The latest episode of The Aquest Podcast is now live, and we are diving deep into one of the most discussed topics in the funds industry: Delegation.

In this season finale, my regular co-host Dáire Lawlor joins me to unpack the complexities of delegation and outsourcing. We explore the frequently asked questions that continue to surface for fund management companies, providing clarity on the nuances that define our regulatory landscape.

In this episode, we tackle the critical distinctions between Delegation vs. Outsourcing and their impact on operational frameworks. We also trace The Evolution of DPs (Designated Persons), from their mid-naughties origins to their continued relevance alongside C-suite roles today. Furthermore, we provide a Regulatory Outlook, discussing key developments like CP86, AIFMD2, and the Central Bank’s recent papers on efficiency and simplification, before looking ahead at Future Trends such as the role of tokenisation, the "Mind the Gap" paper, and what the first quarter of 2026 holds for the Irish funds industry.

Thank you to all our listeners for your support throughout this season. We wish you a productive start to the New Year and look forward to bringing you more Funds Industry Conversations in the next season.

Listen to the full episode now!

We're thrilled to announce the latest episode of The Aquest Podcast is ready! 🎧

In this episode, hosts Daniel Lawlor and Dáire Lawlor dive deep into the world of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), tackling the most frequently asked questions about this financial powerhouse.

Key takeaways from the discussion:

• What makes ETFs so popular? It's a combination of low fees, ease of access, and the simplicity of passive, index-tracking investment. They offer instant diversification, making them a cornerstone of modern investment portfolios.

• Ireland's Global Role: Did you know that Ireland is the domicile for approximately 75% of European ETFs, representing nearly €1.9 trillion in assets? We explore how the UCITS regime, a favorable tax treaty, and a world-class operational ecosystem have cemented Ireland's position as a global leader, second only to the US.

• The Road Ahead: The conversation shifts to the future, including the burgeoning trend of active ETFs and the potential impact of the EU's Savings and Investment Union on retail investment.

• •Financial Stability Check: We address the technical, yet crucial, question: Do ETFs pose a risk to financial stability? The hosts discuss the rigorous scrutiny from regulators like the Central Bank of Ireland and the Financial Stability Board, concluding that the structure is robust and well-monitored.

This is a must-listen for anyone in the funds industry, investment professionals, or retail investors looking to understand the mechanics and future of ETFs.

Listen now and join the conversation!

#ETFs #ExchangeTradedFunds #IrishFunds #FinancialServices #Investment #PassiveInvesting #ActiveETFs #AquestPodcast #Finance #Ireland

Key Takeaways from the Episode:

The Broad Church of Crypto: We explore the spectrum of digital assets, contrasting the conservative, regulated structures with the purely speculative, community-driven nature of meme coins.

DeFi vs. TradFi - The Accountability Gap: The core of the debate centres on the trustless environment of Decentralised Finance (DeFi) versus the safety constructs of Traditional Finance (TradFi). We discuss the double-edged sword of instant settlement and the crucial need for accountability—or as Dáire puts it, "There has to be someone who blushes."

Regulation and Nomenclature: We touch on the regulatory environment and the implications of the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation.

Whether you're a fund professional grappling with MiCA, or simply curious about the next big thing in digital assets, this episode is a must-listen.

Tune in now to hear the full discussion!

#Crypto #DigitalAssets #DeFi #TradFi #MiCA #FundsIndustry #TheAquestPodcast #Bitcoin #Regulation

Dive into the latest episode of The Aquest Podcast, Autumn-Winter 2025 Season, Episode 2: "Love Languages of a Financial Regulator"! 🎙️ Join co-hosts Daniel Lawlor and Dáire Lawlor as they adopt their "agony aunt personas" to tackle frequently asked questions about engaging with financial regulators. This episode explores effective strategies for firms to build relationships of mutual trust and benefit with regulators, offering invaluable insights and practical tips. Key takeaways from this episode include: •Understanding how to foster effective communication and trust with financial regulators. •Practical advice on organising engagements to ensure they are as effective as possible. •Essential tips for firms seeking authorisation, emphasising clarity, honesty, and thorough preparation. Whether you're navigating regulatory complexities or seeking to optimize your firm's interactions, this episode provides a unique perspective on achieving a harmonious relationship with your financial regulator. Don't miss out on expert guidance that can help you avoid common pitfalls and enhance your regulatory engagements. Listen now and gain a deeper understanding of the "love languages" that resonate with financial regulators!

The Aquest Podcast is back for a new season! We are excited to launch the first episode of our Autumn/Winter 2025 season, titled "I'm a Funds Lawyer... Get Me Out of Here!" This season, we're introducing a new format. Join hosts Danny Lawlor and Dáire Lawlor as they take on the role of industry "agony aunts," tackling the pressing questions and challenges faced by professionals in the funds industry. In this episode, we explore: · How to start and build a successful career in the funds industry. · Navigating career progression and the convergence of tech and finance. · Practical advice on managing stress and avoiding burnout. Whether you're just starting or are a seasoned professional, this conversation offers valuable insights and honest perspectives on life in the funds industry. Listen to the full episode on your favourite podcast platform.

TheAquestPodcast #FundsIndustry #CareerAdvice #FinancialServices #Podcast #NewEpisode #GetMeOutOfHere

I'm joined by Bernadette Nulty, VP International Financial Services at IDA Ireland, for this episode of The Aquest Podcast.

I was interested to learn about the types of financial services firms which are exploring the possibility of establish a presence in Ireland at the moment and the trends that IDA Ireland is seeing. I also wanted to understand the key factors that cause firms to choose Ireland and the ways in which IDA Ireland can support these firms on their journey.

Bernadette and I discuss the continued support that IDA Ireland provides to inward-investing firms that set-up in Ireland and the areas of focus that are attracting their attention as they seek to grow and thrive here. Needless to say, AI, R&D and training are high on the list!

Many thanks to Bernadette for sharing her knowledge and insight.

Enjoy!

The topic for this episode of The Aquest Podcast is a little more out of left field – I’m joined by Shannon Eastman to chat about ‘Nervous System Intelligence’. This is a new concept that explores and tries to explain the impact of long-term exposure to stress on the body and mind and our conversation focuses particularly on busy professionals and their work environment. Nervous System Intelligence also identifies techniques to repair harm and help with much improved health and performance.

Shannon is fluent in both corporate growth and nervous system intelligence—blending business strategy, human behavior, and neurobiology. She’s spent a lifetime exploring: why do we do what we do, why is change so hard for some of us, easy for others, and what does it take to make it last?

Founder of The Nervous System Economy™, she partners with a multidisciplinary team to translate science into plain English—specifically for business. She educates, advises, and works directly with leaders to map nervous system intelligence to commercial outcomes.

Shannon hosts Who Turned The Lights On?, a podcast that hit 100K downloads in its first year, helping high-performing professionals lead, relate, and recover differently. And before her ventures into all things nervous system intelligence, Shannon worked in the financial services industry working with and for the funds industry, fintechs, crypto crime and digital assets. 

NervousSystemEconomy.com > www.nervoussystemeconomy.com/resources  LinkedIn > https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannoneastman/ Podcast > whoturnedthelightson.com  Personal Website - shannoneastman.com

In Episode 3, I’m joined by Andrew Tzialli of Philip Lee LLP as we catch up on implementation of the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR) 6 months away from it coming fully into force.  We discuss the levels of activity being seen and the potential for Ireland to position itself as the jurisdiction of choice for MiCA firms.  We also chat about other developments in the digital assets/digitalisation space, with tokenisation of funds getting some attention.   Enjoy!

In Episode 2, I’m joined by Declan Casey and Lauren Andersen of Irish Funds to chat about the EU Savings & Investments Union.  We discuss the SIU’s predecessor, the Capital Markets Union, and consider what’s different this time around.  We also chat about the EU Commission’s Targeted Consultation on Integration of EU Capital Markets which closes on 10 June 2025 with the Irish Funds team working on a consultation response as we speak.  Enjoy! Link to the Commission’s consultation: https://finance.ec.europa.eu/regulation-and-supervision/consultations-0/targeted-consultation-integration-eu-capital-markets-2025_en

Welcome to the first episode of the Spring / Summer 2025 season of The Aquest Podcast. To kick things off, I’m joined by Sam Glynn who is a Security and Regulatory Compliance Advisor to Regulated Firms and Professional Services Providers. Our conversation begins with a catch up on DORA implementation and how the experience has been for regulated firms. We then discuss the potential cyber risks which third party service providers pose for regulated firms and how they go about managing and mitigating these. Our discussion concludes with a view from the service provider’s perspective and how they can go about demonstrating their cyber security and resilience through, for example, ISO 27001 certification. Enjoy.

For the last episode of the winter 2024 season, I’m delighted to be joined by Jennifer Geary.  Jennifer hosts a new podcast called The C-Suite Framework and is author of a number of books including How to be a Chief Operating Officer. 

Although critically important, the COO role is not much discussed, and the precise scope is often ill-defined.  So, I was interested to chat with Jennifer about what it covers and what it doesn't, the habits of people who perform the COO role well and what tends to happen when things go wrong.  We also discuss why CCO can be a thankless role that only gets attention when things don’t work as they should.

Many thanks to Jennifer for coming on the podcast and I hope you enjoy.

In May 2024, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) published its report on Skills for International Financial Services - An Assessment of Future Skills Requirements in High Potential Sub-sectors of Ireland’s International Financial Services Sector to 2027.

This report identifies the availability of training and education relevant to the financial services industry. It assesses where gaps might arise in terms of new skills and numbers of skilled individuals up to 2027. It also sets out a number of recommendations to ensure that the potential training and skills needs identified can be addressed effectively.

Who better to chat to about this report than Martina Kelly, who chaired expert Steering Group that directed the production and publication of the report. Martina is Director Funds at the IOB (Institute of Bankers) and acts as an independent director to several Irish regulated financial services providers.

We discuss the background to the report, its aims and findings. We also discuss the recommendations produced and the plans for ensuring that they are implemented. Plenty to discuss then – enjoy!

For this episode of The Aquest Podcast, I’m delighted to be joined by Clive Bellows.  Clive is President for EMEA for Northern Trust and, more importantly (for the purposes of this episode at least!), the former Chairperson of basis.point.  basis.point is the Irish funds industry charity which funds programmes to improve outcomes for children experiencing disadvantage, with a particular focus on access to education.  We chat about Clive’s professional journey and how he came to be Chairperson of basis.point.  We also chat about some of the initiatives which basis.point helps to support and how people can get involved.  Enjoy!

As the 180-day transition period for EMIR REFIT drew to a close, I was joined by Aoife Storey and Michelle Kehoe of Fund Recs to reflect on how well (or otherwise!) the implementation of EMIR Refit has gone. We chatted about whether the anticipated challenges arose in practice and what unexpected speedbumps came along. We discussed where firms are at generally, in terms of complying with the new reporting and oversight requirements. We also cast the net a bit more broadly and considered similar changes to other EMIR regimes internationally. Enjoy!

To do that, I’m joined by Brian Walsh, CEO of Reitigh.  Brian explains why the FS industry has been an early adopter of this emerging technology and why it is not simply a fad.  We chat about how firms might best go about introducing AI assistance to their business and why this doesn’t need to cost the earth.  We also chat about AI bias and AI hallucination and the challenge of balancing innovation with regulation.

And most importantly, Brian tackles the most asked AI question – is AI going to take my job?  Find out the answer in this episode of The Aquest Podcast!

We chat about Annette’s journey into the funds industry and her observations as someone coming fresh to the industry. 

We discuss how FS firms go about devising and deploying a business strategy to win and retain customers, keep existing staff happy and entice new employees.  Annette shares insights on what the best firms do well and how others can catch up. 

We also chat about what business strategy means for an Irish FS business that is part of an international firm – and how to plan the ideal agenda for a visit from HQ’s CEO!

Many thanks to Annette for her thoughts and advice.  Enjoy!

We begin by reflecting on the predictions made by Adrian the last time he came on the podcast in 2018.  His predictions were pretty accurate, to be fair, and he wasn’t shy about reminding me either.

We go on to chat about the continued growth of ETFs, both in terms of assets under management and product range.  We take quite an in-depth look at ESG ETFs and how investors are driving strong inflows here.  We also chat about product innovations, active ETFs and speculate on the tokenization of ETFs. 

Let’s see how accurate these predictions prove to be in 2029!  Enjoy

We chart the growing use and integration of technology in financial services firms from the early 2000s (when tech integration was patchy at best) through the global financial crisis in 2008 (which brought a deluge of new reporting and compliance obligations) and up to DORA (the Digital Operational Resilience Act) which comes into effect on 17 Jan 2025.

It’s a lot of ground to cover but it does help explain how we’ve arrived at DORA and what DORA is intended to achieve.  We also chat about the types of challenges firms are facing when implementing DORA - particularly from a critical third-party service provider perspective.

We conclude by considering the board’s role in governance and oversight of the use of ICT and the associated risks. 

Many thanks to Daire for sharing his insights on this episode.  Enjoy!

We begin by chatting about Syl’s pathway to becoming an INED and his observations on the current funds landscape generally.

We also chat about the impact of the Individual Accountability Framework from a director’s perspective and the balance between collective responsibility and individual accountability.  We discuss the regulatory burden and barriers to entry and speculate about getting the cost/benefit balance right. 

We wrap up by discussing some of the specific topics on a director’s radar such as SFDR, DORA, valuations, outsourcing and governance.

So it’s fair to say that there is plenty to occupy the minds of our INED community.  Enjoy!

Aoife Storey (Client Solutions Manager) and Gerard Gilsenan (Chief Revenue Office) of Fund Recs join me and share their insights and expertise on the challenges with implementing EMIR REFIT, emerging market practices and governance frameworks.  We also chat about the importance of good quality data from a regulator’s perspective and how tech solutions can help firms manage oversight of enormous amounts of reported data. 

And we also have Aoife’s top tips for firms who are not there yet!  Enjoy

We chat about SFDR 1.5/2.0, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the regulation of ESG rating agencies and the current Common Supervisory Action on SFDR compliance. We also discuss whether some of the steam has gone out of the ESG movement and whether the pending revision of SFDR is causing investor confusion leading to ESG fund outflows.

So, in a nutshell, there has been plenty of activity in the ESG space since Ann last appeared on the Aquest Podcast in 2022!!

In the first episode of our new season, I chat with Paul Price, founder and CEO of Haven Green Investment Management. Haven Green offers an outsourced distribution function with a focus on funds pursing a sustainable investments policy.

We chat about how Paul's team identifies the boutique managers it wants to work with and how the trend towards sustainable investing is likely to evolve over the medium-term.

We also discuss the outsourced distribution model and the fun/challenges in setting up your own investment firm!

Enjoy!

Fresh from moderating a webinar on SFTF and EMIR data quality and oversight, Ciaran Walshe, COO of Fund Recs, joins me on this episode of The Aquest Podcast.

We chat about the take-aways from the webinar, with particular attention on the messaging delivered by the Central Bank of Ireland that data quality and reporting oversight needs to continue improving. Plenty to mull over for already busy Manco boards...

This time, my guest is Daire Lawlor, MD at Interwoven, and we discuss the extent to which Irish regulated funds can invest in crypto currencies and digital assets. Our chat wanders into discussions about DLT, tokenisation and freedom with guardrails. Plenty to digest as we get our heads down for the run-in to year-end!

Enjoy

With investment in crypto continuing to generate investor interest (current market turmoil notwithstanding!), FS firms are exploring whether and how investment fund structures could be used to deliver exposure to crypto currencies.

Leading the way when it comes to regulated crypto funds is Gibraltar. So I'm delighted to be joined by James Lasry, Funds and Crypto Lawyer at Hassans, to discuss how Gibraltar has approached the regulation and operation of crypto funds.

With tons of insights and practical experience, James is a mine of information when it comes to regulated crypto funds. Enjoy!

With sustainability and ESG being on everyone's lips, not just in the financial services industry, I thought it would be interesting to chat with Ann Shiels, a sustainability expert with Finlexsus. We chat the compliance challenges facing FS firms as they navigate the management of investment products with a wave of regulatory deadlines on the horizon.

But more than that, I was interested to learn more about how firms in the FS industry, including professional services firms, are tacking sustainability within their own businesses. What are the challenges and how are firms innovating? Do potential recruits (millennials!) and clients really care about a firm's sustainability credentials?

Find out in this episode as Ann shares her insights on sustainability trends in the current marketplace. Enjoy!

Continuing on the theme from the last episode of The Aquest Podcast, I'm joined by Brian Sanya Mondoh to chat about the digital revolution and its impact on financial services in particular. I learn about how smart contracts, blockchain and Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) are likely to shape our world over the short-to-medium term. But we begin by chatting about life in Brian's home country of Trindad and Tobago! Enjoy.

Many thanks to Catherine Monahan who edited this podcast.

Blockchain expert Mauricio Magaldi of 11FS joins me for this episode of The Aquest Podcast to chat about blockchain and the financial services industry. We discuss current use cases and ponder how regulators could best adapt to the blockchain revolution. We also speak about Tradfi and contemplate the challenges and opportunities that DeFi and blockchain bring. Enjoy!

Introduced in 2015 with the objective of increasing alternative sources of funding for European capital markets, the European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF) regime has failed to gain any real traction. Why is this? And what can be done to fix it?

In this episode of The Aquest Podcast, I'm joined by Ken Owens of PwC to mull over the problem with ELTIFs and discuss what could be done to make them attractive to investors.

Tom Brennan, Head of Risk & Regulatory at EisnerAmper Ireland, joins me to chat all things ICAAP.

With an ever increasing number of Irish firms now (or shortly) required to have an Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process, Tom guides us through the dos and don'ts and highlight some of the key considerations when putting together an ICAAP report. We also chat about some of the best questions directors can ask when approving an ICAAP.

Everything you ever wanted to know about ICAAP in one podcast!!

In this episode of The Aquest Podcast, I'm joined by crypto educator Nick Aston of the Ashton Talks Crypto podcast. We chat about how the profile of crypto investors is shifting from millennials to more experienced investors seeking alternative asset classes. We also discuss how cryptocurrencies and digital assets are gaining credibility and what more needs to be done to win the trust of investors. Enjoy!

We've all been hearing about digital transformation in the FS industry for years now but has the COVID19 pandemic really accelerated this trend?

For this episode of The Aquest Podcast, I'm joined by Alan Meaney to chat about this, about the 'build vs buy' question and whether ISO27001 certification is a pre-requisite for all FinTechs.

We also discuss the return of Adminovate (one of my personal favourite conferences!) which will be back in Trinity College Dublin on 13 Jan 2022.

Enjoy!

In this episode of The Aquest Podcast, I'm joined by Jennifer Cahill of Savvi Recruitment Consultants. With demand for talent high but availability not-so-much, we chat about current market trends, skills in particular demand and the impact this is having on salaries. We chat about how WFH during the Covid-19 Pandemic has accelerated employers' attitudes to workplace flexibility by 5 to 10 years. The impact of SEAR is also on the agenda. Enjoy!

With so much interest and attention being paid to cryptocurrencies and digital assets, I thought it would be interesting to look at the darker side of the crypto world - crypto scams. So for this episode of The Aquest Podcast I'm delighted to be joined by Erica Stanford, author of 'Crypto Wars - Faked deaths, missing billions and industry disruption'.

We chat about the anatomy of a crypto scam, look at some case studies from her book and discuss the red flags that investors and advisors should look out for. Enjoy!

On this episode of the Aquest Podcast I'm joined by risk expert Dennis Slattery. We chat about best practices in risk management for Fund Mancos, how to succeed as a NextGen Fund Manco and the essential skills that risk professionals need to learn. Enjoy!

We wrap up by chatting about the challenges faced by start-up RegTech and FinTech firms as they try to sell their wares to regulated financial services firms.

Enjoy!

This conversation covers trends, impacts, and the idea that once Covid-19 has passed, the actions firms have taken during these times will be remembered long after.

What were theoretical scenarios then are being played out for real as we live through the COVID-19 crisis and the resultant market volatility?

Being a bit of an ETF nerd, I was really interested to find out:

How ETFs are performing from an operational perspective in the current market environment.
Why has the US Fed decided to buy units of US corporate bond ETFs?
Why were ETF units trading at persistent discounts and has this changed now?
What does the future hold for ETFs – will they still prove increasingly popular?
Will semi-transparent ETFs take over the world??

So many questions!

And who better to satisfy my curiosity than Ryan Sullivan, Head of US ETF Services at BBH.

Ryan is affable, engaging, funny and can easily be described as a titan within the area of ETFs.

From what the COVID-19 lockdown is like in Massachusetts to whether it’s a good idea to let your wife cut your hair, to ETFs, we cover a lot of ground in this episode.

Honourable shout-out to Adrian Whelan for nominating Ryan to guest on this podcast and, of course, to Ryan for sharing his knowledge and insights and for being a generally top bloke.

Enjoy and please remember to Pass-The-Pod!! Google is far kinder to us when it sees likes and shares showing up on Aquest content. (Who knew?).

[PSA} The views and opinions expressed are for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment, legal or tax advice and are not intended as an offer to sell, or a solicitation to buy securities, services or investment products. Views and opinions are current as of the date of the podcast and may be subject to change.

In this Cybersecurity episode, we discuss the possible risks that may have been introduced when firms had to move fast and provide working-from-home capabilities, in response to the measures imposed as a result of Covid-19.

We are joined by our standing co-host, Shannon Eastman, and by Code in Motion's Sam Glynn, an IT advisor to regulated firms who helps CFOs and COOs go from unsure to secure.

We discuss how new and smaller firms may have been ready to work remotely, but how older, risk-averse, and bigger organisations may not be prepared for such a setup given their more traditional approach of securing everything in a secure location.

Depending on the size of their employee base and complexity of their IT systems, we also discussed others factors to consider, including:

• How firms struggled to quickly provisioning laptops to all employees as part of their response.

• How many may have been forced to enable staff to access corporate systems and data from non-corporate devices – e.g. email from personal phones

• The 3 states a firm can be in when thinking about cybersecurity – Hopeful, Comfortable, Provable.

• The 3 Phases a firm have to go through in their business continuity response, and the importance of doing the third phase.

• How a firm should focus on what has changed in their IT setup as a result of their Covid-19 response, and ensure new risks are identified, monitored, managed and mitigated.

Here’s our favourite take-aways:

• Those who adapt win.
• Be mindful of the mindset that you are entertaining most throughout the day.
• Humour is a really important part of this, see the funny side of it while still being able to maintain the respect in the seriousness this situation warrants.
• Make sure that there is a deliberate intention to still connect with people digitally.
• Every crisis is full of seeds of opportunity; focus on those seeds, plant it, nurture it.

So are we screwed? Listen to this episode and let us know your thoughts.

*Operational Risk Due Diligence - 5 Best Practices *

CP86 and CSSF Circular 18/698 provide some clarity on regulators’ expectations for how Fund Management Companies (“FMCs”) assess the operational risks that come from delegation (and sub-delegation). One of the key delegated activities in the fund environment is investment management. FMCs have a responsibility to identify and assess all risks from investment management delegation, including operational, financial, legal and reputational in order to manage them appropriately. This is achieved through a combination of on-sites, Skype and desk-based analysis.

In this episode of The Aquest Podcast, we discuss 5 best practices for FMCs when conducting operational due diligence on delegate investment managers:

• Important to keep the DD questionnaire ‘alive’ and relevant – operational risks change.
• Due Diligence skills are needed to carry out delegate checks – either acquire these internally or engage an expert.
• Delegate on-sites are only one item in the toolkit. External verifications, reading policies, documents, fund financial statements are just as important.
• Be challenging at on-sites and ensure their targeted to make the most of everyone’s time.
• Use a risk based-approach when it comes to the frequency of operational risk reviews, and be prepared to perform ad-hoc reviews in response to events – e.g. investment manager entering a new product space, key man event, liquidity event, etc.

Aquest's 2020 Media Predictions is available now to download on aquest.ie/2020predictions For information about our training & advisory programmes, or our Academy, visit aquest.ie - for more resources on Regs, Funds and Governance, check out our YouTube channel,DanielLawlorRURQ

After the event, I caught up with Bronagh Maher, Professional Support Lawyer in Matheson's Asset Management and Investment Funds Department. Bronagh moderated the panel discussion and I was keen to capture her views on the discussion that had just taken place, the hot topics amongst attendees and the key takeaways.

Many thanks to Bronagh for taking time out to co-host and summarising so succinctly their CP86 event. Enjoy!

SFTR reporting will affect firms (including UCITS ManCos and AIFMs) using Securities Financing Transactions (e.g. repos, securities lending, buybacks). The reporting obligations commence on a phased basis from April 2020 and will apply to UCITS ManCos and AIFMs from October 2020.

To help firms prepare, I chat with Ronan Brennan, Chief Product Officer at Compliance Solutions Strategies, about the approaches being taken by firms who are reporting directly and those that are delegating reporting. Find out the current state of play and the key actions to take today if you are a firm subject to the SFTR reporting requirement.

Many thanks to Ronan for taking time out to co-host and share his insights on all things SFTR. Enjoy!

With the annual basis.point golf classic taking place next week, we thought it would be fun to provide some golf tips to help those of us who haven’t seen our clubs since last year’s event.

I’m joined by Leo Hynes, Head Pro at Killiney Golf Club. He has tips for the diligent ones who listen to the podcast in advance of the big day and have time to practice. Leo even has advice to anyone listening to this podcast in their car while on their way to the basis.point golf classic!

So, if you need help to get it off the first tee, listen below.

Many thanks to Leo for co-hosting and for his expert advice. And good luck to all golfers at the basis.point golf classic!

For the September 2019 episode, I’m chatting with Eimear Cowhey who is one of the founders of basis.point, a charity established 6 years ago. It is supported by members of the Irish funds industry and assists projects which improve educational opportunities for kids.

I thought it would be interesting to find out more about basis.point so Eimear and I chat about what it does, who it helps, how it raises funds and how you can get involved.

Many thanks to Eimear for co-hosting. If you feel inspired to get involved, check out the basis.point website: http://www.basispoint.ie

Enjoy!