The UK "RDR" And Irish Authorised Funds

The Retail Distribution Review (the “RDR”) was a project undertaken by the Financial Services Authority (the “FSA”), the relevant regulatory authority in the UK, to assess and amend the rules pertaining to the sale and promotion of financial products, including funds, to the retail public in the UK. It has resulted in new and updated rules which will become effective from 31 December 2012. It can be noted that over 30% of the 5,000 Irish funds currently authorized by the Central Bank have UK promoters, which indicates the importance of this market for the Irish industry and this article explores some of the implications of this new regime in the UK for Irish funds distributed in that market, while also noting the relevant requirements of the Central Bank of Ireland (the “Central Bank”).