Common use of Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Foreign Depositories Clause in Contracts

Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Foreign Depositories. Prior to the placement of any assets of the Fund with a Foreign Depository, the Custodian: (a) shall provide to the Fund, its investment adviser or its authorized representative an assessment of the custody risks associated with maintaining assets within such Foreign Depository in accordance with Rule 17f-7(a)(1)(i)(A), and (b) shall have established a system to monitor the custody risks associated with maintaining assets with such Foreign Depository on a continuing basis and to promptly notify the Fund or its investment adviser of any material changes in such risk in accordance with Rule 17f-7(a)(1)(i)(B). The form and substance of the risk assessment shall be agreed upon by the parties. In performing its duties under this Sub-Section, the Custodian may rely on such reasonable sources of information as may be available including but not limited to: (i) published ratings; (ii) information supplied by a Subcustodian that is a participant in such Foreign Depository; (iii) industry surveys or publications; and (iv) information supplied by the depository itself, by its auditors (internal or external) or by the relevant Foreign Financial Regulatory Authority (as defined below). It is acknowledged that information procured through some or all of these sources may not be independently verifiable by the Custodian and that direct access to Foreign Depositories is limited under most circumstances. Accordingly, the Custodian shall not be responsible for errors or omissions in its duties hereunder provided that it has performed its monitoring and assessment duties in accordance with the standard of care set forth in Section 5.1. As used herein, “Foreign Financial Regulatory Authority” shall have the meaning given by Section 2(a)(50) of the 1940 Act.