Recreating the Luck of the Irish: New Zealand's Potential to Be the Preferred Asia-Pacific Funds Domicile

Abstract

This paper discusses the origins of the idea of New Zealand becoming the preferred funds domicile for the Asia-Pacific region and just how to go about achieving this goal. It outlines the necessary structural changes that New Zealand must make, being an overhaul of the tax system and regulatory regime. It then details what makes the UCITS regime the gold standard of investor protection and compares the New Zealand and Irish domestic regimes to UCITS. It discusses the regulatory models available to New Zealand, being either a dual or a single regulatory regime. Finally, it provides a recommendation as to the steps that New Zealand should take in order to reach its goal, including the most appropriate regulatory model.