Activities of the Manager The services of the Manager to the Fund hereunder are not to be deemed exclusive, and the Manager 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 Manager or its affiliates as directors, officers, agents or stockholders; that directors, officers, agents or stockholders of the Manager or its affiliates are or may be interested in the Trust as trustees, officers, agents, shareholders or otherwise; that the Manager 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.
Duties of the Manager (a) The Manager shall, subject to the direction and control of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (i) (except to the extent an investment subadviser (each, a “Subadviser”), as defined below, has been retained in respect of some or all of the assets of the Fund) furnish continuously an investment program for the Fund and make investment decisions on behalf of the Fund and place all orders for the purchase and sale of portfolio securities; and (ii) provide reports on the foregoing to the Board of Trustees at each Board meeting.
(b) In any case where a Subadviser has been retained in respect of some or all of the assets of the Fund as contemplated by Section 9 below, the Manager shall take the following actions in respect of the performance by the Subadviser of its obligations in respect of the Fund: - perform periodic detailed analysis and review of the performance by the Subadviser of its obligations to the Fund, including without limitation a review of the Subadviser’s investment performance in respect of the Fund and in respect of other accounts managed by the Subadviser with similar investment strategies; - prepare and present periodic reports to the Board of Trustees regarding the investment performance of the Subadviser and other information regarding the Subadviser, at such times and in such forms as the Board of Trustees may reasonably request; - review and consider any changes in the personnel of the Subadviser responsible for performing the Subadviser’s obligations and make appropriate reports to the Board of Trustees; - review and consider any changes in the ownership or senior management of the Subadviser and make appropriate reports to the Board of Trustees; - perform periodic in-person or telephonic diligence meetings with representatives of the Subadviser; - assist the Board of Trustees and management of the Trust in developing and reviewing information with respect to the initial approval of the subadvisory agreement with the Subadviser and annual consideration of the agreement thereafter; - at the request of the Board of Trustees, prepare recommendations with respect to the continued retention of any Subadviser or the replacement of any Subadviser; - at the request of the Board of Trustees, identify potential successors to or replacements of any Subadviser or potential additional Subadvisers, perform appropriate due diligence, and develop and present to the Board of Trustees a recommendation as to any such successor, replacement, or additional Subadviser; - designate and compensate from its own resources such personnel as the Manager may consider necessary or appropriate to the performance of its services hereunder; and - perform such other review and reporting functions as the Board of Trustees shall reasonably request consistent with this Management Agreement, the applicable subadvisory agreement, and applicable law. The Manager shall perform the obligations hereunder relating generally to the investment program of the Fund that have not been delegated to any Subadviser.
(c) In addition, the Manager shall provide advice and recommendations to the Board of Trustees, and perform such review and oversight functions as the Board of Trustees may reasonably request, as to the continuing appropriateness of the investment objective, strategies, and policies of the Fund, valuations of portfolio securities, and other matters relating generally to the investment program of the Fund.
(d) Nothing in this Management Agreement shall prevent the Manager or any officer thereof from acting as investment adviser or subadviser for any other person, firm or corporation and shall not in any way limit or restrict the Manager or any of its directors, officers, members, stockholders, or employees from buying, selling, or trading any securities for its or their own accounts or for the account of others for whom it or they may be acting.
(e) The Manager shall, at its own expense, provide employees of the Manager to serve as officers of the Trust as the Board of Trustees may request. The Manager and the Board of Trustees may from time to time agree that the expense of certain officers of the Trust who may also be employees of the Manager, including without limitation the Chief Compliance Officer of the Trust and any Assistant Chief Compliance Officers, will be borne in part by the Trust and in part by the Manager or entirely by the Trust.
(f) The Manager shall not be obligated to pay any expenses of or for the Trust or the Fund not expressly assumed by the Manager pursuant to this Management Agreement.
Compensation of the Manager For the services to be rendered by the Manager as provided in this Agreement, the Fund shall pay to the Manager a fee computed on the aggregate net asset value of the Portfolio as of the close of each business day and payable monthly at the annual rate of 0.20%. In the event that this Agreement is terminated at other than a month-end, the fee for such month shall be prorated, as applicable.
Liabilities of the Manager A. In the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of obligations or duties hereunder on the part of the Manager, the Manager shall not be subject to liability to the Trust or the Fund or to any shareholder of the Fund for any act or omission in the course of, or connected with, rendering services hereunder or for any losses that may be sustained in the purchase, holding or sale of any security by the Fund.
B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees to reimburse the Trust for any and all costs, expenses, and counsel and trustees’ fees reasonably incurred by the Trust in the preparation, printing and distribution of proxy statements, amendments to its Registration Statement, holdings of meetings of its shareholders or trustees, the conduct of factual investigations, any legal or administrative proceedings (including any applications for exemptions or determinations by the Securities and Exchange Commission) which the Trust incurs as the result of action or inaction of the Manager or any of its affiliates or any of their officers, directors, employees or stockholders where the action or inaction necessitating such expenditures (i) is directly or indirectly related to any transactions or proposed transaction in the stock or control of the Manager or its affiliates (or litigation related to any pending or proposed or future transaction in such shares or control) which shall have been undertaken without the prior, express approval of the Trust’s Board of Trustees; or, (ii) is within the control of the Manager or any of its affiliates or any of their officers, directors, employees or stockholders. The Manager shall not be obligated pursuant to the provisions of this Subparagraph 7.B., to reimburse the Trust for any expenditures related to the institution of an administrative proceeding or civil litigation by the Trust or a shareholder seeking to recover all or a portion of the proceeds derived by any stockholder of the Manager or any of its affiliates from the sale of his shares of the Manager, or similar matters. So long as this Agreement is in effect, the Manager shall pay to the Trust the amount due for expenses subject to this Subparagraph 7.B. within 30 days after a ▇▇▇▇ or statement has been received by the Manager therefor. This provision shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any claim the Trust may have or may assert against the Manager or others for costs, expenses or damages heretofore incurred by the Trust or for costs, expenses or damages the Trust may hereafter incur which are not reimbursable to it hereunder.
C. No provision of this Agreement shall be construed to protect any trustee or officer of the Trust, or director or officer of the Manager, from liability in violation of Sections 17(h) and (i) of the 1940 Act.
Employment of the Manager The Trust hereby employs the Manager to manage the investment and reinvestment of the Fund’s assets, to administer its affairs, and to provide or procure, as applicable, the administrative and other services described in Section 2.C. of this Agreement, as may be supplemented from time to time, subject to the direction of the Board of Trustees and the officers of the Trust, for the period and on the terms hereinafter set forth. The Manager hereby accepts such employment and agrees during such period to render the services and to assume the obligations herein set forth for the compensation herein provided. The Manager shall for all purposes herein be deemed to be an independent contractor and shall, except as expressly provided or authorized (whether herein or otherwise), have no authority to act for or represent the Fund or the Trust in any way or otherwise be deemed an agent of the Fund or the Trust.