Glossary
Four-eyes principle
The four-eyes principle requires that significant decisions or changes be made or reviewed by at least two people, so no one acts alone.
The four-eyes principle means two people see every significant action. It guards against error and against one person acting without oversight. In operations it appears as dual control or maker-checker; in governance, as a requirement for at least two decision-makers.
EU fund law states the governance version. Article 7(1)(b) of the UCITS Directive requires a management company’s business to be decided by at least two persons of sufficient repute and experience. For investment policies, the principle covers approving rules, waivers and attestations as much as trades.
The control only works if the second person is independent and actually checks. In Acclimetry, the author of a rule cannot approve it, and the rule’s materiality sets how many distinct approvers it needs. Waivers are approved within delegated authority; see maker-checker.
See also
Sources
- Directive 2009/65/EC (UCITS), Article 7, text as it stood at UK exit (legislation.gov.uk; source of record EUR-Lex) · OGL v3.0 · Read on12 October 2026