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EXHIBIT e(5)(a)
MASTER DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
AIM TAX-EXEMPT FUNDS
(CLASS A AND C SHARES)
AND
A I M DISTRIBUTORS, INC.
THIS AGREEMENT made as of the 1st day of June, 2000, by and between AIM
TAX-EXEMPT FUNDS, a Delaware business trust (the "Trust"), with respect to the
series of shares of beneficial interest set forth on Appendix A to this
agreement (the "Portfolios") and the shares, other than the Class B shares,
representing the Portfolios (hereinafter referred to as the "Class A and Class C
Shares") and A I M DISTRIBUTORS, INC., a Delaware corporation (the
"Distributor").
WITNESSETH:
In consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained and other
good and valuable consideration, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, the
parties hereto agree as follows:
FIRST: The Trust on behalf of the Class A and Class C Shares hereby
appoints the Distributor as its exclusive agent for the sale of the Class A and
Class C Shares to the public directly and through investment dealers and
financial institutions in the United States and throughout the world.
SECOND: The Trust shall not sell any Class A and Class C Shares except
through the Distributor and under the terms and conditions set forth in
paragraph FOURTH below. Notwithstanding the provisions of the foregoing
sentence, however:
(A) the Trust may issue Class A and Class C Shares to any other
investment company or personal holding company, or to the shareholders thereof,
in exchange for all or a majority of the shares or assets of any such company;
and
(B) the Trust may issue Class A and Class C Shares at their net asset
value in connection with certain classes of transactions or to certain
categories of persons, in accordance with Rule 22d-1 under the Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), provided that any such
category is specified in the then current prospectus of the applicable Class A
and Class C Shares.
THIRD: The Distributor hereby accepts appointment as exclusive agent
for the sale of the Class A and Class C Shares and agrees that it will use its
best efforts to sell such shares; provided, however, that:
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(A) the Distributor may, and when requested by the Trust on behalf of
the Class A and Class C Shares shall, suspend its efforts to effectuate such
sales at any time when, in the opinion of the Distributor or of the Trust, no
sales should be made because of market or other economic considerations or
abnormal circumstances of any kind; and
(B) the Trust may withdraw the offering of the Class A and Class C
Shares (i) at any time with the consent of the Distributor, or (ii) without such
consent when so required by the provisions of any statute or of any order, rule
or regulation of any governmental body having jurisdiction. It is mutually
understood and agreed that the Distributor does not undertake to sell any
specific amount of the Class A and Class C Shares. The Trust shall have the
right to specify minimum amounts for initial and subsequent orders for the
purchase of Class A and Class C Shares.
FOURTH:
(A) The public offering price of Class A Shares (the "offering price")
shall be the net asset value per share plus a sales charge, if any. Net asset
value per share shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the
then current prospectus and statement of additional information of the
Portfolios. The sales charge shall be established by the Distributor, may
reflect scheduled variations in, or the elimination of, sales charges on sales
of Class A Shares either generally to the public, or to any specified class of
investors or in connection with any specified class of transactions, in
accordance with Rule 22d-1 and as set forth in the then current prospectus and
statement of additional information of the Portfolios. The Distributor shall
apply any scheduled variation in, or elimination of, the selling commission
uniformly to all offerees in the class specified.
The public offering price of the Class C shares shall be the net asset
value per share of the applicable Class C shares. Net asset value per share
shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the then current
prospectus and statement of additional information of the applicable Portfolio.
The Distributor may establish a schedule of contingent deferred sales charges to
be imposed at the time of redemption of the Shares, and such schedule shall be
disclosed in the current prospectus of each Portfolio. Such schedule of
contingent deferred sales charges may reflect variations in or waivers of such
charges on redemptions of Class C shares, either generally to the public or to
any specified class of shareholders and/or in connection with any specified
class of transactions, in accordance with applicable rules and regulations and
exemptive relief granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and as set
forth in the Portfolios" current prospectus(es). The Distributor and the Trust
shall apply any then applicable scheduled variation in or waiver of contingent
deferred sales charges uniformly to all shareholders and/or all transactions
belonging to a specified class.
(B) The Portfolios shall allow directly to investment dealers and other
financial institutions through whom Class A Shares are sold such portion of the
sales charge as may be payable to them and specified by the Distributor up to
but not exceeding the amount of the total sales charge. The difference between
any commissions so payable and the total sales charges included in the offering
price shall be paid to the Distributor.
The Distributor may pay to investment dealers and other financial
institutions through whom Class C shares are sold, such sales commission as the
Distributor may specify from time to time. Payment of any such sales commissions
shall be the sole obligation of the Distributor.
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(C) No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to prohibit any
payments by a Portfolio to the Distributor or by a Portfolio or the Distributor
to investment dealers, financial institutions and 401(k) plan service providers
where such payments are made under a distribution plan adopted by the Trust on
behalf of each Portfolio pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act.
FIFTH: The Distributor shall act as agent of the Trust on behalf of
each Portfolio in connection with the sale and repurchase of Class A and Class C
Shares. Except with respect to such sales and repurchases, the Distributor shall
act as principal in all matters relating to the promotion of the sale of Class A
and Class C Shares and shall enter into all of its own engagements, agreements
and contracts as principal on its own account. The Distributor shall enter into
agreements with investment dealers and financial institutions selected by the
Distributor, authorizing such investment dealers and financial institutions to
offer and sell Class A and Class C Shares to the public upon the terms and
conditions set forth therein, which shall not be inconsistent with the
provisions of this Agreement. Each agreement shall provide that the investment
dealer and financial institution shall act as a principal, and not as an agent,
of the Trust on behalf of the Portfolios.
SIXTH: The Portfolios shall bear:
(A) the expenses of qualification of Class A and Class C Shares for
sale in connection with such public offerings in such states as shall be
selected by the Distributor, and of continuing the qualification therein until
the Distributor notifies the Trust that it does not wish such qualification
continued; and
(B) all legal expenses in connection with the foregoing.
SEVENTH:
(A) The Distributor shall bear the expenses of printing from the final
proof and distributing the Portfolios' prospectuses and statements of additional
information (including supplements thereto) relating to public offerings made by
the Distributor pursuant to this Agreement (which shall not include those
prospectuses and statements of additional information, and supplements thereto,
to be distributed to shareholders of each Portfolio), and any other promotional
or sales literature used by the Distributor or furnished by the Distributor to
dealers in connection with such public offerings, and expenses of advertising in
connection with such public offerings.
(B) The Distributor may be reimbursed for all or a portion of such
expenses, or may receive reasonable compensation for distribution related
services, to the extent permitted by a distribution plan adopted by the Trust on
behalf of the Portfolios pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act.
EIGHTH: The Distributor will accept orders for the purchase of Class A
and Class C Shares only to the extent of purchase orders actually received and
not in excess of such orders, and it will not avail itself of any opportunity of
making a profit by expediting or withholding orders. It is mutually understood
and agreed that the Trust may reject purchase orders where, in the judgment of
the Trust, such rejection is in the best interest of the Trust.
NINTH: The Trust, on behalf of the Portfolios, and the Distributor
shall each comply with all applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the Securities
Act of 1933 and of all other federal and state laws, rules and regulations
governing the issuance and sale of Class A and Class C Shares.
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TENTH:
(A) In the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence
or reckless disregard of obligations or duties hereunder on the part of the
Distributor, the Trust on behalf of the Portfolios agrees to indemnify the
Distributor against any and all claims, demands, liabilities and expenses which
the Distributor may incur under the Securities Act of 1933, or common law or
otherwise, arising out of or based upon any alleged untrue statement of a
material fact contained in any registration statement or prospectus of the
Portfolios, or any omission to state a material fact therein, the omission of
which makes any statement contained therein misleading, unless such statement or
omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information
furnished to the Trust or Portfolio in connection therewith by or on behalf of
the Distributor. The Distributor agrees to indemnify the Trust and the
Portfolios against any and all claims, demands, liabilities and expenses which
the Trust or the Portfolios may incur arising out of or based upon any act or
deed of the Distributor or its sales representatives which has not been
authorized by the Trust or the Portfolios in its prospectus or in this
Agreement.
(B) The Distributor agrees to indemnify the Trust and the Portfolios
against any and all claims, demands, liabilities and expenses which the Trust or
the Portfolios may incur under the Securities Act of 1933, or common law or
otherwise, arising out of or based upon any alleged untrue statement of a
material fact contained in any registration statement or prospectus of the
Portfolios, or any omission to state a material fact therein if such statement
or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information
furnished to the Trust or the Portfolios in connection therewith by or on behalf
of the Distributor.
(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the
Distributor shall not be liable for any errors of the Portfolios' transfer
agent(s), or for any failure of any such transfer agent to perform its duties.
ELEVENTH: Nothing herein contained shall require the Trust to take any
action contrary to any provision of its Agreement and Declaration of Trust, or
to any applicable statute or regulation.
TWELFTH: This Agreement shall become effective as of the date hereof,
shall continue in force and effect until June 30, 2001, and shall continue in
force and effect from year to year thereafter, provided, that such continuance
is specifically approved at least annually (a)(i) by the Board of Trustees of
the Trust or (ii) by the vote of a majority of the Portfolios' outstanding
voting securities (as defined in Section 2(a)(42) of the 1940 Act), and (b) by
vote of a majority of the trustees of the Trust who are not parties to this
Agreement or "interested persons" (as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the ▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇) of any party to this Agreement cast in person at a meeting called for such
purpose.
THIRTEENTH:
(A) This Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment
of any penalty, by vote of the Board of Trustees of the Trust or by vote of a
majority of the outstanding voting securities of each Portfolio, or by the
Distributor, on sixty (60) days' written notice to the other party.
(B) This Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of its
assignment, the term "assignment" having the meaning set forth in Section
2(a)(4) of the 1940 Act.
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FOURTEENTH: Any notice under this Agreement shall be in writing,
addressed and delivered, or mailed postage prepaid, to the other party at such
address as the other party may designate for the receipt of notices. Until
further notice to the other party, it is agreed that the addresses of both the
Trust and the Distributor shall be ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇▇.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be
executed in duplicate on the day and year first above written.
AIM TAX-EXEMPT FUNDS
By: /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇
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Name: ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇
Title: President
Attest:
/s/ P. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
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Name:
Title:
A I M DISTRIBUTORS, INC.
By: /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇
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Name: ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇
Senior Vice President
Attest:
/s/ P. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
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Name:
Title:
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APPENDIX A
TO
MASTER DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
OF
AIM TAX-EXEMPT FUNDS
CLASS A SHARES
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AIM Tax-Exempt Cash Fund
AIM Tax-Exempt Bond Fund of Connecticut
AIM Tax-Free Intermediate Fund
AIM High Income Municipal Fund
CLASS C SHARES
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AIM High Income Municipal Fund
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