AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT
AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT
The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (the “Company”), ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Investment Funds (the “Investment Company”), and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Investments Financial Services, LLC (f/k/a ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Fund Distributors, Inc.) (the “Underwriter”), entered into a participation agreement dated March 16, 1999, as amended by superseding, previous Amendment No. 1, dated December 17, 2020 (together, the “Participation Agreement”). This Amendment No. 2 (the “Amendment”) to the Participation Agreement is entered into as of July 24, 2024, by and among the Company, on its own behalf and on behalf of each separate account of the Company as set forth in the Participation Agreement, as may be amended from time to time (individually and collectively the “Accounts”), the Investment Company and the Underwriter (collectively, the “Parties”).
RECITALS
WHEREAS, pursuant to the Participation Agreement among the Parties, the Company invests in shares of certain of the portfolios of the Investment Company (each a “Fund,” collectively, the “Funds”) as a funding vehicle for the Accounts that issue variable annuity and/or life insurance contracts (the “Variable Contracts”) to persons that are registered owners of such Variable Contracts on the books and records of the Company (the “Contract Owners”);
WHEREAS, the Accounts are registered as unit investment trusts under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);
WHEREAS, the Company, on behalf of the Accounts, has certain obligations pursuant to Rule 30e-2 under the 1940 Act to deliver Fund shareholder reports to Contract Owners, which obligations may currently be satisfied by compliance with Rule 30e-3 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 30e-3”);
WHEREAS, Amendment No. 1 was entered into by the Parties to, among other things, ensure compliance with Rules 30e-3 and 498A, but the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has revoked the ability of the Company, on behalf of Funds, to rely on Rule 30e-3 to satisfy its obligation to deliver Fund shareholder reports to Contract Owners for shareholder reports with periods ending June 30, 2024 or later; and
WHEREAS, the Company still intends to host a website in compliance with Rule 498A with respect to prospectuses and summary prospectuses;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, which consideration is full and complete, the Company, the Investment Company, and the Underwriter hereby agree to supplement and amend Amendment No. 1 to the Participation Agreement as follows:
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Section 1(a) is hereby replaced in its entirety with:
| (a) | Fund Documents. The Investment Company is responsible for preparing and providing the “Fund Documents” as specified in paragraph (j)(1)(ii) of Rule 498A. |
Section 1(a)(iv) is hereby replaced in its entirety with:
(iv). Most Recent Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to Shareholders (under Rule 30e-1 under the 1940 Act) for the Funds (together, the “Shareholder Reports”).
Sections 1(a)(v) and (vi) are hereby deleted in their entirety.
Section 1(b)is hereby replaced in its entirety with:
| (b) | Deadline for Providing, and Currentness of, Fund Documents. The Investment Company and/or the Underwriter shall provide the Fund Documents on a timely basis (to facilitate any required website posting or delivery in compliance with Rule 30e-2). Nothing in this section is intended to limit any current understanding or arrangement among the parties with respect to the provision of Fund documents required for printing, delivery or other purposes. |
Section 1(c)(i) is hereby replaced in its entirety with:
(i) are both human-readable and convenient for being read online and being printed on paper in human-readable format (in accordance with paragraph (h)(2)(i) of Rule 498A); and
Section 1(d) is hereby replaced in its entirety with:
| (d) | Website Hosting. The Company shall host and maintain the website specified in paragraph (j)(1)(iii) of Rule 498A, so that the Fund Documents are publicly accessible, free of charge, at that website, in accordance with the conditions set forth in that paragraph, provided that the Fund and Underwriter fulfill their obligations under this Amendment. |
Section 1(f) is hereby replaced in its entirety with:
| (f) | Website Hosting and Notice Expense Allocation. To the extent agreed upon by the Parties in good faith as to amount, timing and other parameters, the Underwriter and/or the Investment Company shall bear their proportionate costs of posting, maintaining, and managing the Fund Documents on the website hosted by the Company to the extent the parties rely on Rule 498A. From time to time, the Parties shall review these arrangements to determine whether it reasonably approximates the Company’s incurred and anticipated costs (both ‘soft’ internal costs and ‘hard’ external costs) of posting, maintaining, and managing the Fund Documents on the website hosted by the |
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| Company. The Parties agree to negotiate in good faith any change to these expense allocations proposed by a Party. Unless specifically superseded by reliance on Rule 498A by the Parties, nothing in this section is intended to limit any current understanding or arrangement among the Parties with respect to the provision of Fund documents required for printing, delivery or other purposes, or the terms of any existing administrative services agreement, Rule 12b-1 agreement or related agreement, Servicing Agreement or other similar agreement between the Parties. Without regard to expense allocation, the Company shall be responsible for fulfilling ad hoc requests from Contract Owners for a paper copy of any of the Fund Documents on the website. |
Section 1(g) is hereby deleted in its entirety.
Section 3 is hereby replaced in its entirety with:
3. Provision of Fund Documents for Paper Delivery. The Investment Company or the Underwriter shall, per existing expense allocation and other understandings among the parties, provide the Company copies of Fund Documents as may be required to meet any requests from Contract Owners (see paragraphs (i)(1) and (j)(3) of Rule 498A), which may include, the provision of such electronic or other documentation (including “camera ready” copies of the current Fund Documents as set in type, or at the request of the Company, a diskette in a form suitable to be sent to a financial printer), and such other assistance as is reasonably necessary to have the then current Fund Documents printed for distribution.
Section 6 is hereby replaced in its entirety with:
| 6. | Construction of this Amendment; Participation Agreement. |
(a). This Amendment shall be interpreted to be consistent with, and to facilitate compliance with and reliance on, Rule 498A (including paragraph (j) thereof) under the 1933 Act and any interpretations of those Rules by the Securities and Exchange Commission, its staff, courts, or other appropriate legal authorities.
(b). To the extent the terms of this Amendment conflict with the terms of the Participation Agreement or Amendment No. 1, the terms of this Amendment shall control; otherwise, and except as otherwise specifically set forth in this Amendment, the terms of the Participation Agreement, Amendment No. 1 and/or other understandings or arrangements among the parties shall continue to apply, and shall apply to the duties, responsibilities, rights and obligations of the Parties under and pursuant to this Amendment.
Counterparts and Delivery. This Amendment No. 2 may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be an original and all of which together shall constitute one instrument. A signed copy of this Amendment No. 2 delivered by facsimile or by emailing a copy in .pdf form shall be treated as an original and shall bind all Parties just as would the exchange of originally signed copies.
[Signature page follows.]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned have caused this Amendment to be executed as of the date first above written.
| THE NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY | ||||||
| (on behalf of itself and each Account) | ||||||
| By: |
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| Name: | ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |||||
| Title: | Vice President | |||||
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ INVESTMENT FUNDS | ||||||
| By: |
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| Name: | ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ | |||||
| Title: | Senior Director, Head of Global Fund Services | |||||
| ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ INVESTMENTS FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC | ||||||
| By: |
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| Name: | ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ | |||||
| Title: | Managing Director | |||||
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