Exhibit d(xv)
FRANKLIN VALUEMARK FUNDS
on behalf of the
VALUE SECURITIES FUND
MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT
THIS MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT made between FRANKLIN VALUEMARK FUNDS, a
Massachusetts business trust (the "Trust"), on behalf of VALUE SECURITIES FUND
(the "Fund"), a series of the Trust, and FRANKLIN ADVISORY SERVICES, LLC, a
Delaware limited liability company, (the "Manager").
WHEREAS, the Trust has been organized and intends to operate as an
investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the
"1940 Act") for the purpose of investing and reinvesting its assets in
securities, as set forth in its Agreement and Declaration of Trust, its By-Laws
and its Registration Statements under the 1940 Act and the Securities Act of
1933, all as heretofore and hereafter amended and supplemented; and the Trust
desires to avail itself of the services, information, advice, assistance and
facilities of an investment manager and to have an investment manager perform
various management, statistical, research, investment advisory and other
services for the Fund; and,
WHEREAS, the Manager is registered as an investment adviser under the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940, is engaged in the business of rendering
management, investment advisory, counseling and supervisory services to
investment companies and other investment counseling clients, and desires to
provide these services to the Fund.
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the terms and conditions hereinafter
set forth, it is mutually agreed as follows:
l. Employment of the Manager. The Trust hereby employs the Manager to
manage the investment and reinvestment of the Fund's assets and to administer
its affairs, 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.
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2. Obligations of and Services to be Provided by the Manager. The
Manager undertakes to provide the services hereinafter set forth and to
assume the following obligations:
A. Investment Management Services.
(a) The Manager shall manage the Fund's assets subject to
and in accordance with the investment objectives and policies of the Fund and
any directions which the Trust's Board of Trustees may issue from time to time.
In pursuance of the foregoing, the Manager shall make all determinations with
respect to the investment of the Fund's assets and the purchase and sale of its
investment securities, and shall take such steps as may be necessary to
implement the same. Such determinations and services shall include determining
the manner in which any voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and
any other rights pertaining to the Fund's investment securities shall be
exercised. The Manager shall render or cause to be rendered regular reports to
the Trust, at regular meetings of its Board of Trustees and at such other times
as may be reasonably requested by the Trust's Board of Trustees, of (i) the
decisions made with respect to the investment of the Fund's assets and the
purchase and sale of its investment securities, (ii) the reasons for such
decisions and (iii) the extent to which those decisions have been implemented.
(b) The Manager, subject to and in accordance with any
directions which the Trust's Board of Trustees may issue from time to time,
shall place, in the name of the Fund, orders for the execution of the Fund's
securities transactions. When placing such orders, the Manager shall seek to
obtain the best net price and execution for the Fund, but this requirement shall
not be deemed to obligate the Manager to place any order solely on the basis of
obtaining the lowest commission rate if the other standards set forth in this
section have been satisfied. The parties recognize that there are likely to be
many cases in which different brokers are equally able to provide such best
price and execution and that, in selecting among such brokers with respect to
particular trades, it is desirable to choose those brokers who furnish research,
statistical, quotations and other information to the Fund and the Manager in
accordance with the standards set forth below. Moreover, to the extent that it
continues to be lawful to do so and so long as the Board of Trustees determines
that the Fund will benefit, directly or indirectly, by doing so, the Manager may
place orders with a broker who charges a commission for that transaction which
is in excess of the amount of commission that another broker would have charged
for effecting that transaction, provided that the excess commission
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is reasonable in relation to the value of "brokerage and research services" (as
defined in Section 28(e) (3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) provided by
that broker.
Accordingly, the Trust and the Manager agree that the
Manager shall select brokers for the execution of the Fund's transactions from
among:
(i) Those brokers and dealers who provide quotations and
other services to the Fund, specifically including the
quotations necessary to determine the Fund's net assets, in
such amount of total brokerage as may reasonably be required
in light of such services; and
(ii) Those brokers and dealers who supply research,
statistical and other data to the Manager or its affiliates
which the Manager or its affiliates may lawfully and
appropriately use in their investment advisory capacities,
which relate directly to securities, actual or potential, of
the Fund, or which place the Manager in a better position to
make decisions in connection with the management of the
Fund's assets and securities, whether or not such data may
also be useful to the Manager and its affiliates in managing
other portfolios or advising other clients, in such amount
of total brokerage as may reasonably be required. Provided
that the Trust's officers are satisfied that the best
execution is obtained, the sale of shares of the Fund may
also be considered as a factor in the selection of
broker-dealers to execute the Fund's portfolio transactions.
(c) When the Manager has determined that the Fund should
tender securities pursuant to a "tender offer solicitation," Franklin/▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
Distributors, Inc. ("Distributors") shall be designated as the "tendering
dealer" so long as it is legally permitted to act in such capacity under the
federal securities laws and rules thereunder and the rules of any securities
exchange or association of which Distributors may be a member. Neither the
Manager nor Distributors shall be obligated to make any additional commitments
of capital, expense or personnel beyond that already committed (other than
normal periodic fees or payments necessary to maintain its corporate existence
and membership in the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.) as of
the date of this Agreement. This Agreement shall not obligate the Manager or
Distributors (i) to
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act pursuant to the foregoing requirement under any circumstances in which they
might reasonably believe that liability might be imposed upon them as a result
of so acting, or (ii) to institute legal or other proceedings to collect fees
which may be considered to be due from others to it as a result of such a
tender, unless the Trust on behalf of the Fund shall enter into an agreement
with the Manager and/or Distributors to reimburse them for all such expenses
connected with attempting to collect such fees, including legal fees and
expenses and that portion of the compensation due to their employees which is
attributable to the time involved in attempting to collect such fees.
(d) The Manager shall render regular reports to the Trust,
not more frequently than quarterly, of how much total brokerage business has
been placed by the Manager, on behalf of the Fund, with brokers falling into
each of the categories referred to above and the manner in which the allocation
has been accomplished.
(e) The Manager agrees that no investment decision will be
made or influenced by a desire to provide brokerage for allocation in accordance
with the foregoing, and that the right to make such allocation of brokerage
shall not interfere with the Manager's paramount duty to obtain the best net
price and execution for the Fund.
B. Provision of Information Necessary for Preparation of Securities
Registration Statements, Amendments and Other Materials. The Manager, its
officers and employees will make available and provide accounting and
statistical information required by the Fund in the preparation of registration
statements, reports and other documents required by federal and state securities
laws and with such information as the Fund may reasonably request for use in the
preparation of such documents or of other materials necessary or helpful for the
underwriting and distribution of the Fund's shares.
C. Other Obligations and Services. The Manager shall make its
officers and employees available to the Board of Trustees and officers of the
Trust for consultation and discussions regarding the administration and
management of the Fund and its investment activities.
3. Expenses of the Fund. It is understood that the Fund will pay all of
its own expenses other than those expressly assumed by the Manager herein, which
expenses payable by the Fund shall include:
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A. Fees and expenses paid to the Manager as provided herein;
B. Expenses of all audits by independent public accountants;
C. Expenses of transfer agent, registrar, custodian, dividend
disbursing agent and shareholder record-keeping services, including the expenses
of issue, repurchase or redemption of its shares;
D. Expenses of obtaining quotations for calculating the value of
the Fund's net assets;
E. Salaries and other compensations of executive officers of the
Trust who are not officers, directors, stockholders or employees of the Manager
or its affiliates;
F. Taxes levied against the Fund;
G. Brokerage fees and commissions in connection with the purchase
and sale of securities for the Fund;
H. Costs, including the interest expense, of borrowing money;
I. Costs incident to meetings of the Board of Trustees and
shareholders of the Fund, reports to the Fund's shareholders, the filing of
reports with regulatory bodies and the maintenance of the Fund's and the
Trust's legal existence;
J. Legal fees, including the legal fees related to the registration
and continued qualification of the Fund's shares for sale;
K. Trustees' fees and expenses to trustees who are not directors,
officers, employees or stockholders of the Manager or any of its affiliates;
L. Costs and expense of registering and maintaining the
registration of the Fund and its shares under federal and any applicable
state laws; including the printing and mailing of prospectuses to its
shareholders;
M. Trade association dues; and
N. The Fund's pro rata portion of fidelity bond, errors and
omissions, and trustees and officer liability insurance premiums.
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4. Compensation of the Manager. The Fund shall pay a management fee in
cash to the Manager based upon a percentage of the value of the Fund's net
assets, calculated as set forth below, as compensation for the services rendered
and obligations assumed by the Manager, during the preceding month, on the first
business day of the month in each year.
A. For purposes of calculating such fee, the value of the net assets
of the Fund shall be determined in the same manner as that Fund uses to compute
the value of its net assets in connection with the determination of the net
asset value of its shares, all as set forth more fully in the Fund's current
prospectus and statement of additional information. The rate of the management
fee payable by the Fund shall be calculated daily at the following annual rates:
0.60% of the value of net assets up to and including $200
million;
0.50% of the value of net assets up to 1.3 billion; and
0.40% of the value of net assets over $1.3 billion.
B. The management fee payable by the Fund shall be reduced or
eliminated to the extent that Distributors has actually received cash payments
of tender offer solicitation fees less certain costs and expenses incurred in
connection therewith and to the extent necessary to comply with the limitations
on expenses which may be borne by the Fund as set forth in the laws, regulations
and administrative interpretations of those states in which the Fund's shares
are registered. The Manager may waive all or a portion of its fees provided for
hereunder and such waiver shall be treated as a reduction in purchase price of
its services. The Manager shall be contractually bound hereunder by the terms of
any publicly announced waiver of its fee, or any limitation of the Fund's
expenses, as if such waiver or limitation were full set forth herein.
C. If this Agreement is terminated prior to the end of any month,
the accrued management fee shall be paid to the date of termination.
5. 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
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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 ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇.
6. 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 6(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
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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 6(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.
7. Renewal and Termination.
A. This Agreement shall become effective on the date written below
and shall continue in effect for two (2) years thereafter, unless sooner
terminated as hereinafter provided and shall continue in effect thereafter for
periods not exceeding one (1) year so long as such continuation is approved at
least annually (i) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities
of each Fund or by a vote of the Board of Trustees of the Trust, and (ii) by a
vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not parties to the
Agreement (other than as Trustees of the Trust), cast in person at a meeting
called for the purpose of voting on the Agreement.
B. This Agreement:
(i) may at any time be terminated without the payment of any
penalty either by vote of the Board of Trustees of the Trust or by vote of a
majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund on 60 days' written
notice to the Manager;
(ii) shall immediately terminate with respect to the Fund in the
event of its assignment; and
(iii) may be terminated by the Manager on 60 days' written
notice to the Fund.
C. As used in this Paragraph the terms "assignment," "interested
person" and "vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities" shall have
the meanings set forth for any such terms in the 1940 Act.
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D. Any notice under this Agreement shall be given in writing
addressed and delivered, or mailed post-paid, to the other party at any
office of such party.
8. Distribution Plan.
A. The provisions set forth in this paragraph 8 (hereinafter
referred to as the "Plan") have been adopted pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the
Act by the Trust, having been approved by a majority of the Trust's Board of
Trustees, including a majority of the Trustees who are not interested persons of
the Trust and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation
of the Plan (the "non-interested Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called
for the purpose of voting on such Plan. The Board of Trustees concluded that the
rate of compensation to be paid to the Manager by the Fund was fair and not
excessive, but that due solely to the uncertainty that may exist from time to
time with respect to whether payments made by the Fund to the Manager or to
other firms may nevertheless be deemed to constitute distribution expenses, it
was determined that adoption of the Plan would be prudent and in the best
interests of the Fund. The Trustees' approval included a determination that in
the exercise of their reasonable business judgment and in light of their
fiduciary duties, there is a reasonable likelihood that the Plan will benefit
the Fund and its shareholders or policyholders investing in the Fund.
B. No additional payments are to be made by the Fund as a result of
the Plan other than the payments the Fund is otherwise obligated to make (i) to
the Manager pursuant to paragraph 4 of this Agreement, (ii) to the Transfer and
Dividend Paying Agents or Custodian, pursuant to their respective Agreements as
in effect at any time, and (iii) in payment of any expenses by the Fund in the
ordinary course of its respective businesses that may be deemed primarily
intended to result in the sale of shares issued by such Fund. However, to the
extent any of such other payments by the Fund, to or by the Manager, or to the
Fund's Agents, are nevertheless deemed to be payments for the financing of any
activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares issued by the Fund
within the context of Rule 12b-1 under the Act, then such payments shall be
deemed to have been made pursuant to the Plan as set forth herein. The cost and
activities, the payment of which are intended to be within the scope of the
Plan, shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following:
(a) the costs of the preparation, printing and mailing of all
required reports and notices to shareholders or policyholders investing in
the Fund;
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(b) the costs of the preparation, printing and mailing of all
prospectuses and statements of additional information;
(c) the costs of preparation, printing and mailing of any proxy
Statements and proxies;
(d) all legal and accounting fees relating to the preparation
of any such reports, prospectuses, proxies and proxy statements;
(e) all fees and expenses relating to the qualification of
the Fund and/or its shares under the securities or "Blue Sky" laws of any
jurisdiction;
(f) all fees under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Act, including
fees in connection with any application for exemption relating to or directed
toward the sale of the Fund's shares;
(g) all fees and assessments of the Investment Company
Institute or any successor organization, irrespective of whether some of its
activities are designed to provide sales assistance;
(h) all costs of the preparation and mailing of confirmations
of shares sold or redeemed, and reports of share balances;
(i) all costs of responding to telephone or mail inquiries of
investors or prospective investors; and
(j) payments to dealers, financial institutions, advisers, or other
firms, any one of whom may receive monies in respect of the Fund's shares held
in accounts for policyholders for whom such firm is the dealer of record or
holder of record, or with whom such firm has a servicing relationship. Servicing
may include, among other things: (i) answering client inquiries regarding the
Fund; (ii) assisting clients in changing account designations and addresses;
(iii) performing Sub-accounting; (iv) establishing and maintaining shareholder
or policyholder accounts and records; (v) processing purchase and redemption
transactions; (vi) providing periodic statements showing a client's account
balance and integrating such statements with those of other transactions and
balances in the client's other accounts serviced by such firm; (vii) arranging
for bank wires; and (viii) such other services as the Fund may request, to the
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extent such are permitted by applicable statute, rule or regulation.
C. The terms and provisions of the Plan are as follows:
(a) The Manager shall report to the Board of Trustees of the Trust
at least quarterly on payments for any of the activities in subparagraph B of
this paragraph 8, and shall furnish the Board of Trustees of the Trust with such
other information as the Board may reasonably request in connection with such
payments in order to enable the Board to make an informed determination of
whether the Plan should be continued.
(b) The Plan shall continue in effect for a period of more than one
year from the date written below only so long as such continuance is
specifically approved at least annually (from the date below) by the Trust's
Board of Trustees, including the non-interested Trustees, cast in person at a
meeting called for the purpose of voting on the Plan.
(c) The Plan may be terminated with respect to the Fund at any time
by vote of a majority of non-interested Trustees or by vote of a majority of
such Fund's outstanding voting securities on not more than sixty (60) days'
written notice to any other party to the Plan, and the Plan shall terminate
automatically with respect to the Fund in the event of any act that constitutes
an assignment of this Management Agreements.
(d) The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount
deemed to be spent for distribution without approval by a majority of the Fund's
outstanding shares (as defined by the Act) and all material amendments to the
Plan shall be approved by the non-interested Trustees cast in person at a
meeting called for the purpose of voting on such amendment.
(e) So long as the Plan is in effect, the selection and nomination
of the Trust's non-interested Trustees shall be committed to the discretion of
such non-interested Trustees.
(f) Any termination of the Plan shall not terminate this Management
Agreement or affect the validity of any of the provisions of this Agreement
other than this paragraph 8.
9. Severability. If any provision of this Agreement shall be held
or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the
remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby.
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10. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed
in accordance with the laws of the State of California.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed
and effective on the 1st day of April, 1999.
FRANKLIN VALUEMARK FUNDS on behalf of
Value Securities Fund
By /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇
Vice President &
Secretary
FRANKLIN ADVISORY SERVICES, LLC
By: /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
Secretary
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