Updates to the AIF Rulebook in Ireland published today: benefits to close-ended funds

Following the recent passing of the Investment Limited Partnership (ILP) Act on 23 December 2020, the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) have also approved updates to its AIF rulebook. These updates reflect the typical features of closed-ended funds. It’s worth noting that whilst the amendments are being introduced following the ILP changes, the guidance extends to all closed-ended fund structures (ICAV, ILP etc) in Ireland.

The updated ILP will allow new and established private capital managers to create an Irish domiciled fund structure and distribute these funds to European investors via the AIFMD passport. The ILP is authorised and regulated by the CBI and is a common-law partnership structure and tax transparent AIF.

With regards to the CBI updates to the AIF rulebook, the new guidance permit closed-ended AIFs authorised as QIAIFs to issue differentiated share classes, enabling the following key changes:

• Permitting a fund to issue shares or other interests at a price other than NAV without prior CBI approval
• Stage investing – allowing investors to acquire interests in the fund at a later stage in its lifecycle
• Excuse and exclude provisions – permitting investors and the fund to remove themselves from participating in a certain investment
• Management or ‘carry’ classes – allowing portfolio managers to participate in investments on a differentiated basis to other classes in the fund

We expect that the ILP and these AIF rulebook amendments will drive strong activity for Ireland in 2021, making Ireland a highly attractive jurisdiction for private capital managers – especially those based in the UK, US, Europe and Asia.

Intertrust Group is in a unique position to service private investment fund structures from Ireland. We have established a large private capital client base and administer complex asset structures in Ireland and across the globe, with a proven track record and strong expertise in helping private investment fund managers in popular fund jurisdictions such as Luxembourg, Cayman, Jersey and Guernsey.

Our proposition gives us the ability to service the ILP structure end-to-end across our full suite of services including third-party AIFM, fund administration, portfolio company administration, middle office, carried interest and deferred compensation services.

To discover more about the ILP and how Intertrust Group can help you accelerate the possible across the full lifecycle of your private investment fund, get in touch with our experts.