Exhibit 24(b)(15)(a)
DISTRIBUTION AND SERVICE PLAN AND AGREEMENT
with
OppenheimerFunds Distributor, Inc.
For Class A Shares of
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ World Bond Fund
This Distribution and Service Plan and Agreement (the "Plan") is dated as of the
16th day of April, 1998, by and between World Bond Fund (the "Fund") and
OppenheimerFunds Distributor, Inc. (the "Distributor").
1. The Plan. This Plan is the Fund's written service plan for its Class A Shares
described in the Fund's registration statement as of the date this Plan takes
effect, contemplated by and to comply with Rule 12b-1 (the "Rule") under the
Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act") pursuant to which the Fund will
reimburse the Distributor for a portion of its costs incurred in connection with
the personal service and the maintenance of shareholder accounts ("Accounts")
that hold Class A Shares (the "Shares") of the Fund. The Fund may be deemed to
be acting as distributor of securities of which it is the issuer, pursuant to
the Rule, according to the terms of this Plan. The Distributor is authorized
under the Plan to pay "Recipients," as hereinafter defined, for rendering
services and for the maintenance of Accounts. Such Recipients are intended to
have certain rights as third-party beneficiaries under this Plan. The terms and
provisions of this Plan shall be interpreted and defined in a manner consistent
with the provisions and definitions contained in (a) the 1940 Act, (b) the Rule,
(c) Rule 2830 of the Conduct Rules of the National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc., or any applicable amendment or successor to such rule (the "NASD
Conduct Rules"), and (d) any conditions pertaining either to distribution
related expenses or to a plan of distribution, to which the Fund is subject
under any order on which the Fund relies, issued at any time by the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission.
2. Definitions. As used in this Plan, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
(a) "Recipient" shall mean any broker, dealer, bank or other person or
entity which: (i) has rendered assistance (whether direct, administrative or
both) in the distribution of Shares or has provided administrative support
services with respect to Shares held by Customers (defined below) of the
Recipient; (ii) shall furnish the Distributor (on behalf of the Fund) with such
information as the Distributor shall reasonably request to answer such questions
as may arise concerning the sale of Shares; and (iii) has been selected by the
Distributor to receive payments under the Plan.
(b) "Independent Trustees" shall mean the members of the Fund's Board of
Trustees who are not "interested persons" (as defined in the ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇) of the
Fund and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of
this Plan or in any agreement relating to this Plan.
(c) "Customers" shall mean such brokerage or other customers or investment
advisory or other clients of a Recipient, and/or accounts as to which such
Recipient provides administrative support services or is a custodian or other
fiduciary.
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(d) "Qualified Holdings" shall mean, as to any Recipient, all Shares owned
beneficially or of record by: (i) such Recipient, or (ii) such Recipient's
Customers, but in no event shall any such Shares be deemed owned by more than
one Recipient for purposes of this Plan. In the event that more than one person
or entity would otherwise qualify as Recipients as to the same Shares, the
Recipient which is the dealer of record on the Fund's books as determined by the
Distributor shall be deemed the Recipient as to such Shares for purposes of this
Plan.
3. Payments.
(a) Under the Plan, the Fund will make payments to the Distributor, within
forty-five (45) days of the end of each calendar quarter, in the amount of the
lesser of: (i) .0625% (.25% on an annual basis) of the average during the
calendar quarter of the aggregate net asset value of the Shares, computed as of
the close of each business day, or (ii) the Distributor's actual expenses under
the Plan for that quarter of the type approved by the Board. The Distributor
will use such fee received from the Fund in its entirety to reimburse itself for
payments to Recipients and for its other expenditures and costs of the type
approved by the Board incurred in connection with the personal service and
maintenance of Accounts including, but not limited to, the services described in
the following paragraph. The Distributor may make Plan payments to any
"affiliated person" (as defined in the ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇) of the Distributor if such
affiliated person qualifies as a Recipient.
The services to be rendered by the Distributor and Recipients in connection
with the personal service and the maintenance of Accounts may include, but shall
not be limited to, the following: answering routine inquiries from the
Recipient's customers concerning the Fund, providing such customers with
information on their investment in shares, assisting in the establishment and
maintenance of accounts or sub-accounts in the Fund, making the Fund's
investment plans and dividend payment options available, and providing such
other information and customer liaison services and the maintenance of Accounts
as the Distributor or the Fund may reasonably request. It may be presumed that a
Recipient has provided services qualifying for compensation under the Plan if it
has Qualified Holdings of Shares to entitle it to payments under the Plan. In
the event that either the Distributor or the Board should have reason to believe
that, notwithstanding the level of Qualified Holdings, a Recipient may not be
rendering appropriate services, then the Distributor, at the request of the
Board, shall require the Recipient to provide a written report or other
information to verify that said Recipient is providing appropriate services in
this regard. If either the Distributor or the Board still is not satisfied, it
may take appropriate steps to terminate the Recipient's status as such under the
Plan, whereupon such entity's rights as a third-party beneficiary hereunder
shall terminate.
Payments received by the Distributor from the Fund under the Plan will not
be used to pay any interest expense, carrying charges or other financial costs,
or allocation of overhead by the Distributor, or for any other purpose other
than for the payments described in this Section 3. The amount payable to the
Distributor each quarter will be reduced to the extent that reimbursement
payments otherwise permissible under the Plan have not been authorized by the
Board for that quarter. Any unreimbursed expenses incurred for any quarter by
the Distributor may not be recovered in later periods.
(b) The Distributor shall make payments to any Recipient quarterly, within
forty-five (45) days of the end of each calendar quarter, at a rate not to
exceed .0625% (.25% on an annual basis) of the average during the calendar
quarter of the aggregate net asset value of the Shares, computed as of the close
of each business day, of Qualified Holdings owned beneficially or of record by
the Recipient or by its Customers. The Distributor may make Plan payments to any
"affiliated" person (as defined in the ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇) of the
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Distributor if such affiliated person qualifies as a Recipient. However, no such
payments shall be made to any Recipient for any such quarter in which its
Qualified Holdings do not equal or exceed, at the end of such quarter, the
minimum amount ("Minimum Qualified Holdings"), if any, to be set from time to
time by a majority of the Independent Trustees.
A majority of the Independent Trustees may at any time or from time to time
increase or decrease and thereafter adjust the rate of fees to be paid to the
Distributor or to any Recipient, but not to exceed the rate set forth above,
and/or increase or decrease the number of shares constituting Minimum Qualified
Holdings. The Distributor shall notify all Recipients of the Minimum Qualified
Holdings and the rate of payments hereunder applicable to Recipients, and shall
provide each Recipient with written notice within thirty (30) days after any
change in these provisions. Inclusion of such provisions or a change in such
provisions in a revised current prospectus shall constitute sufficient notice.
(c) Under the Plan, payments may be made to Recipients: (i) by
OppenheimerFunds, Inc. ("OFI") from its own resources (which may include profits
derived from the advisory fee it receives from the Fund), or (ii) by the
Distributor (a subsidiary of OFI), from its own resources.
4. Selection and Nomination of Trustees. While this Plan is in effect, the
selection or replacement of Independent Trustees and the nomination of those
persons to be Trustees of the Fund who are not "interested persons" of the Fund
shall be committed to the discretion of the Independent Trustees. Nothing herein
shall prevent the Independent Trustees from soliciting the views or the
involvement of others in such selection or nomination if the final decision on
any such selection and nomination is approved by a majority of the incumbent
Independent Trustees.
5. Reports. While this Plan is in effect, the Treasurer of the Fund shall
provide at least quarterly a written report to the Fund's Board for its review,
detailing the amount of all payments made pursuant to this Plan, the identity of
the Recipient of each such payment, and the purposes for which the payments were
made. The report shall state whether all provisions of Section 3 of this Plan
have been complied with. The Distributor shall annually certify to the Board the
amount of its total expenses incurred that year with respect to the personal
service and maintenance of Accounts in conjunction with the Board's annual
review of the continuation of the Plan.
6. Related Agreements. Any agreement related to this Plan shall be in writing
and shall provide that: (i) such agreement may be terminated at any time,
without payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the Independent
Trustees or by a vote of the holders of a "majority" (as defined in the ▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇) of the Fund's outstanding voting securities of the Class, on not more than
sixty days written notice to any other party to the agreement; (ii) such
agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of its "assignment" (as
defined in the 1940 Act); (iii) it shall go into effect when approved by a vote
of the Board and its Independent Trustees cast in person at a meeting called for
the purpose of voting on such agreement; and (iv) it shall, unless terminated as
herein provided, continue in effect from year to year only so long as such
continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the Board and its
Independent Trustees cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of
voting on such continuance.
7. Effectiveness, Continuation, Termination and Amendment. This Plan has been
approved by a vote of the Board and of the Independent Trustees cast in person
at a meeting called on December 11, 1997, for the purpose of voting on this
Plan. Unless terminated as hereinafter provided, it shall continue in effect
from year to year thereafter or as the Board may otherwise determine only so
long as such continuance is
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specifically approved at least annually by the Board and its Independent
Trustees cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such
continuance. This Plan may be terminated at any time by vote of a majority of
the Independent Trustees or by the vote of the holders of a "majority" (as
defined in the ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇) of the Trust's outstanding voting securities of the
Class. This Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of
payments to be made without approval of the Class A Shareholders, in the manner
described above, and all material amendments must be approved by a vote of the
Board and of the Independent Trustees.
8. Disclaimer of Shareholder and Trustee Liability. The Distributor
understands that the obligations of the Fund and the Trust under this Plan are
not binding upon any Trustee or shareholder of the Fund personally, but bind
only the Fund and the Fund's property. The Distributor represents that it has
notice of the provisions of the Declaration of Trust disclaiming shareholder and
Trustee liability for acts or obligations of the Fund or the Trust.
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ World Bond Fund
By: /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
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OppenheimerFunds Distributor, Inc.
By: /s/ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
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