INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made this 1st day of May, 1998, by and between American
Skandia Trust, a Massachusetts business trust (the "Fund"), and American Skandia
Life Investment Management, Incorporated, a Connecticut corporation (the
"Investment Manager").
W I T N E S S E T H
WHEREAS, the Fund is registered as an open-end, diversified management
investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the
"Investment Company Act"), and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder;
and
WHEREAS, the Investment Manager is registered as an investment adviser under the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the "Investment Advisers Act"); and
WHEREAS, the Fund and the Investment Manager desire to enter into an agreement
to provide for the management of the assets of the Neuberger&Berman Mid-Cap
Growth Portfolio of the Fund (the "Portfolio") on the terms and conditions
hereinafter set forth.
NOW THEREFORE, 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:
1. Management. The Investment Manager shall act as investment manager for the
Portfolio and shall, in such capacity, manage the investment operations of the
Portfolio, including the purchase, retention, disposition and lending of
securities, subject at all times to the policies and control of the Fund's Board
of Trustees. The Investment Manager shall give the Portfolio the benefit of its
best judgments, efforts and facilities in rendering its services as investment
manager.
2. Duties of Investment Manager. In carrying out its obligation under
paragraph 1 hereof, the Investment Manager shall:
(a) supervise and manage all aspects of the Portfolio's operations:
(b) provide the Portfolio or obtain for it, and thereafter supervise,
such executive, administrative, clerical and shareholder servicing services as
are deemed advisable by the Fund's Board of Trustees;
(c) arrange, but not pay for, the periodic updating of prospectuses and
supplements thereto, proxy material, tax returns, reports to the Portfolio's
shareholders, reports to and filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, state Blue Sky authorities and other applicable regulatory
authorities;
(d) provide to the Board of Trustees of the Fund on a regular basis,
written financial reports and analyses on the Portfolio's securities
transactions and the operations of comparable investment companies;
(e) obtain and evaluate pertinent information about significant
developments and economic, statistical and financial data, domestic, foreign or
otherwise, whether affecting the economy generally or the Portfolio, and whether
concerning the individual issuers whose securities are included in the Portfolio
or the activities in which they engage, or with respect to securities which the
Investment Manager considers desirable for inclusion in the Portfolio;
(f) determine what issuers and securities shall be represented in the
Portfolio's portfolio and regularly report them in writing to the Board of
Trustees;
(g) formulate and implement continuing programs for the purchases and
sales of the securities of such issuers and regularly report in writing thereon
to the Board of Trustees; and
(h) take, on behalf of the Portfolio, all actions which appear to the
Fund necessary to carry into effect such purchase and sale programs and
supervisory functions as aforesaid, including the placing of orders for the
purchase and sale of portfolio securities.
3. Broker-Dealer Relationships. The Investment Manager is responsible for
decisions to buy and sell securities for the Portfolio, broker-dealer selection,
and negotiation of the Portfolio's brokerage commission rates. The Investment
Manager shall determine the securities to be purchased or sold by the Portfolio
pursuant to its determinations with or through such persons, brokers or dealers,
in conformity with the policy with respect to brokerage as set forth in the
Fund's Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, or as the Board of
Trustees may determine from time to time. Generally, the Investment Manager's
primary consideration in placing Portfolio securities transactions with
broker-dealers for execution is to obtain and maintain the availability of,
execution at the best net price and in the most effective manner possible. The
Investment Manager may consider the sale of shares of the Portfolio, subject to
the requirements of best net price and most favorable execution.
Consistent with this policy, the Investment Manager will take the
following into consideration: the best net price available; the reliability,
integrity and financial condition of the broker-dealer; the size of and
difficulty in executing the order; and the value of the expected contribution of
the broker-dealer to the investment performance of the Portfolio on a continuing
basis. Accordingly, the cost of the brokerage commissions to the Portfolio may
be greater than that available from other brokers if the difference is
reasonably justified by other aspects of the portfolio execution services
offered. Subject to such policies and procedures as the Board of Trustees of the
Fund may determine, the Investment Manager shall not be deemed to have acted
unlawfully or to have breached any duty solely by reason of its having caused
the Portfolio to pay a broker or dealer that provides research services to the
Investment Manager for the Portfolio's use an amount of commission for effecting
a portfolio investment transaction in excess of the amount of commission another
broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction, if the
Investment Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission was
reasonable in relation to the value of the research services provided by such
broker, viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the Investment
Manager's ongoing responsibilities with respect to the Portfolio. The Investment
Manager is further authorized to allocate the orders placed by it on behalf of
the Portfolio to such brokers and dealers who also provide research and
statistical material, or other services to the Fund or the Investment Manager.
Such allocation shall be in such amounts and proportions as the Investment
Manager shall determine and the Investment Manager will report on said
allocations to the Board of Trustees of the Fund regularly as requested by the
Board and, in any event, at least once each calendar year if no specific request
is made, indicating the brokers to whom such allocations have been made and the
basis therefor.
4. Control by the Board of Trustees. Any investment program undertaken by the
Investment Manager pursuant to this Agreement, as well as any other activities
undertaken by the Investment Manager on behalf of the Fund pursuant thereto,
shall at all times be subject to any directives of the Board of Trustees of the
Fund.
5. Compliance with Applicable Requirements. In carrying out its obligations
under this Agreement, the Investment Manager shall at all times conform to:
(a) all applicable provisions of the Investment Company Act and the
Investment Advisers Act and any rules and regulations adopted thereunder, as
amended; and
(b) the provisions of the Registration Statement of the fund under the
Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act, including the investment
objectives, policies and restrictions, and permissible investments specified
therein; and
(c) the provisions of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust of the
Fund, as amended; and
(d) the provisions of the By-laws of the Fund, as amended; and
(e) any other applicable provisions of state and federal law.
6. Expenses. The expenses connected with the Fund shall be allocable between the
Fund and the Investment Manager as follows:
(a) The Investment Manager shall furnish, at its expense and without
cost to the Fund, the services of a President, Secretary, and one or more Vice
Presidents of the Fund, to the extent that such additional officers may be
required by the Fund for the proper conduct of its affairs.
(b) The Investment Manager shall further maintain, at its expense and
without cost to the Fund, a trading function in order to carry out its
obligations under subparagraphs (f), (g) and (h) of paragraph 2 hereof to place
orders for the purchase and sale of portfolio securities for the Portfolio.
(c) Nothing in subparagraph (a) hereof shall be construed to require
the Investment Manager to bear:
(i) any of the costs (including applicable office space,
facilities and equipment) of the services of a principal
financial officer of the Fund whose normal duties consist of
maintaining the financial accounts and books and records of
the Fund; including the reviewing of calculations of net asset
value and preparing tax returns; or
(ii) any of the costs (including applicable office space,
facilities and equipment) of the services of any of the
personnel operating under the direction of such principal
financial officer. Notwithstanding the obligation of the Fund
to bear the expense of the functions referred to in clauses
(i) and (ii) of this subparagraph (c), the Investment Manager
may pay the salaries, including any applicable employment or
payroll taxes and other salary costs, of the principal
financial officer and other personnel carrying out such
functions and the Fund shall reimburse the Investment Manager
therefor upon proper accounting.
(d) All of the ordinary business expenses incurred in the operations of
the Fund and the offering of its shares shall be borne by the Fund unless
specifically provided otherwise in this paragraph 6. These expenses include but
are not limited to brokerage commissions, legal, auditing, taxes or governmental
fees, the cost of preparing share certificates, custodian, depository, transfer
and shareholder service agent costs, expenses of issue, sale, redemption and
repurchase of shares, expenses of registering and qualifying shares for sale,
insurance premiums on property or personnel (including officers and trustees if
available) of the Fund which inure to its benefit, expenses relating to trustee
and shareholder meetings, the cost of preparing and distributing reports and
notices to shareholders, the fees and other expenses incurred by the Fund in
connection with membership in investment company organizations, and the cost of
printing copies of prospectuses and statements of additional information
distributed to shareholders.
7. Delegation of Responsibilities. Upon the request of the Fund's Board of
Trustees, the Investment Manager may perform services on behalf of the Fund
which are not required by this Agreement. Such services will be performed on
behalf of the Fund and the Investment Manager's cost in rendering such services
may be billed monthly to the Fund, subject to examination by the Fund's
independent accountants. Payment or assumption by the Investment Manager of any
Fund expense that the Investment Manager is not required to pay or assume under
this Agreement shall not relieve the Investment Manager of any of its
obligations to the Fund nor obligate the Investment Manager to pay or assume any
similar Fund expense on any subsequent occasion.
8. Engagement of Sub-Advisers and Broker-Dealers. The Investment Manager may
engage, subject to approval of the Fund's Board of Trustees, and where required,
the shareholders of the Portfolio, a sub-advisor to provide advisory services in
relation to the Portfolio. Under such sub-advisory agreement, the Investment
Manager may delegate to the sub-advisor the duties outlined in subparagraphs
(e), (f), (g) and (h) of paragraph 2 hereof.
9. Compensation. The Fund shall pay the Investment Manager in full compensation
for services rendered hereunder an annual investment advisory fee, payable
monthly, of .90% of the portion of the average daily net assets of the Portfolio
not in excess of $1 billion; plus .85% of the portion of the net assets in
excess of $1 billion.
10. Non-Exclusivity. The services of the Investment Manager to the Portfolio are
not to be deemed to be exclusive, and the Investment Manager shall be free to
render investment advisory and corporate administrative or other services to
others (including other investment companies) and to engage in other activities.
It is understood and agreed that officers or directors of the Investment Manager
may serve as officers or trustees of the Fund, and that officers or trustees of
the Fund may serve as officers or directors of the Investment Manager to the
extent permitted by law; and that the officers and directors of the Investment
Manager are not prohibited from engaging in any other business activity or from
rendering services to any other person, or from serving as partners, officers or
directors of any other firm or corporation, including other investment
companies.
11. Term and Approval. This Agreement shall become effective on May 1, 1998 and
shall continue in force and effect from year to year, provided that such
continuance is specifically approved at least annually:
(a) (i) by the Fund's Board of Trustees or (ii) by the vote of a
majority of the Portfolio's outstanding voting securities (as defined in Section
2(a)(42) of the Investment Company Act); and
(b) by the affirmative vote of a majority of the trustees who are not
parties to this Agreement or interested persons of a party to this Agreement
(other than as Fund trustees), by votes cast in person at a meeting specifically
called for such purpose.
12. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated at any time without the
payment of any penalty or prejudice to the completion of any transactions
already initiated on behalf of the Portfolio, by vote of the Fund's Board of
Trustees or by vote of a majority of the Portfolio's outstanding voting
securities, or by the Investment Manager, on sixty (60) days' written notice to
the other party. The notice provided for herein may be waived by either party.
This Agreement automatically terminates in the event of its assignment, the term
"assignment" having the meaning defined in Section 2(a)(4) of the Investment
Company Act.
13. Liability of Investment Manager and Indemnification. In the absence of
willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of
obligations or duties hereunder on the part of the Investment Manager or any of
its officers, trustees or employees, it shall not be subject to liability to the
Fund or to any shareholder of the Portfolio 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.
14. Liability of the Trustees and Shareholders. A copy of the Agreement and
Declaration of Trust of the Fund is on file with the Secretary of The
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and notice is hereby given that this instrument
is executed on behalf of the trustees of the Fund as trustees and not
individually and that the obligations of this instrument are not binding upon
any of the trustees or shareholders individually but are binding only upon the
assets and property of the Fund. Federal and state laws impose responsibilities
under certain circumstances on persons who act in good faith, and therefore,
nothing herein shall in any way constitute a waiver of limitation of any rights
which the Fund or the Investment Manager may have under applicable law.
15. Notices. Any notices under this Agreement shall be in writing, addressed and
delivered or mailed postage paid to the other party at such address as such
other party may designate for the receipt of such notice. Until further notice,
it is agreed that the address of the Fund and the Investment Manager shall be
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16. Questions of Interpretation. Any question of interpretation of any term or
provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from a
term or provision of the Investment Company Act, shall be resolved by reference
to such term or provision of the Act and to interpretations thereof, if any, by
the United States Courts or in the absence of any controlling decision of any
such court, by rules, regulations or orders of the Securities and Exchange
Commission issued pursuant to the said Act. In addition, where the effect of a
requirement of the Investment Company Act, reflected in any provision of this
Agreement is released by rules, regulation or order of the Securities and
Exchange Commission, such provision shall be deemed to incorporate the effect of
such rule, regulation or order.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
executed in duplicate by their respective officers on the day and year first
above written.
AMERICAN SKANDIA TRUST
Attest: By:
AMERICAN SKANDIA INVESTMENT SERVICES, INCORPORATED
Attest: By: