UCITS V

UCITS V is essentially a reaction to Madoff but it addresses what was really a latent problem waiting to come to the fore, and raises questions regarding the role of the depositary and generally how its delegation arrangements should work. UCITS V also takes the opportunity to align provisions on other issues, notably manager remuneration.

The need to review depositary concerns has always been something which has been present and indeed, when the Lehman and Madoff issues became relevant to some UCITS funds, those in the UK thought that the problems just simply would never have arisen for UK domiciled UCITS. As was evident with the FSA's action regarding the Arch Cru funds, depositaries in the UK already have considerable roles and responsibilities, probably in excess of those required for UCITS depositaries in other jurisdictions.