Activities of the Adviser The services of the Adviser to the Fund hereunder are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Adviser and any of its affiliates shall be free to render similar services to others. Subject to and in accordance with the Agreement and Declaration of Trust and By-Laws of the Trust and Section 10(a) of the 1940 Act, it is understood that trustees, officers, agents and shareholders of the Trust are or may be interested in the Adviser or its affiliates as directors, officers, agents or stockholders; that directors, officers, agents or stockholders of the Adviser or its affiliates are or may be interested in the Trust as trustees, officers, agents, shareholders or otherwise; that the Adviser or its affiliates may be interested in the Fund as shareholders or otherwise; and that the effect of any such interests shall be governed by said Agreement and Declaration of Trust, By-Laws and the 1940 Act.
Other Activities of the Adviser The services of the Adviser to the Company are not exclusive, and the Adviser may engage in any other business or render similar or different services to others including, without limitation, the direct or indirect sponsorship or management of other investment based accounts or commingled pools of capital, however structured, having investment objectives similar to those of the Company, so long as its services to the Company hereunder are not impaired thereby, and nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any manager, partner, member (including its members and the owners of its members), officer or employee of the Adviser to engage in any other business or to devote his or her time and attention in part to any other business, whether of a similar or dissimilar nature, or to receive any fees or compensation in connection therewith (including fees for serving as a director of, or providing consulting services to, one or more of the Company’s portfolio companies, subject to applicable law). The Adviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder. It is understood that directors, officers, employees and stockholders of the Company are or may become interested in the Adviser and its affiliates, as directors, officers, employees, partners, stockholders, members, managers or otherwise, and that the Adviser and directors, officers, employees, partners, stockholders, members and managers of the Adviser and its affiliates are or may become similarly interested in the Company as stockholders or otherwise.
Services and Duties of the Distributor A. The Distributor agrees to act as the principal underwriter of the Client for the distribution of the Shares of the Funds, upon the terms and at the current offering price (plus sales charge, if any) described in the Prospectus. As used in this Agreement, the term “Prospectus” shall mean the current prospectus, including the statement of additional information, as both may be amended or supplemented, relating to any of the Funds and included in the currently effective registration statement(s) or post-effective amendment(s) thereto (the “Registration Statement”) of the Client under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), and the 1940 Act.
B. During the continuous public offering of Shares of the Funds, the Distributor shall use commercially reasonable efforts to distribute the Shares. All orders for Shares shall be made through financial intermediaries or submitted directly to the applicable Fund or its designated agent. Such purchase orders shall be deemed effective at the time and in the manner set forth in the Prospectus. The Client or its designated agent will confirm orders and subscriptions upon receipt, will make appropriate book entries and, upon receipt of payment therefor, will issue the appropriate number of Shares in uncertificated form.
C. The Distributor shall maintain membership with the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) and any other similar successor organization to sponsor a participant number for the Funds so as to enable the Shares to be traded through NSCC’s Fund/SERV System (“FundSERV”). The Client acknowledges and agrees that the Distributor shall not be responsible for any operational matters associated with FundSERV or Networking transactions, including but not limited to taking orders from financial intermediaries.
D. The Distributor acknowledges and agrees that it is not authorized to provide any information or make any representations regarding the Funds other than as contained in the Prospectus and any marketing materials specifically approved by the Client or the investment adviser to the Fund(s).
E. The Distributor agrees to review all proposed marketing materials provided by the Client for compliance with applicable Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and FINRA advertising rules and regulations, and shall file with FINRA those marketing materials it believes are in compliance with such applicable laws and regulations. The Distributor agrees to furnish to the Client any comments provided by regulators with respect to such marketing materials.
F. At the request of the Client, the Distributor shall enter into the Standard Dealer Agreement (as defined below), and may, in its discretion, enter into non-standard dealer agreements with financial intermediaries as the Client may select, in order that such broker-dealers and other intermediaries may sell Shares of the Funds. The Fund’s form of dealer agreement and/or selling agreement shall in a form similar to that attached at Exhibit C and shall be approved by the Client’s Board (“Standard Dealer Agreement”).
G. The Client acknowledges and agrees that the Distributor shall not be obligated to make any payments to any broker-dealers, other financial intermediaries or other third parties, unless (i) the Distributor has received an authorized corresponding payment from the applicable Fund’s plan of distribution adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act (“Plan”) and (ii) such Plan been approved by the Client’s Board.
H. The Distributor shall not be obligated to sell any certain number of Shares.
I. The Distributor shall prepare reports for the Board regarding its activities under this Agreement as from time to time shall be reasonably requested by the Board, including reports regarding the use of 12b-1 payments received by the Distributor, if any.
J. The Distributor may enter into agreements (“Subcontracts”) with qualified third parties to carry out some or all of the Distributor’s obligations under this Agreement, with the prior written consent of the Client, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld; provided that execution of a Subcontract shall not relieve the Distributor of any of its responsibilities hereunder.
K. The services furnished by the Distributor hereunder are not to be deemed exclusive and the Distributor shall be free to furnish similar services to others so long as its services under this Agreement are not impaired thereby.
L. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Distributor shall not be required to register as a broker or dealer in any specific jurisdiction or to maintain its registration in any jurisdiction in which it is now registered.
M. The Distributor undertakes to perform such duties and only such duties as are expressly set forth herein, or expressly incorporated herein by reference, and no implied covenants or obligations shall be read into this Agreement against the Distributor.
Other Activities of the Advisor Except as set forth in this Section 14 , nothing herein contained shall prevent the Advisor or any of its Affiliates from engaging in or earning fees from other activities, including the rendering of advice to other Persons (including other REITs) and the management of other programs advised, sponsored or organized by the Sponsor or its Affiliates; nor shall this Agreement limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, member, partner, employee or stockholder of the Advisor or any of its Affiliates to engage in or earn fees from any other business or to render services of any kind to any other Person and earn fees for rendering such services; provided, however , that the Advisor must devote sufficient resources to the Company’s business to discharge its obligations to the Company under this Agreement. The Advisor may, with respect to any investment in which the Company is a participant, also render advice and service to each and every other participant therein, and earn fees for rendering such advice and service. Specifically, it is contemplated that the Company may enter into Joint Ventures or other similar co-investment arrangements with certain Persons, and pursuant to the agreements governing such Joint Ventures or arrangements, the Advisor may be engaged to provide advice and service to such Persons, in which case the Advisor will earn fees for rendering such advice and service. The Advisor shall report to the Board the existence of any condition or circumstance, existing or anticipated, of which it has knowledge, which creates or could create a conflict of interest between the Advisor’s obligations to the Company and its obligations to or its interest in any other Person. If the Advisor, Director or Affiliates thereof have sponsored other investment programs with similar investment objectives which have investment funds available at the same time as the Company, the Advisor shall inform the Board of the method to be applied by the Advisor in allocating investment opportunities among the Company and competing investment entities and shall provide regular updates to the Board of the investment opportunities provided by the Advisor to competing programs in order for the Board (including the Independent Directors) to fulfill its duty to ensure that the Advisor and its Affiliates use their reasonable best efforts to apply such method fairly to the Company.
Activities of JCM The services of JCM to the Trust hereunder are not to be deemed to be exclusive, and JCM and its affiliates are free to render services to other parties. It is understood that trustees, officers and shareholders of the Trust are or may become interested in JCM as directors, officers and shareholders of JCM, that directors, officers, employees and shareholders of JCM are or may become similarly interested in the Trust, and that JCM may become interested in the Trust as a shareholder or otherwise.