Irish authorised UCITS will still be eligible for investment from Chilean pension funds, according to a recent statement released by the Irish Funds Industry Assoc
Irish authorised UCITS will still be eligible for investment from Chilean pension funds, according to a recent statement released by the Irish Funds Industry Association. When considering the eligibility of UCITS funds, Chile assesses the sovereign debt credit rating of each jurisdiction through its Chilean Risk Classification Commission (CCR). Ireland’s growing debt concerns are well documented, the yield on its 10-year government bonds pushing 9 per cent as speculation that it requires an IMF-EU bail out surrounds the country, causing Chile to recently appraise the suitability of Irish UCITS. Following productive discussions with Irish government authorities and fund industry executives, the IFIA statement confirmed that the CCR had agreed to continue allowing Irish-domiciled UCITS to remain open to pension fund investment. It went further, adding that the CCR had decided to review its criteria when screening UCITS jurisdictions and consider whether it was actually relevant to use sovereign debt ratings at all. IFIA Chief Executive, Gary Palmer (pictured), had, according to the statement, been in close contact with Irish authorities, the Department of Finance confirming that Irish UCITS fully comply with strict EU directives applicable to all EU member states.