Distribution Services 3.1. Distributor will have the right, as agent for the Fund, to enter into dealer agreements with responsible investment dealers, and to sell Shares to such investment dealers against orders therefor at the public offering price (as defined below) stated in the Fund’s effective Registration Statement on Form N-2 under the 1940 Act and the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), including the then-current prospectus and statement of additional information (the “Registration Statement”). Upon receipt of an order to purchase Shares from a dealer with whom Distributor has a dealer agreement, Distributor will promptly cause such order to be filled by the Fund.
3.2. Distributor will also have the right, as agent for the Fund, to sell such Shares to the public against orders therefor at the public offering price (as defined below) and in accordance with the Registration Statement.
3.3. Distributor will also have the right to take, as agent for the Fund, all actions which, in Distributor’s reasonable judgment, are necessary to carry into effect the distribution of the Shares.
3.4. The “public offering price” for the Shares of the Fund shall be the net asset value (“NAV”) of the Shares then in effect, plus any applicable sales charge determined in the manner set forth in the Registration Statement or as permitted by the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC or other applicable regulatory agency or self-regulatory organization under the oversight of the SEC. In no event shall any applicable sales charge exceed the maximum sales charge permitted by the Rules of FINRA.
3.5. The NAV of the Shares of the Fund shall be determined in the manner provided in the Registration Statement, and when determined shall be applicable to transactions as provided for in the Registration Statement. The NAV of the Shares shall be calculated by the Fund or by another entity on behalf of the Fund. Distributor shall have no duty to inquire into or liability for the accuracy of the NAV per Share as calculated.
3.6. On every sale, the Fund shall receive the applicable NAV of the Shares promptly, but in no event later than the third business day following the date on which Distributor shall have received an order for the purchase of the Shares.
3.7. Upon receipt of purchase instructions, Distributor will transmit such instructions to the Fund or its transfer agent for the issuance and registration of the Shares purchased.
3.8. Distributor, as agent of and for the account of the Fund, may repurchase the Shares at such prices and upon such terms and conditions as shall be specified in the Registration Statement.
3.9. Distributor shall maintain membership with the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) and any other similar successor organization to sponsor a participant number for the Fund so as to enable the Shares to be traded through FundSERV. The Distributor shall not be responsible for any operational matters associated with FundSERV or networking transactions.
3.10. Distributor will review all proposed advertising materials and sales literature for compliance with Applicable Law and shall file such materials with appropriate regulators as required by current laws and regulations. Distributor agrees to furnish the Fund with any comments provided by regulators with respect to such materials.
3.11. Distributor shall prepare or cause to be prepared reports for the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) of the Fund regarding its activities under this Agreement as reasonably requested by the Board.
PROVISION OF INVESTMENT SUB-ADVISORY SERVICES The Sub-Adviser will provide for each Fund a continuing and suitable investment program consistent with the investment policies, objectives and restrictions of the Fund, as established by the Fund and the Adviser and set forth in the Prospectuses, other written guidelines or restrictions, as may be amended from time to time, agreed upon in writing by the Adviser and Sub-Adviser which guidelines and restrictions shall not be inconsistent with the Prospectuses, as may be amended from time to time (“Written Guidelines”) and the Trust Procedures.
(a) The Sub-Adviser shall assume all investment duties and have full discretionary power and authority with respect to investment of the Allocated Assets of each Fund. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Sub-Adviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets of each Fund: (i) obtain and evaluate such information and advice relating to the economy, securities markets and securities as it deems necessary or useful to discharge its duties hereunder; (ii) continuously invest the assets in a manner consistent with the Prospectuses, Written Guidelines, and Procedures, as may be amended from time to time and provided to the Sub-Adviser consistent with Section 1(a) of this Agreement; (iii) determine the securities to be purchased, sold or otherwise disposed of and the timing of such purchases, sales and dispositions; (iv) vote all proxies for securities and exercise all other voting rights with respect to such securities in accordance with the Sub-Adviser’s written proxy voting policies and procedures; (v) promptly issue settlement instructions to custodians designated by the Adviser or the Trust; (vi) evaluate the credit worthiness of securities dealers, banks and other entities with which the Fund may engage in repurchase agreements and monitor the status of such agreements; and (vii) take such further action, including the placing of purchase and sale orders and the selection of broker-dealers to execute such orders on behalf of the Fund, as the Sub-Adviser shall deem necessary or appropriate, in its sole discretion, to carry out its duties under this Agreement.
(b) The Sub-Adviser shall also furnish to or place at the disposal of the Adviser and/or the Trust such information, evaluations, analyses and opinions formulated or obtained by the Sub-Adviser in the discharge of its duties, as the Adviser and/or Trust may, from time to time, reasonably request.
(c) The Sub-Adviser agrees, that in performing its duties hereunder, it will comply with (i) the 1940 Act, the Advisers Act, the Commodity Exchange Act and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; (ii) all other applicable federal and state laws and regulations, and (iii) the provisions of the Organic Documents.
(d) The Sub-Adviser shall keep accurate and detailed records concerning its services under this Agreement and all such records shall be open to inspection at all reasonable times by the Trust, the Adviser and any appropriate regulatory authorities. The Sub-Adviser shall provide to the Adviser copies of any and all documentation relating to each Fund’s transactions upon reasonable request. The Sub-Adviser agrees that all records which it maintains for each Fund are the property of the Fund and it further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund copies of any such records upon the Fund’s request.
(e) At the request of the Adviser from time to time, the Sub-Adviser shall provide pricing and valuation information with respect to particular securities it has purchased for each Fund if the Adviser has determined that such pricing and valuation information is not otherwise reasonably available to it through standard pricing services. In the event that the Sub-Adviser believes a valuation provided by a pricing service for a security it has purchased for the Portfolio is materially inaccurate, Sub-Adviser agrees to promptly notify the Adviser and/or the Fund. Sub-Adviser acknowledges that the Adviser, Sub-Adviser, each Fund, and its custodian or fund accountant may use different pricing vendors, which may result in valuation discrepancies and in the event of such discrepancies, the valuation used by each Fund to calculate its net asset value shall be controlling.
(f) From time to time at the request of the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser will, at its own expense, (i) meet, either in person or via teleconference, with the Adviser and with such other persons as the Adviser may designate, including the Board, on reasonable notice and at reasonable times and locations, to discuss general economic conditions, performance, investment strategy and other matters relating to each Fund; and/or (ii) provide written materials to the Adviser and such other persons as the Adviser may designate, including the Board, on reasonable notice, discussing general economic conditions, performance, investment strategy and other matters relating to each Fund.
(g) The Adviser and the Sub-Adviser agree that only the Sub-Adviser will exercise “investment discretion” over Allocated Assets within the meaning of Section 13(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “1934 Act”), and the Sub-Adviser shall be responsible for filing any required reports on its behalf with the SEC pursuant to Section 13(f) and the rules and regulations thereunder.
(h) To the extent reasonably requested by the Trust, the Sub-Adviser will use its best efforts to assist the Trust in connection with the Trust’s compliance with the federal securities laws, as such term is defined in Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act, (“Federal Securities Laws”), including, without limitation, providing the Chief Compliance Officer of the Trust with: (i) Compliance Procedures, as may be amended from time to time (including prompt notice of any material changes thereto); (ii) a summary of such policies and procedures in connection with the annual review thereof by the Trust; (iii) upon request, a certificate of the chief compliance officer of the Sub-Adviser to the effect that the policies and procedures of the Sub-Adviser are reasonably designed to prevent violation of the Federal Securities Laws; (iv) direct access to the Sub-Adviser’s chief compliance officer, as reasonably requested by the Chief Compliance Officer of the Trust; (v) a completed quarterly informational questionnaire regarding the Sub-Adviser’s compliance program; and (vi) quarterly certifications indicating whether there were Material Compliance Matters (as that term is defined by Rule 38a-1) that arose under the compliance policies and procedures of the Trust, the Adviser and/or the Sub-Adviser in such detail as may be reasonably requested by the Chief Compliance Officer of the Trust.
(i) Except as permitted by the Trust Procedures, the Sub-Adviser will not disclose but shall treat confidentially all information in respect of the investments of each Fund, including, without limitation, the identification and market value or other pricing information of any and all portfolio securities or other financial instruments held by each Fund, and any and all trades of portfolio securities or other transactions effected for the Fund (including past, pending and proposed trades).
(j) The Adviser or its agent will provide timely information to the Sub-Adviser regarding such matters as inflows to and outflows from each Fund and the cash requirements of, and cash available for investment in each Fund. The Adviser or each Fund’s custodian (the “Custodian”) will timely provide the Sub-Adviser with copies of monthly accounting statements for each Fund, and such other information as may be reasonably necessary or appropriate in order for the Sub-Adviser to perform its responsibilities hereunder.
(k) The Adviser will be responsible for all class actions and lawsuits involving the securities held, or formerly held, in the Allocated Assets of each Fund. The Sub-Adviser is not required to take any action or to render investment-related advice with respect to lawsuits involving any Fund, including those involving securities presently or formerly held in the Allocated Assets of a Fund, or the issuers thereof, including actions involving bankruptcy. In the case of notices of class action suits received by the Sub-Adviser involving issuers presently or formerly held in the Allocated Assets of a Fund, the Sub-Adviser shall promptly forward such notices to the Adviser and, with the consent of the Adviser, may provide information about any Fund to third parties for purposes of participating in any settlements relating to such class actions.
(l) For the purpose of complying with Rule 10f-3(a)(5), Rule 12d3-1(c)(3)(ii), Rule 17a-10(a)(2) and Rule 17e-1(d)(2) under the 1940 Act, the Sub-Adviser hereby agrees that with respect to transactions in securities or other assets for a Fund: (i) it will not consult with any other sub-adviser to the Fund or any sub-adviser to a separate series of the Trust for which the Adviser serves as investment adviser; and (ii) its responsibility in providing investment advisory services to the Fund shall be limited solely to the Allocated Assets. Adviser will furnish to Sub-Adviser a current list of all such sub-advisers and principal underwriters and affiliated persons thereof, as well as affiliated persons of the Fund, and shall notify Sub-Adviser promptly of any changes to such list.
