Europe: New Irish Fast-Track Filing Process for Fund Name Changes To Comply With ESG-Related Rules

By: Áine Ní Riain and Gayle Bowen

The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) has announced a streamlined filing process for Irish UCITS and AIFs seeking to change their name to comply with the European Securities and Markets Authority’s guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms (the Guidelines).

The fast-track process will run from 21 November 2024 to 21 May 2025 and will allow updated fund documents reflecting the name change to be noted following an email submission of the documents along with an attestation from the fund manager that the amendments are in accordance with the Guidelines and that no other amendments have been made.

Neither funds wishing to amend their strategy to align with the Guidelines, nor new funds where applications to the CBI have already commenced, will be able to use the fast-track process.

The Guidelines, which were published in May, will apply from 21 November 2024 for new AIFs and UCITS. Existing funds have an additional six months to comply, ending on 21 May 2025.

For details on the Guidelines’ specific requirements, and affected funds, see our previous blog post here.