EXPENSE LIMITATION AGREEMENT
EXPENSE LIMITATION AGREEMENT, effective as of February 20, 2012 by and between
▇▇▇▇▇▇ Capital Management, LLC (the "Adviser") and The Advisors' Inner Circle
Fund (the "Trust") (the "Agreement"), on behalf of each series of the Trust set
forth in Schedule A attached hereto (each a "Fund," and collectively, the
"Funds").
WHEREAS, the Trust is a Massachusetts voluntary association (commonly known as a
business trust) organized under an Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated
July 18, 1991, as amended and restated as of February 18, 1997 (the "Declaration
of Trust"), and is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended (the "1940 Act"), as an open-end management company of the series type,
and each Fund is a series of the Trust;
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser have entered into an Investment Advisory
Agreement dated February 20, 2012 (the "Advisory Agreement"), pursuant to which
the Adviser provides investment advisory services to each Fund for compensation
based on the value of the average daily net assets of each such Fund;
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser have determined that it is appropriate and in
the best interests of each Fund and its shareholders to maintain the expenses of
each Fund at a level below the level to which each such Fund would normally be
subject in order to maintain each Fund's expense ratio at the Maximum Annual
Operating Expense Limit (as hereinafter defined) specified for such Fund in
Schedule A hereto;
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. EXPENSE LIMITATION.
1.1. APPLICABLE EXPENSE LIMIT. To the extent that the aggregate expenses
of every character incurred by a Fund in any fiscal year, including but not
limited to investment advisory fees of the Adviser (but excluding 12b-1 fees,
shareholder servicing fees, interest, taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired
fund fees and expenses, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles, and other extraordinary expenses
not incurred in the ordinary course of such Fund's business) and expenses for
which payment has been made through the use of all or a portion of brokerage
commissions (or markups or markdowns) generated by that Fund ("Fund Operating
Expenses"), exceed the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit, as defined in
Section 1.2 below, such excess amount (the "Excess Amount") shall be the
liability of the Adviser.
1.2. MAXIMUM ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSE LIMIT. The Maximum Annual
Operating Expense Limit with respect to each Fund shall be the amount specified
in Schedule A based on a percentage of the average daily net assets of each
Fund. That Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit for each Fund contemplates
that certain expenses for each Fund may be paid through the use of all or a
portion of brokerage commissions (or markups or markdowns) generated by that
Fund.
1.3. METHOD OF COMPUTATION. To determine the Adviser's liability with
respect to the Excess Amount, each month the Fund Operating Expenses for each
Fund shall be annualized as of the last day of the month. If the annualized Fund
Operating Expenses for any month of a Fund exceed the Maximum Annual Operating
Expense Limit of such Fund, the Adviser shall first waive or reduce its
investment advisory fee for such month by an amount sufficient to reduce the
annualized Fund Operating Expenses to an amount no higher than the Maximum
Annual Operating Expense Limit. If the amount of the waived or reduced
investment advisory fee for any such month is insufficient to pay the Excess
Amount, the Adviser may also remit to the appropriate Fund or Funds an amount
that, together with the waived or reduced investment advisory fee, is sufficient
to pay such Excess Amount.
1.4. YEAR-END ADJUSTMENT. If necessary, on or before the last day of
the first month of each fiscal year, an adjustment payment shall be made by the
appropriate party in order that the amount of the investment advisory fees
waived or reduced and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund or
Funds with respect to the previous fiscal year shall equal the Excess Amount.
2. REIMBURSEMENT OF FEE WAIVERS AND EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS.
2.1. REIMBURSEMENT. If in any year in which the Advisory Agreement is
still in effect and the estimated aggregate Fund Operating Expenses of such Fund
for the fiscal year are less than the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit for
that year, the Adviser shall be entitled to reimbursement by such Fund, in whole
or in part as provided below, of the investment advisory fees waived or reduced
and other payments remitted by the Adviser to such Fund pursuant to Section 1
hereof. The total amount of reimbursement to which the Adviser may be entitled
("Reimbursement Amount") shall equal, at any time, the sum of all investment
advisory fees previously waived or reduced by the Adviser and all other payments
remitted by the Adviser to the Fund, pursuant to Section 1 hereof, during any of
the previous three (3) fiscal years, less any reimbursement previously paid by
such Fund to the Adviser, pursuant to this Section 2, with respect to such
waivers, reductions, and payments. The Reimbursement Amount shall not include
any additional charges or fees whatsoever, including, e.g., interest accruable
on the Reimbursement Amount.
2.2. BOARD NOTIFICATION. The Board shall be provided a quarterly report
of any reimbursements paid to the Adviser pursuant to this agreement.
2.3. METHOD OF COMPUTATION. To determine each Fund's accrual, if any, to
reimburse the Adviser for the Reimbursement Amount, each month the Fund
Operating Expenses of each Fund shall be annualized as of the last day of the
month. If the annualized Fund Operating Expenses of a Fund for any month are
less than the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit of such Fund, such Fund
shall accrue into its net asset value an amount payable to the Adviser
sufficient to increase the annualized Fund Operating Expenses of that Fund to an
amount no greater than the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit of that Fund,
provided that such amount paid to the Adviser will in no event exceed the total
Reimbursement Amount. For accounting purposes, amounts accrued pursuant to this
Section 2 shall be a liability of the Fund for purposes of determining the
Fund's net asset value.
2.4. PAYMENT AND YEAR-END ADJUSTMENT. Amounts accrued pursuant to this
Agreement shall be payable to the Adviser as of the last day of each month. If
necessary, on or before the last day of the first month of each fiscal year, an
adjustment payment shall be made by the appropriate party in order that the
actual Fund Operating Expenses of a Fund for the prior fiscal year (including
any reimbursement payments hereunder with respect to such fiscal year) do not
exceed the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit.
3. TERM AND TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT.
This Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to each Fund until the date
indicated on Schedule A ("Initial Term End Date") and shall thereafter continue
in effect from year to year for successive one-year periods, provided that this
Agreement may be terminated, without payment of any penalty, with respect to any
such Fund:
(i) by the Trust, for any reason and at any time; and
(ii) by the Adviser, for any reason, upon ninety (90) days' prior written notice
to the Trust at its principal place of business, such termination to be
effective as of the close of business on the last day of the then-current
one-year period; or at such earlier time provided that such termination is
approved by majority vote of the Trustees and the Independent Trustees voting
separately.
4. MISCELLANEOUS.
4.1. CAPTIONS. The captions in this Agreement are included for
convenience of reference only and in no other way define or delineate any of the
provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect.
4.2. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to
require the Trust or the Funds to take any action contrary to the Trust's
Declaration of Trust or By-Laws, or any applicable statutory or regulatory
requirement to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or
deprive the Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for and control of
the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Funds. The parties to this
Agreement acknowledge and agree that all litigation arising hereunder, whether
direct or indirect, and of any and every nature whatsoever shall be satisfied
solely out of the assets of the affected Fund and that no Trustee, officer or
holder of shares of beneficial interest of the Fund shall be personally liable
for any of the foregoing liabilities. The Trust's Declaration of Trust, as
amended from time to time, is on file in the Office of the Secretary of State of
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Such Declaration of Trust describes in
detail the respective responsibilities and limitations on liability of the
Trustees, officers, and holders of shares of beneficial interest.
4.3. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or
provision of this Agreement, including but not limited to the investment
advisory fee, the computations of net asset values, and the allocation of
expenses, having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and
provisions of the Advisory Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same
meaning as and be resolved by reference to such Advisory Agreement or the ▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇.
4.4. ENFORCEABILITY. Any term or provision of this Agreement which is
invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction be
ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability without
rendering invalid or unenforceable the remaining terms or provisions of this
Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of any of the terms or
provisions of this Agreement in any other jurisdiction.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their
respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the day and year first
above written.
THE ADVISORS' INNER CIRCLE FUND,
on behalf of each series of the Trust set forth in Schedule A
/s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
-------------------------
▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
Vice President and Secretary
▇▇▇▇▇▇ CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC
/s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
---------------------
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
Principal
SCHEDULE A
MAXIMUM ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSE LIMITS
This Agreement relates to the following Funds of the Trust:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAXIMUM ANNUAL
NAME OF FUND SHARE CLASS OPERATING EXPENSE LIMIT INITIAL TERM END DATE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
▇▇▇▇▇▇ High Dividend Equity Fund Institutional Class Shares 1.00% March 29, 2013
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
▇▇▇▇▇▇ High Dividend Equity Fund Investor Class Shares 1.50% March 29, 2013
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------