BYLAWS OF ASHMORE FUNDS (Dated as of August 6, 2010)
Exhibit (b)
OF
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ FUNDS
(Dated as of August 6, 2010)
ARTICLE 1
Agreement and Declaration of Trust and Principal Office
1.1 Agreement and Declaration of Trust. These Bylaws shall be subject to the Agreement and Declaration of Trust, as amended or restated from time to time (the “Declaration of Trust”), of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Funds (the “Trust”), the Massachusetts voluntary association established by the Declaration of Trust. Capitalized terms used in these Bylaws and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Declaration of Trust.
1.2 Principal Office(s) of the Trust. The Trust may have one or more principal offices within or without The Commonwealth of Massachusetts as the Trustees may determine or as they may authorize.
ARTICLE 2
Meetings of Trustees
2.1 Regular Meetings. Regular meetings of the Trustees may be held without call or notice at such places and at such times as the Trustees may from time to time determine, provided that notice of the first regular meeting following any such determination shall be given to absent Trustees. A regular meeting of the Trustees may be held without call or notice immediately after and at the same place as any meeting of the Shareholders.
2.2 Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Trustees may be held at any time and at any place designated in the call of the meeting when called by the Chairman of the Trustees, the President, the Secretary, or the Treasurer or by two or more Trustees, sufficient notice thereof being given to each Trustee by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary or by the officer or the Trustees calling the meeting.
2.3 Notice. It shall be sufficient notice to a Trustee of a special meeting to send notice of the time, date and place of such meeting by (a) mail or courier at least forty-eight hours in advance of the meeting; (b) by telegram, telefax, telecopy, e-mail or other electronic transmission method addressed to the Trustee at his or her usual or last known business or residence address (or fax number or e-mail address as the case may be) at least twenty-four hours before the meeting; or (c) to give notice to him or her in person, by telephone or voicemail at least twenty-four hours before the meeting. Notice of a meeting need not be given to any Trustee if a written waiver of notice, executed by him or her before or after the meeting, is filed with the
records of the meeting, or to any Trustee who attends the meeting without protesting prior thereto or at its commencement the lack of notice to him or her. Except as required by law, neither notice of a meeting nor a waiver of a notice need specify the purposes of the meeting.
2.4 Presence through Communications Equipment. Except as required by applicable law, the Trustees may participate in a meeting of Trustees by means of a conference telephone or similar communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other at the same time, and participation by such means shall constitute presence in person at a meeting.
ARTICLE 3
Officers, Chairman of the Trustees
3.1 Enumeration; Qualification. The officers of the Trust shall be a President, a Treasurer, a Secretary, a Chief Compliance Officer and such other officers, if any, as the Trustees from time to time may in their discretion elect. The Trust may also have such agents as the Trustees from time to time may in their discretion appoint. Any officer may but need not be a Trustee or a Shareholder. Any two or more offices may be held by the same person.
3.2 Election. The President, the Treasurer and the Secretary shall be elected by the Trustees. Other officers, if any, may be elected or appointed by the Trustees at the same meeting at which the President, Treasurer and Secretary are elected, or at any other time. If required by the 1940 Act, the Chief Compliance Officer shall be elected or appointed by a majority of the Trustees, including a majority of the Trustees who are not Interested Persons of the Trust (the “Independent Trustees”), and otherwise in accordance with Rule 38a-1 (or any successor rule) under the 1940 Act, as such rule may be amended from time to time (“Rule 38a-1”). Vacancies in any office may be filled at any time.
3.3 Tenure. The President, the Treasurer, the Secretary and the Chief Compliance Officer shall hold office until their respective successors are chosen and qualified, or in each case until he or she sooner dies, resigns, is removed with or without cause or becomes disqualified, provided that, if required by the 1940 Act, any renewal of the Chief Compliance Officer shall be in accordance with Rule 38a-1. Each other officer shall hold office and each agent of the Trust shall retain authority at the pleasure of the Trustees.
3.4 Powers. Subject to the other provisions of these Bylaws, each officer shall have, in addition to the duties and powers herein and set forth in the Declaration of Trust, such duties and powers as are commonly incident to the office occupied by him or her as if the Trust were organized as a Massachusetts business corporation and such other duties and powers as the Trustees may from time to time designate.
3.5 Chairman of the Trustees. There shall be an office of the Chairman of the Trustees, which shall serve on behalf of the Trustees, but shall not be an officer of the Trust. The office of the Chairman of the Trustees may be held by more than one person. Any Chairman of the Trustees shall be elected by a majority of the Trustees, as well as a majority of the Independent Trustees if required by the 1940 Act. If required by the 1940 Act, any Chairman of the Trustees
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shall be an Independent Trustee and may, but need not, be a shareholder. The powers and duties of the Chairman of the Trustees shall include any and all such powers and duties relating to the operations of the Trustees as, from time to time, may be conferred upon or assigned to such office by the Trustees or as may be required by law, provided that the Chairman of the Trustees shall have no individual authority to act for the Trust as an officer of the Trust. In carrying out the responsibilities and duties of the office, the Chairman of the Trustees may seek assistance and input from other Trustees or Committees of the Trustees, officers of the Trust and the Trust’s investment adviser(s) and other service providers, as deemed necessary or appropriate.
In the event of the absence or disability of the Chairman of the Trustees, a majority of the Trustees, together with a majority of the Independent Trustees if required by the 1940 Act, may appoint one or more Trustees to perform the duties of the Chairman of the Trustees.
The Trustees may from time to time set the term of office of the Chairman of the Trustees. The Chairman of the Trustees shall hold office until his or her successor is chosen and qualified, or until he or she sooner dies, resigns, or is removed, or becomes disqualified. The Chairman of the Trustees may be removed from such position at any time, with or without cause, by vote or consent of a majority of the Trustees, together with the vote or consent of a majority of the Independent Trustees if required by the ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇.
3.6 President; Vice President. The President shall be the chief executive officer. Any Vice President shall have such duties and powers as may be designated from time to time by the Trustees or the President.
3.7 Treasurer; Assistant Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be the principal financial and accounting officer of the Trust, and shall, subject to the provisions of the Declaration of Trust and to any arrangement made by the Trustees with a custodian, investment adviser, sub-adviser or manager, or transfer, shareholder servicing or similar agent, be in charge of the valuable papers, books of account and accounting records of the Trust, and shall have such other duties and powers as may be designated from time to time by the Trustees or by the President. Any Assistant Treasurer shall have the duties and powers as may be designated from time to time by the Trustees or the President.
3.8 Secretary; Assistant Secretary. The Secretary shall record all proceedings of the Shareholders and the Trustees in books to be kept therefor, which books or a copy thereof shall be kept at a principal office of the Trust. In the absence of the Secretary from any meeting of the Shareholders or Trustees, an Assistant Secretary, or if there be none or if he or she is absent, a temporary secretary chosen at such meeting shall record the proceedings thereof in the aforesaid books. Any Assistant Secretary shall have such duties and powers as may be designated from time to time by the Trustees or the President.
3.9 Chief Compliance Officer. The Chief Compliance Officer shall perform the duties and have the responsibilities of the chief compliance officer of the Trust, including if required by the 1940 Act any such duties and responsibilities imposed by Rule 38a-1, and shall have such other duties and powers as may be designated from time to time by the Trustees.
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3.10 Resignations; Removals. Any officer or Chairman of the Trustees may resign at any time by written instrument signed by him or her and delivered to the Chairman of the Trustees (if the resigning person is other than the Chairman of the Trustees), the President or the Secretary, or to a meeting of the Trustees. Such resignation shall be effective upon receipt unless specified to be effective at some other time. The Trustees may remove any officer with or without cause. Except to the extent expressly provided in a written agreement with the Trust, no person resigning or removed as an officer or the Chairman of the Trustees shall have any right to any compensation with respect to such position for any period following his or her resignation or removal, or any right to damages on account of such removal.
ARTICLE 4
Committees
4.1 Quorum; Voting. Except as provided below or as otherwise specifically provided in the resolutions constituting a committee of the Trustees (each a “Committee”) and providing for the conduct of its meetings or in the charter of such committee adopted by the Trustees, a majority of the members of any Committee of the Trustees shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and any action of such a Committee may be taken at a meeting by a vote of a majority of the members present (a quorum being present) or evidenced by one or more writings signed by such a majority. Members of a Committee may participate in a meeting of such Committee by means of a conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other at the same time and participation by such means shall constitute presence in person at a meeting.
With respect to a Valuation or Dividend Committee of the Trustees, one or more of the Committee members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
Except as specifically provided in the resolutions constituting a Committee of the Trustees and providing for the conduct of its meetings or in the charter of such committee adopted by the Trustees, the notice requirements set forth in Article 2, Section 2.3 of these Bylaws relating to special meetings of the Trustees shall govern the notice requirements for Committee meetings, except that it shall be sufficient notice to a Valuation or Dividend Committee of the Trustees to send notice by telegram, telex, telecopy, e-mail or other electronic means (including by telephone or voice message) at least fifteen minutes before the meeting.
ARTICLE 5
Reports
5.1 General. The Trustees and officers shall render reports at the time and in the manner required by the Declaration of Trust or any applicable law. Officers and Committees shall render such additional reports as they may deem desirable or as may from time to time be required by the Trustees.
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ARTICLE 6
Fiscal Year
6.1 General. Except as from time to time otherwise provided by the Trustees, the initial fiscal year of the Trust shall end on such date as is determined in advance or in arrears by the Treasurer or the Board of Trustees, and the subsequent fiscal years shall end on such date in subsequent years.
ARTICLE 7
Seal
7.1 General. The seal of the Trust shall, subject to alteration by the Trustees, consist of a flat-faced die with the word “Massachusetts,” together with the name of the Trust and the year of its organization cut or engraved thereon; provided, however, that unless otherwise required by the Trustees, the seal shall not be necessary to be placed on, and its absence shall not impair the validity of, any document, instrument or other paper executed and delivered by or on behalf of the Trust.
ARTICLE 8
Execution of Papers
8.1 General. Except as the Trustees may generally or in particular cases authorize the execution thereof in some other manner, all deeds, leases, transfers, contracts, bonds, notes, checks, drafts and other obligations made, accepted or endorsed by the Trust shall be executed by the Chairman of the Trustees, President, any Vice President, the Treasurer, or by whomever else shall be designated for that purpose by vote of the Trustees, and need not bear the seal of the Trust.
ARTICLE 9
Sale of Shares; Uncertificated Shares and Share Certificates
9.1 Sale of Shares. Except as otherwise determined by the Trustees, the Trust will issue and sell for cash, securities or other property from time to time, full and fractional shares of its Shares, such Shares to be issued and sold at a price of not less than the par value per share and not less than the net asset value per share as from time to time determined in accordance with the Declaration of Trust and these Bylaws and, in the case of fractional shares, at a proportionate reduction in such price. In the case of shares sold for securities, such securities shall be valued in accordance with the provisions for determining the value of the assets of the Trust as stated or referred to in the Declaration of Trust and these Bylaws. The officers of the Trust are severally authorized to take all such actions as may be necessary or desirable to carry out this Section 9.1.
9.2 Uncertificated Shares; Share Certificates. In lieu of issuing certificates for Shares, the Trustees or the transfer agent may either issue receipts therefor or may keep accounts upon the books of the Trust for the record holders of such Shares, who shall in either case be deemed, for all purposes hereunder, to be the holders of certificates for such Shares as if they had accepted such certificates and shall be held to have expressly assented and agreed to the terms hereof.
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The Trustees may at any time, but are not required to, authorize the issuance of share certificates. In that event, each Shareholder shall be entitled to a certificate stating the number of Shares owned by him, in such form as shall be prescribed from time to time by the Trustees. Any such certificates shall be signed by the President or any Vice President and by the Treasurer or any Assistant Treasurer. Such signatures may be facsimile if the certificate is signed by a transfer agent, or by a registrar, other than a Trustee, officer or employee of the Trust. In case any officer who has signed or whose facsimile signature has been placed on such certificate shall cease to be such officer before such certificate is issued, it may be issued by the Trust with the same effect as if he were such officer at the time of its issue.
9.3 Loss of Certificates. In the event that the Trust issues share certificates, in case of the alleged loss or destruction or the mutilation of a share certificate, a duplicate certificate may be issued in place thereof, upon such terms as the Trustees shall prescribe.
9.4 Issuance of New Certificates to Pledgee. A pledgee of Shares transferred as collateral security, if share certificates were issued for such shares, shall be entitled to a new certificate if the instrument of transfer substantially describes the debt or duty that is intended to be secured thereby. Such new certificate shall express on its face that it is held as collateral security, and the name of the pledgor shall be stated thereon, who alone shall be liable as a Shareholder and entitled to vote thereon.
9.5 Discontinuance of Issuance of Certificates. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Article 9, the Trustees may, if they determine to issue share certificates, at any time discontinue the issuance of any share certificates and may, by written notice to each Shareholder, require the surrender of share certificates to the Trust for cancellation. Such surrender and cancellation shall not affect the ownership of Shares in the Trust.
ARTICLE 10
Provisions Relating to the Conduct of the Trust’s Business
10.1 Determination of Net Asset Value Per Share. The net asset value per share of each series and each class of Shares of the Trust shall be determined in accordance with the 1940 Act and any related procedures adopted by the Trust or by the Trustees from time to time.
ARTICLE 11
Amendment to the Bylaws
11.1 General. Except to the extent that the Declaration of Trust or applicable law requires a vote or consent of Shareholders or a higher vote or consent by the Trustees, these Bylaws may be amended, changed, altered or repealed, in whole or part, only by resolution of a majority of the Trustees then in office at any meeting of the Trustees, or by one or more writings signed by such a majority of Trustees.
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