NORTH AMERICAN FUNDS
SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT made as of March 10, 2000, between American General Asset
Management Corp., a Delaware corporation (the "Adviser"), and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Investment Management Inc., a Delaware corporation (the
"Subadviser"). In consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein, the
parties agree as follows:
1. APPOINTMENT OF SUBADVISER
The Subadviser undertakes to act as investment subadviser to, and,
subject to the supervision of the Trustees of North American Funds (the "Trust")
and the terms of this Agreement, to manage the investment and reinvestment of
the assets of the Portfolios specified in Appendix A to this Agreement as it
shall be amended by the Adviser and the Subadviser from time to time (the
"Portfolios"). The Subadviser will be an independent contractor and will have no
authority to act for or represent the Trust or Adviser in any way except as
expressly authorized in this Agreement or another writing by the Trust and
Adviser.
2. SERVICES TO BE RENDERED BY THE SUBADVISER TO THE TRUST
a. Subject always to the direction and control of the Trustees of the
Trust, the Subadviser will manage the investments and determine the
composition of the assets of the Portfolios in accordance with the
Portfolios' registration statement, as amended. In fulfilling its
obligations to manage the investments and reinvestments of the assets
of the Portfolios, the Subadviser will:
i. obtain and evaluate pertinent economic, statistical, financial
and other information affecting the economy generally and
individual companies or industries the securities of which are
included in the Portfolios or are under consideration for
inclusion in the Portfolios;
ii. formulate and implement a continuous investment program for
each Portfolio consistent with the investment objectives and
related investment policies for each such Portfolio as
described in the Trust's registration statement, as amended;
iii. take whatever steps are necessary to implement these
investment programs by the purchase and sale of securities
including the placing of orders for such purchases and sales;
iv. regularly report to the Trustees of the Trust with respect to
the implementation of these investment programs; and
v. provide assistance to the Trust's Custodian regarding the fair
value of securities held by the Portfolios for which market
quotations are not readily available for purposes of enabling
the Trust's Custodian to calculate net asset value.
b. The Subadviser, at its expense, will furnish (i) all necessary
investment and management facilities, including salaries of personnel
required for it to execute its duties faithfully, and (ii)
administrative facilities, including bookkeeping, clerical personnel
and equipment necessary for the efficient conduct of the investment
affairs of the Portfolios (excluding determination of net asset value
and shareholder accounting services).
c. The Subadviser will select brokers and dealers to effect all
transactions subject to the following conditions: The Subadviser will
place all orders with brokers, dealers, or issuers, and will negotiate
brokerage commissions if applicable. The Subadviser is directed at all
times to seek to execute brokerage transactions for the Portfolios in
accordance with such policies or practices as may be established by the
Trustees and described in the Trust's registration statement as
amended. The Subadviser may pay a broker-dealer which provides research
and brokerage services a higher spread or commission for a particular
transaction than otherwise might have been charged by another
broker-dealer, if the Subadviser determines that the higher
spread or commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the
brokerage and research services that such broker-dealer provides,
viewed in terms of either the particular transaction or the
Subadviser's overall responsibilities with respect to accounts managed
by the Subadviser. The Subadviser may use for the benefit of the
Subadviser's other clients, or make available to companies affiliated
with the Subadviser or to its directors for the benefit of its clients,
any such brokerage and research services that the Subadviser obtains
from brokers or dealers. In accordance with Section 11(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rule 11a-2-2(T)
thereunder, and subject to any other applicable laws and regulations
including Section 17(e) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the
"Investment Company Act") and Rule 17e-1 thereunder, the Subadviser may
engage its affiliates as broker-dealers to effect portfolio
transactions in securities for the Portfolios.
d. On occasions when the Subadviser deems the purchase or sale of a
security to be in the best interest of the Portfolio as well as other
clients of the Subadviser, the Subadviser to the extent permitted by
applicable laws and regulations, may, but shall be under no obligation
to, aggregate the securities to be purchased or sold to attempt to
obtain a more favorable price or lower brokerage commissions and
efficient execution. In such event, allocation of the securities so
purchased or sold, as well as the expenses incurred in the transaction,
will be made by the Subadviser in the manner the Subadviser considers
to be the most equitable and consistent with its fiduciary obligations
to the Portfolio and to its other clients.
e. The Subadviser will maintain all accounts, books and records with
respect to the Portfolios as are required of an investment adviser of a
registered investment company pursuant to the Investment Company Act
and Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the "Investment Advisers Act") and
the rules thereunder.
f. The Subadviser, including its Access Persons (as defined in subsection
(e) of Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act), agrees to observe
and comply with Rule 17j-1 and its Code of Ethics (which shall comply
in all material respects with Rule 17j-1, as the same may be amended
from time to time). On a quarterly basis, the Subadviser will either
(i) certify to the Adviser that the Subadviser and its Access Persons
have complied with the Subadviser's Code of Ethics with respect to the
Portfolio or (ii) identify any material violations which have occurred
with respect to the Portfolio. In addition, the Subadviser will report
at least annually to the Adviser concerning any other violations of the
Subadviser's Code of Ethics which required significant remedial action
and which were not previously reported.
3. COMPENSATION OF SUBADVISER
The Adviser will pay the Subadviser with respect to each Portfolio the
compensation specified in Appendix A to this Agreement.
4. LIABILITY OF SUBADVISER
Neither the Subadviser nor any of its affiliates, officers, partners or
employees, nor anyone who controls the Subadviser (or any of its affiliates,
officers, partners or employees) within the meaning of Section 15 of the
Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act"), shall be liable to the Adviser or Trust
for any loss suffered by the Adviser or Trust resulting from any error of
judgment made in the good faith exercise of the Subadviser's investment
discretion in connection with selecting Portfolio investments except for losses
resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence of, or from
reckless disregard of, the duties of the Subadviser or any of its affiliates,
partners or employees; and neither the Subadviser nor any of its affiliates,
officers, partners or employees, nor anyone who controls the Subadviser (or any
of its affiliates, officers, partners or employees) within the meaning of
Section 15 of the 1933 Act, shall be liable to the Adviser or Trust for any loss
suffered by the Adviser or Trust resulting from any other matters to which this
Agreement relates (i.e., those other matters specified in Sections 2 and 8 of
this Agreement), except for losses resulting from willful misfeasance, bad
faith, or gross negligence in the performance of, or from disregard of, the
duties of the Subadviser or any of its affiliates, partners or employees.
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5. SUPPLEMENTAL ARRANGEMENTS
The Subadviser may enter into arrangements with other persons
affiliated with the Subadviser to better enable it to fulfill its obligations
under this Agreement for the provision of certain personnel and facilities to
the Subadviser.
6. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
It is understood that trustees, officers, agents and shareholders of
the Trust are or may be interested in the Subadviser as trustees, officers,
partners or otherwise; that directors, officers, agents and partners of the
Subadviser are or may be interested in the Trust as trustees, officers,
shareholders or otherwise; that the Subadviser may be interested in the Trust;
and that the existence of any such dual interest shall not affect the validity
hereof or of any transactions hereunder except as otherwise provided in the
Agreement and Declaration of Trust of the Trust and the Certificate of
Incorporation of the Subadviser, respectively, or by specific provision of
applicable law.
7. REGULATION
The Subadviser shall submit to all regulatory and administrative bodies
having jurisdiction over the services provided pursuant to this Agreement any
information, reports or other material which any such body by reason of this
Agreement may request or require pursuant to applicable laws and regulations.
8. DURATION AND TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT
Unless sooner terminated, this Agreement will continue in effect for a
period more than two years from the date of its execution only so long as such
continuance is specifically approved at least annually either by the Trustees of
the Trust or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each of the
Portfolios, provided that in either event such continuance shall also be
approved by the vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not
interested persons (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of any party to
this Agreement cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on
such approval. The required shareholder approval of the Agreement or of any
continuance of the Agreement shall be effective with respect to any Portfolio if
a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the series (as defined in
Rule 18f-2(h) under the Investment Company Act) of shares of that Portfolio
votes to approve the Agreement or its continuance, notwithstanding that the
Agreement or its continuance may not have been approved by a majority of the
outstanding voting securities of (a) any other Portfolio affected by the
Agreement or (b) all the portfolios of the Trust.
If the shareholders of any Portfolio fail to approve the Sub-Advisory
Agreement or any continuance of the New Sub-Advisory Agreement that is submitted
to shareholders for approval, the Subadviser will continue to act as investment
subadviser with respect to such Portfolio pending the required approval of the
Agreement or its continuance or of any contract with the Subadviser or a
different adviser or subadviser or other definitive action; provided, that the
compensation received by the Subadviser in respect of such Portfolio during such
period is in compliance with Rule 15a-4 under the Investment Company Act.
This Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment of
any penalty, by the Trustees of the Trust, by the vote of a majority of the
outstanding voting securities of the Trust, or with respect to any Portfolio by
the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of such Portfolio,
on sixty days' written notice to the Adviser and the Subadviser, or by the
Adviser or Subadviser on sixty days' written notice to the Trust and the other
party. This agreement will automatically terminate, without the payment of any
penalty, in the event of its assignment (as defined in the Investment Company
Act) or in the event the Advisory Agreement between the Adviser and the Trust
terminates for any reason.
9. PROVISION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY SUBADVISER
The Subadviser will promptly notify the Adviser in writing of the
occurrence of any of the following
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events:
a. the Subadviser fails to be registered as an investment adviser under
the Investment Advisers Act or under the laws of any jurisdiction in
which the Subadviser is required to be registered as an investment
adviser in order to perform its obligations under this Agreement;
b. the Subadviser is served or otherwise receives notice of any action,
suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before
or by any court, public board or body, involving the affairs of the
Trust; and
c. any change in actual control of the Subadviser, which constitutes an
assignment of this Agreement under the Investment Company Act or the
portfolio manager of any Portfolio.
10. INDEMNIFICATION
a. The Adviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Subadviser from
and against any and all claims, losses, liabilities or damages
(including reasonable attorneys' fees and other related expenses)
("Losses") arising from or in connection with this Agreement or the
performance by the Subadviser of its duties hereunder; provided,
however, that the Subadviser shall not be indemnified hereunder for
Losses arising from or in connection with this Agreement or the
performance by the Subadviser of its duties hereunder resulting from
the Subadviser's or any of its employees' willful misfeasance, bad
faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard.
b. The Subadviser agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Adviser from
and against any and all Losses arising from the Subadviser's, or any of
its employees', affiliates', officers', or parties', willful
malfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard in
connection with this Agreement or the performance by the Subadviser of
its duties hereunder; provided, however, that the Adviser shall not be
indemnified hereunder for Losses arising from or in connection with
this Agreement or the performance by the Adviser for its duties
hereunder resulting from the Adviser's or any of its employees' willful
misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard.
11. DISCLOSURE
Except as otherwise provided by applicable law or this Agreement,
neither the Trust nor the Adviser shall, without the prior written consent of
the Subadviser (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed), make
available to the general public any representations regarding or references to
the Subadviser or any of its affiliates (in each case, "Disclosure") in any
disclosure document; provided, however, that the Subadviser shall be deemed to
have consented to the use of any Disclosure if (i) the Advisor has submitted
such Disclosure to the Subadviser for its approval a reasonable period of time
prior to any regulatory filing date or other deadline for the use of the
Disclosure and (ii) the Subadviser does not, within five (5) business days of
the Subadviser's receipt of such Disclosure (or such other period of time as
agreed to by the Adviser and the Subadviser), provide the Adviser with notice of
its disapproval of such Disclosure. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the
Adviser shall not be required to obtain the Subadviser's approval of any
Disclosure if obtaining such approval by the process described in the preceding
sentence would cause the Trust or the Adviser to violate any applicable law,
rule or regulation as reasonably determined by the Adviser or the Trustees of
the Trust. For the purposes of this Section 11, the term "affiliate" shall mean
any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with the
Subadviser.
12. ADV
The Adviser acknowledges receipt of the most recent current Form ADV of
the Subadviser.
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13. PROXY VOTING
The Adviser shall be responsible for voting all proxies received by the Trust in
connection with any of the securities held in the Portfolios managed by the
Subadviser.
14. AMENDMENTS TO THE AGREEMENT
This Agreement may be amended by the parties only if such amendment is
specifically approved by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting
securities of each of the Portfolios affected by the amendment and by the vote
of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not interested persons of any
party to this Agreement cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of
voting on such approval. The required shareholder approval shall be effective
with respect to any Portfolio if a majority of the outstanding voting securities
of that Portfolio vote to approve the amendment, notwithstanding that the
amendment may not have been approved by a majority of the outstanding voting
securities of (a) any other Portfolio affected by the amendment or (b) all the
portfolios of the Trust.
15. ENTIRE AGREEMENT
This Agreement contains the entire understanding and agreement of the
parties.
16. HEADINGS
The headings in the sections of this Agreement are inserted for
convenience of reference only and shall not constitute a part hereof.
17. NOTICES
All notices required to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be
delivered or mailed to the last known business address of the Trust or
applicable party in person or by registered mail or a private mail or delivery
service providing the sender with notice of receipt. Notice shall be deemed
given on the date delivered or mailed in accordance with this paragraph.
18. SEVERABILITY
Should any portion of this Agreement for any reason be held to be void
in law or in equity, the Agreement shall be construed, insofar as is possible,
as if such portion had never been contained herein.
19. GOVERNING LAW
The provisions of this Agreement shall be construed and interpreted in
accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or any of the
applicable provisions of the Investment Company Act. To the extent that the laws
of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or any of the provisions in this
Agreement, conflict with applicable provisions of the Investment Company Act,
the latter shall control.
20. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
The Amended and Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust dated
February 18, 1994, a copy of which, together with all amendments thereto (the
"Declaration"), is on file in the office of the Secretary of The Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, provides that the name "North American Funds" refers to the
Trustees under the
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Declaration collectively as Trustees, but not as individuals or personally; and
no Trustee, shareholder, officer, employee or agent of the Trust shall be held
to any personal liability, nor shall resort be had to their private property,
for the satisfaction of any obligation or claim, in connection with the affairs
of the Trust or any portfolio thereof, but only the assets belonging to the
Trust, or to the particular portfolio with which the obligee or claimant dealt,
shall be liable.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
executed under seal by their duly authorized officers as of the date first
mentioned above.
American General Asset Management Corp.
by:
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▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Investment
Management Inc.
by:
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APPENDIX A
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The Subadviser shall serve as investment subadviser for the following
portfolio of the Trust. The Adviser will pay the Subadviser, as full
compensation for all services provided under this Agreement, the fee computed
separately for each such Portfolio at an annual rate as follows (the "Subadviser
Percentage Fee"):
International Equity Portfolio: .50% of the first $50,000,000, .45%
between $50,000,000 and $200,000,000, .40% between $200,000,000 and
$500,000,000 and .35% on the excess over $500,000,000 of the average
net assets of the Portfolio;
The Subadviser Percentage Fee for each Portfolio shall be accrued for
each calendar day and the sum of the daily fee accruals shall be paid monthly to
the Subadviser. The daily fee accruals will be computed by multiplying the
fraction of one over the number of calendar days in the year by the applicable
annual rate described in the preceding paragraph, and multiplying this product
by the net assets of the Portfolio as determined in accordance with the Trust's
prospectus and statement of additional information as of the close of business
on the previous business day on which the Trust was open for business.
If this Agreement becomes effective or terminates before the end of any
month, the fee (if any) for the period from the effective date to the end of
such month or from the beginning of such month to the date of termination, as
the case may be, shall be prorated according to the proportion which such period
bears to the full month in which such effectiveness or termination occurs.
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