Chile’s Comision Clasificadora de Riesgo (CCR) this month “disapproved” Dublin-based UCITS products from being invested into by Chilean pension funds due to credit rating downgrades and sovereign debt concerns – according to regulators and industry experts, Moody’s decision to downgrade Ireland to junk status in July 2011 was the ultimate decision trigger.

$3.5 billion worth of existing Dublin-based assets in over 100 funds are now considered restricted investments, with some of them exceeding allowable investment limits and thus at risk of immediate redemptions. A PR blow to Dublin, Luxembourg-based products and other hubs could benefit from the decision, but just as in Asia, a key concern for the industry is to maintain the overall reputation of UCITS as the global mutual fund brand of the industry.

Our new Chile country snapshot along with a recent in-depth Chile research piece discuss the topic in detail, along with bestselling managers and products.

I will present to European regulators later this month on the probability of competition for UCITS from regional and local domiciles in emerging markets such as Asia and Latin America.

Last week I published a book on the “State of the Global Asset Management Industry”, and next month Strategic Insight will publish a book on Latin America opportunities.