, L-QIAIFs, life settlement QIAIFs and all types of real estate QIAIFs were required to undergo this pre-submission process before they could avail of the 24 hour approval process more generally available to other QIAIFs.

Updated Pre-Submission Process

The CBI confirms that only QIAIFs which propose to invest in Irish property assets and crypto-assets1 will continue to be subject to the pre-submission process. The CBI’s pre-submission process section of its website contains further detail on requirements for those QIAIFs and what that pre-submission should contain.

Comment

The return of the 24 hour fast-track approval process for L-QIAIFs, life settlement QIAIFs and QIAIFs investing in non-Irish property assets will be welcomed by the industry. This development reflects a natural progression in the CBI’s authorisation process for QIAIFs and the high quality of QIAIF submissions to date.

Funds should note that the CBI has indicated that it will conduct periodic quality assurance reviews post-authorisation on a sample size of QIAIFs to monitor compliance with the regulatory obligations.

  1. As per the CBI’s AIFMD Q&A ID1145. Where a QIAIF proposes to invest no more than 10% of its net asset value in cash-settled Bitcoin futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, no pre-submission is required provided that certain conditions are met.

This document has been prepared by McCann FitzGerald LLP for general guidance only and should not be regarded as a substitute for professional advice. Such advice should always be taken before acting on any of the matters discussed.