Directors’ remuneration & board composition

In a year marked by economic shifts and resilient investor sentiment, Irish UCITS Funds have continued to attract strong inflows, particularly in long-term and equity strategies. Regulatory complexity and evolving governance expectations are reshaping board priorities.

Rio Howley and Aislinn Feely, from our Financial Services Audit team, have compiled a guide to provide a comprehensive overview of board composition and directors’ remuneration, applicable for Irish UCITS Funds plc. Explore the details below and in our full report, which aims to serve as a valuable benchmarking tool for your organisation.

Overview and key insights

As per the end of July 2025, Irish Funds data indicates that there were 9,154 funds including subfunds domiciled in Ireland with assets under management totalling €5,137 billion of which UCITS structures represent 5,738 funds and €4,196 billion in assets under management.

Exploring further, our report highlights the importance of aligning performance and reward with shareholder expectations while maintaining robust governance. It was compiled by analysing over 200 publicly available financial statements of UCITS companies including 2,665 subfunds and assets under management of €2,849 billion.

The following are the key findings:

3 people chatting in corporate environment

Number of directors

Of the 208 companies analysed in 2024 we found that the number of directors varied from 3 to 9 directors.
New appointments

For independent directors appointed during 2024, 62% were female and 38% were male directors. Our research from 2019 was significantly different with 65% of such appointments being male.
Female board directors

30% of all directors are female in 2024 having only 16% female board members in 2019.
Director remuneration

Of the 208 companies analysed in 2024, the average total remuneration of directors in a company was €76,294

Read the full report for detailed breakdown and statistics.

Analysis of Directors’ Remuneration & Board Composition

(PDF, 2.6MB)

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Get in touch

This publication is designed to support your benchmarking of directors’ remuneration within Irish UCITS companies. If you’d like to explore the findings further or discuss how they apply to your organisation, our team is here to help.

Get in touch today - we’d be glad to support your governance journey.