Our Financial Services team advises and assists a wide range of leading securities and derivatives trading houses, asset managers, administrators, depositaries, investment funds, e-money and payment institutions, insurance companies and other financial services firms.
The Financial Services team primarily advises in the following practice areas:
Asset Management and Investment Funds
We represent investment funds and their managers in guiding them through the structuring and establishment of investment funds across every conceivable strategy in Ireland. We also focus on setting up the managing entity and advising on its successful operation over the long term.
Financial Services Regulation
We advise in all aspects of regulation as it applies to the financial services industry in Ireland.
In particular, our team has extensive experience advising on issues such as licensing applications, capital requirements, anti-money laundering rules, acquisitions/disposals of businesses, distribution and marketing related issues, compliance and corporate governance requirements and other financial services regulatory requirements in Ireland.
Our multi-disciplinary Regulatory Investigations Unit provides advice to clients in relation to administrative sanctions procedures initiated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
Debt Capital Markets
The team acts for issuers, originators, lead managers, arrangers and trustees on debt capital market issuances globally.
Insurance
We support clients across the full range of their legal needs in insurance-related matters in Ireland.
Experience
- Advises a large number of financial services providers, including in relation to compliance with MiFID (Markets in Financial Services Directive) and AIFMD (Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive).
- Clients include banks, wealth managers, real estate managers, depositaries and fund administrators.
- Advises on the legal and regulatory aspects of all financial services activities and products which are regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
- Represents fund promoters and investment managers on the setting up and structuring of both regulated and unregulated funds, including UCITS and AIFs.
- Advises on real estate fund structures - established a number of Qualifying Investor Alternative Investment Funds (QIAIFs) to hold portfolios of EU and UK properties. Advice on REIT structures.
- Advised on a number of fund restructurings involving the migration of existing fund structures to and from the Irish jurisdiction.
- Acts as adviser to some of the largest fund administrators and custodians operating in the Irish market.
- Represents originators and investment managers on the establishment of securitisation vehicles or other special purpose companies used for the issuing of debt instruments
- Advised promoters on merger of fund assets into and out of Ireland.
- Advised promoters on Super QIAIF structures (QIAIF into SPV) and on reverse Super QIAIF structures (SPV into QIAIF).
- Advised promoters of closed ended funds in relation to a variety of regulatory compliance and governance matters.
- Advised promoters on establishment of closed ended funds of side pocketed and distressed assets.
- Advises financial institutions on all aspects of compliance with Irish Anti Money Laundering requirements.
- Advises in relation to Acquiring Transaction Notifications affecting Central Bank regulated firms.