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Ireland

Asset Management and Investment Funds

Nicholas Blake-Knox

Nicholas Blake-Knox

Nicholas is the Managing Partner of Walkers' Ireland office and head of Walkers' Asset Management and Investment Funds Practice Group in Ireland. He has over 20 years’ experience in the area of asset management and investment funds. Nicholas advises funds, promoters and service providers on establishing, authorising and operating all types of investment funds and regulated entities in Ireland. He has experience of a wide range of asset classes and investment strategies including hedge fund, private equity, real estate and liquid investments. He has also advised on establishing investment fund platforms in jurisdictions outside Ireland. Nicholas is widely regarded as a leading figure within the asset management and investment funds industry in Ireland. Nicholas has held various non-executive leadership positions within the industry including serving as Chairperson of the Irish Funds Council in 2025, the association representing the investment funds and asset management industry in Ireland. In 2025, he was appointed to the Joint Committee of the Irish government’s Ireland for Finance initiative, aimed at further growing and developing Ireland’s financial services sector, for a two-year term. In 2026, Nicholas was appointed by the Irish government to sit on its Company Law Review Group (CLRG), the group established to advise the government on enhancements to Ireland's company law offering. Nicholas is a regular contributor to media and a speaker at investment fund and asset management conferences. He is also a member of the advisory board of the Certified Investment Fund Director Institute and lectures on various executive education programmes. Nicholas has participated in ESMA hearings in Paris in relation to asset management matters and frequently authors thought leadership pieces.
Aongus McCarthy

Aongus McCarthy

Aongus is a partner in the Walkers' Asset Management and Investment Funds Practice Group and helps clients with the Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) regulatory framework, retail investor alternative investment funds (RIAIFs) and qualifying investor alternative investment funds (QIAlFs). He covers all types of strategies and asset classes, including debt, credit, real estate and private equity. Aongus advises domestic and international asset managers on structuring, establishing and running investment funds under Irish law. Aongus also advises on establishing and running management companies and alternative investment fund managers. He also has experience of various aspects of corporate governance, distribution and regulatory compliance matters.
Emmet Quish

Emmet Quish

Emmet is part of Walkers' Asset Management and Investment Funds Practice Group, specialising in the structuring and establishment of all types of investment funds, including alternative funds and UCITS. He also handles ongoing compliance work related to these funds. Emmet advises on legal, regulatory and compliance matters representing asset managers, investment funds, management companies and their service providers. Additionally, his expertise extends to advising on the creation and operation of UCITS management companies and alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) with a close focus on ESG matters.
Claire Winrow

Claire Winrow

Claire is based in Walkers' Ireland office where she is a partner in the Global Asset Management and Investment Funds group in Ireland. Claire advises domestic and international asset managers on the structuring, establishment and operation of alternative investment funds (QIAlFs) under Irish law, covering all types of strategies and asset classes, including private equity, venture capital, credit, real estate and infrastructure strategies. Claire has experience advising sponsors establishing ICAVs, Investment Limited Partnerships, 1907 LPs as well as a number of international fund structures. Claire also advises on various aspects of corporate governance, distribution and regulatory compliance matters. Claire has been a member of the Irish Funds Legal and Regulatory Working Group.
Michael Dyulgerov

Michael Dyulgerov

Michael Dyulgerov is based in Walkers' Ireland office where he is Of Counsel in the Asset Management and Investment Funds Group. Michael works with domestic and international clients on the establishment, authorisation and operation of various investment fund vehicles and structures, including UCITS and AIFS. Michael also has experience in the restructuring of various investment structures embedding Irish vehicles, including the transposition of investment funds and wholly owned subsidiaries into multi-jurisdictional structures containing vehicles of various types. Michael has assisted on a number of financing transactions involving various types of investment funds and wholly owned subsidiaries. He has experience in advising various other service providers (including investment managers, investment advisors, depositaries and sub-custodians) in respect of various discrete legal matters. Michael sits on the Irish Funds' Member Engagement working group and is also a member of the Walkers' Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Michael has been involved in various Walkers' working groups and committees discussing regulatory matters, including PRIIPs KIDs, ESG, individual accountability framework, FinTech and AIFMD II. Michael has assisted on the production of various Walkers advisories, including in respect of liquidity stress testing, performance fees, the Benchmark Regulation and various topics under AIFMD II.
Joe Mitchell

Joe Mitchell

Joe Mitchell is a senior associate in the Walkers' Asset Management and Investment Funds practice based in the Ireland office. Joe focuses his practice on financial services with an emphasis on the structuring, establishment, corporate governance and ongoing operation of Irish regulated investment funds in particular alternative investment funds and UCITS for a wide variety of asset managers, investment banks and private equity managers, pursuing a broad range of investment policies and mandates. Joe has extensive experience in advising those funds, their management companies, directors and service providers on their operations in Ireland.

Deals

  • Advising a large US asset manager in respect of the establishment of an ICAV with seven sub-funds (which will comply with AIFMD II direct lending requirements) in addition to establishing underlying SPV entities which will be utilised by the ICAV for lending purposes. This fund structure is designed to assist with certain CRD VI and Securitisation Regulation compliance issues.

    The project will manifest as a strategic partnership between the ICAV and a large EU authorised credit institution in respect of the origination of senior secured loans in the European leveraged finance market to mid-market private equity businesses. It is anticipated that the origination volume will meet or exceed €2 billion over a 3-year period.

  • The Walkers team advised a large US asset manager in respect of the establishment of an ELTIF which supports that manager's private lending strategy.

    This ELTIF was one of a number of ELTIFs being established as part of a multi-jurisdictional structure involving parallel Irish and Delaware limited partnerships as well as feeder limited partnerships being established in Ireland and the Cayman Islands.

    A number of the funds in the broader structure then entered into complex financing arrangements which required the involvement of our expert fund financing team in Ireland. The advice on this project included very specific advisory work on ESG requirements, with respect to SFDR classification and as regards sustainability risk integration.

  • Advising a large European based asset manager in respect of its appointment as a discretionary portfolio manager to an ELTIF being established as a new sub-fund on an existing retail investor alternative investment fund (“RIAIF”) in Ireland.

    This particular ELTIF was a novel product in the Irish market due to its retail investor focus (with most new Irish ELTIFs being marketed solely to professional investors).

Team Services

Integrated funds solutions for global clients

Walkers has one of the largest and most experienced dedicated asset management and investment funds teams in Ireland. The team has consolidated its recent growth in the Irish market and works on numerous strategically important matters for both global and Irish financial service providers and groups.

Partners and other legal professionals within the group have a broad range of industry experience with many also spending parts of their career working in-house within asset management firms and financial institutions as well as working in other global financial centres, including London. In addition, the team has strong industry connectivity and deep relationships with the Central Bank of Ireland. Team members participate in various working and steering groups within Irish Funds (the investment fund and asset management industry association in Ireland) and have also served on its elected Council and as Chair of the association as well as being instrumental in the drafting and overhaul of the QIAIF chapter of the Central Banks' AIF Rulebook. Clients of the asset management and investment funds group in Ireland include PIMCO, PGIM (Prudential), Morgan Stanley, Apollo, Davidson Kempner, Marathon Asset Management and many other leading asset managers and financial institutions. 

Industry sector expertise and key types of work:

The Irish asset management and investment funds group specialises in providing both technical and commercial advice in relation to fund formation and ongoing servicing, investor advisory work, management company advisory work, including licensing applications, and ongoing regulatory and compliance advice related to the asset management industry. The team also advises in relation to contentious work, including enforcement actions, regulatory investigations or risk assessments by the Central Bank. We have particular expertise in the private asset fund sector and we advise many large multi-national asset managers in respect of fund establishment and day to day regulatory issues, including deal related and transactional matters requiring regulatory advisory input.

Examples of key industry sector expertise and types of work are set out below.
- Fund formation work: The practice advises on a broad range of fund formation matters in respect of both UCITS and AIFs. It has particular strength in advising on the establishment of alternative investment funds across a variety of asset classes and strategies including complex private debt/credit and private equity structures. We also have market leading experience in respect of the authorisation of loan originating funds in Ireland. Below are some examples of advisory work completed for global asset managers – please see section headed "Recent Relevant Experience".

- Asset management regulatory advice: In addition to fund formation work, our team has extensive experience on advising asset managers on licensing applications and in relation to on-going regulatory obligations in Ireland, including advising on the implementation of new EU regulations and national legislation and guidance such as the Individual Accountability Framework and the Senior Executive Accountability Regime, compliance with the Central Bank's Cross Industry Guidance on Outsourcing (effective from 1 December 2022) and the Central Bank's Cross Industry Guidance on Operational Resilience (effective from 1 December 2023). The team also works closely with the Walkers Ireland Regulatory group who advise domestic and international asset managers, funds, credit institutions, investment firms, payments/e-money institutions and other institutions on all aspects of Irish and EU financial services regulation.

- Environment, Social and Governance (ESG): We are advising investment firms and asset managers on the implementation of ESG requirements under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation ("SFDR"), the Taxonomy Regulation, and the ongoing the implementation of the regulatory technical standards under SFDR (SFDR Level 2) and financial reporting disclosure requirements.

Client testimonials

Confidential

The team is very experienced, measured and exercises sound judgement in its consideration of sophisticated matters.

Confidential

Nicholas Blake-Knox has detailed technical knowledge and a clear focus on the business and the client's benefit. He looks for pragmatic, reasoned solutions and conveys the considerations clearly.

Confidential

The team has thorough knowledge of how fund structures work across a number of different industries.

Confidential

The lawyers at Walkers are excellent people who offer very sound advice, good judgement and high-quality services for their clients.

Confidential

Walkers has a knowledgeable team in the area of fund formation with a lot of breadth and depth, and significant experience in complex structures.