Services as Fund Accountant BISYS will keep and maintain the following books and records of each Fund pursuant to Rule 31a-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Rule"):
a. Journals containing an itemized daily record in detail of all purchases and sales of securities, all receipts and disbursements of cash and all other debits and credits, as required by subsection (b)(1) of the Rule;
b. General and auxiliary ledgers reflecting all asset, liability, reserve, capital, income and expense accounts, including interest accrued and interest received, as required by subsection (b)(2)(i) of the Rule;
c. Separate ledger accounts required by subsection (b)(2)(ii) and (iii) of the Rule; and
d. A monthly trial balance of all ledger accounts (except shareholder accounts) as required by subsection (b)(8) of the Rule. All such books and records shall be the property of the Trust, and BISYS agrees to make such books and records available for inspection by the Trust or by the Securities and Exchange commission at reasonable times and otherwise to keep confidential all records and other information relative to the Trust; except when requested to divulge such information by duly-constituted authorities or court process, or when requested by the Trust. In addition to the maintenance of the books and records specified above, BISYS shall perform the following account services daily for each Fund:
a. Calculate the net asset value per Share utilizing prices obtained from the sources described below;
b. Obtain security prices from independent pricing services, or if such quotes are unavailable, then obtain such prices from each Fund's investment adviser or its designee, as approved by the Trust's Board of Trustees;
c. Verify and reconcile with the Funds' custodian all daily trade activity;
d. Compute, as appropriate, each Fund's net income and capital gains, dividend payables, dividend factors, 7-day yields, 7-day effective yields, 30-day yields, and weighted average portfolio maturity;
e. Review daily the net asset value calculation and dividend factor (if any) for each Fund prior to release to shareholders, check and confirm the net asset values and dividend factors for reasonableness and deviations, and distribute net asset values and yields to NASDAQ;
f. Calculate the dividend and capital gain distribution, if any;
g. Calculate the yield;
h. Provide the following reports:
(i) a current security position report;
(ii) a summary report of transactions and pending maturities (including the principal, cost, and accrued interest on each portfolio security in maturity date order); and
(iii) a current cash position report (including cash available from portfolio sales and maturities and sales of a Fund's Shares less cash needed for redemptions and settlement of portfolio purchases);
i. Such other similar services with respect to a Fund as may be reasonable requested by the Trust.
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.
Appointment of USBFS as Fund Accountant The Trust hereby appoints USBFS as fund accountant of the Trust on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, and USBFS hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the services and duties set forth in this Agreement. The services and duties of USBFS shall be confined to those matters expressly set forth herein, and no implied duties are assumed by or may be asserted against USBFS hereunder.
Fund Accounting Services (a) BNY, in performing the services required of it under the terms of this Agreement, shall be entitled to rely fully on the accuracy and validity of any and all instructions, explanations, information, specifications and documentation furnished to it by a Fund and shall have no duty or obligation to review the accuracy, validity or propriety of such instructions, explanations, information, specifications or documentation, including, without limitation, evaluations of securities; the amounts or formula for calculating the amounts and times of accrual of Fund's liabilities and expenses; the amounts receivable and the amounts payable on the sale or purchase of securities; and amounts receivable or amounts payable for the sale or redemption of Fund shares effected by or on behalf of the Fund. In the event BNY's computations hereunder rely, in whole or in part, upon information, including, without limitation, bid, offer or market values of securities or other assets, or accruals of interest or earnings thereon, from a pricing or similar service utilized, or subscribed to, by BNY which BNY in its judgment deems reliable, or any other third party pricing source designated by the Trust, BNY shall not be responsible for, under any duty to inquire into, or deemed to make any assurances with respect to, the accuracy or completeness of such information. BNY shall not be required to inquire into any valuation of securities or other assets by the Fund or any third party described in this Section, even though BNY in performing services similar to the services provided pursuant to this Agreement for others may receive different valuations of the same or different securities of the same issuers.
(b) Subject to the provisions of this Agreement and the direction and approval of the Trust's Board, BNY shall perform the computations described in Schedule II at such times and dates and in the manner specified or described in the then-current prospectus(es) of a Fund. To the extent valuation of securities or a computation specified or described in a Fund's Pricing Procedures or then-current effective prospectus(es) is at any time inconsistent with any applicable laws or regulations, the Trust or BAAI shall immediately so notify BNY in writing and thereafter shall furnish BNY at all appropriate times with the values of such securities and such Fund's net asset value or other amounts otherwise to be calculated by BNY, or, subject to the prior approval of BNY, instruct BNY in writing to value securities and make such computations in a manner which the Trust or BAAI then represents in writing to be consistent with all applicable laws and regulations. The Trust or BAAI may also from time to time, subject to the prior approval of BNY, instruct BNY in writing to make computations other than as specified in this Section of this Agreement. By giving such instruction, the Trust or BAAI shall be deemed to have represented that such instruction is consistent with all applicable laws and regulations and the then-current effective prospectus(es) of the particular Fund. The Trust or BAAI shall have sole responsibility for determining the method of valuation of securities and the method of computations, and all computations, valuation of securities and the method of computing each Fund's net asset value shall be subject to approval by the Trust and BAAI. BNY shall not be liable for relying on any price provided by any pricing service believed by BNY to be reliable, and the Trust or BAAI shall furnish values when the same are not available from a pricing service utilized by BNY, with such furnishing to constitute an instruction to BNY to rely on the provided values.
(c) BNY shall be responsible for determining and properly reflecting in the computations made by it under this Agreement: (i) the taxable nature of any distribution or amount received or deemed received by, or payable to, a Fund; (ii) the taxable nature or effect on a Fund or its shareholders of any corporate actions, class actions, tax reclaims, tax refunds, or similar events; (iii) the taxable nature or taxable amount of any distribution or dividend paid, payable or deemed paid, by a Fund to its shareholders; (iv) the effect under any federal, state, or foreign income tax laws of a Fund making or not making any distribution or dividend payment, or any election with respect thereto; or (v) any tax accounting; provided, however, that if BNY is not certain of the taxable nature, amount or effect of any such item, it may seek instructions regarding the proper treatment of such item from the Trust or BAAI in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 1(e), above, and shall have no liability for acting in reliance on such instructions.
Duties of FUND ACCOUNTING General FUND ACCOUNTING is authorized to act under the terms of this Agreement to calculate the net asset value of the Portfolio as provided in the prospectus of the Portfolio and in connection therewith shall:
a. Maintain and preserve all accounts, books, financial records and other documents as are required of the Fund under Section 31 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act") and Rules 31a-1, 31a-2 and 31a-3 thereunder, applicable federal and state laws and any other law or administrative rules or procedures which may be applicable to the Fund on behalf of the Portfolio, other than those accounts, books and financial records required to be maintained by the Fund's investment adviser, custodian or transfer agent and/or books and records maintained by all other service providers necessary for the Fund to conduct its business as a registered open-end management investment company. All such books and records shall be the property of the Fund and shall at all times during regular business hours be open for inspection by, and shall be surrendered promptly upon request of, duly authorized officers of the Fund. All such books and records shall at all times during regular business hours be open for inspection, upon request of duly authorized officers of the Fund, by employees or agents of the Fund and employees and agents of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
b. Record the current day's trading activity and such other proper bookkeeping entries as are necessary for determining that day's net asset value and net income.
c. Render statements or copies of records as from time to time are reasonably requested by the Fund.
d. Facilitate audits of accounts by the Fund's independent public accountants or by any other auditors employed or engaged by the Fund or by any regulatory body with jurisdiction over the Fund.
e. Compute the Portfolio's public offering price and/or its daily dividend rates and money market yields, if applicable, in accordance with Section 3 of the Agreement and notify the Fund and such other persons as the Fund may reasonably request of the net asset value per share, the public offering price and/or its daily dividend rates and money market yields.
Description of Administration Services on a Continuous Basis (a) PNC will perform the following administration services with respect to each Portfolio:
(i) Prepare quarterly broker security transactions summaries;
(ii) Prepare monthly security transaction listings;
(iii) Supply, in the form requested, various customary Portfolio and Fund statistical data on an ongoing basis;
(iv) Prepare and ensure the filing of the Funds’ annual and semi-annual reports with the SEC on Forms N-SAR and N-CSR and the Fund’s quarterly reports with the SEC on Form N-Q;
(v) If mutually agreed by PNC and VP Distributors in writing, prepare (or assist in the preparation of) and ensure the filing of (or coordinate filing of, as may be mutually agreed) such other reports with the SEC as may be required by the SEC and that would be primarily fulfilled using books and records maintained by PNC under the terms of this Agreement;
(vi) Assist in the preparation of registration statements and other filings relating to the registration of Shares;
(vii) Monitor each Portfolio’s status as a regulated investment company under Sub-chapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Sub-Chapter M”);
(viii) Coordinate contractual relationships and communications between the Funds and their contractual service providers;
(ix) Prepare expense budgets, accrual review and expense reports as needed;
(x) Provide read-only on-line access to accounting system as requested;
(xi) Provide electronic transmissions of holdings, transactions, security master, general ledger, NAV, security pricing data, and cash activity as specified;
(xii) Coordinate printing and mailing of annual and semi-annual financial statements;
(xiii) Prepare reports for Fund Boards and attend Board meetings when and as requested;
(xiv) Prepare, execute, and file each Portfolio’s Federal and state tax returns, including closed funds, and appropriate extensions after review and approval by the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm;
(xv) Prepare, execute, and file each Portfolio’s federal excise returns (Form 8613) after review and approval by the Fund’s independent registered public accounting firm;
(xvi) Prepare annual tax provisions and financial tax disclosures;
(xvii) Prepare tax cost for semi-annual and Form N-Q filings updated for current year-to-date wash sales and prior year known Schedule M adjustments;
(xviii) Prepare dividend calculations, including accompanying analysis and earnings summary in accordance with applicable policy (as such policy is provided in writing by VP Distributors to PNC), and maintain dividend history;
(xix) Prepare required disclosures for shareholder reporting, including Form 1099-DIV reporting and supporting materials such as QDI, DRD, income from U.S. Obligations, income from State obligations, income from AMT obligations, tax-exempt income, and Florida intangibles;
(xx) Monitor and propose procedures as needed for tax considerations in the following areas: corporate actions, consent income, bad debt/restructurings, new instruments, premium amortization, and legislation and industry developments on an ad hoc basis; and
(xxi) Prepare and deliver, to the extent available to PNC, survey information when and in the form requested.
Administrative and Accounting Services The Administrator shall provide the Fund with regulatory reporting, fund accounting and related portfolio accounting services, all necessary office space, equipment, personnel, compensation and facilities (including facilities for Shareholders' and Directors' meetings) for handling the affairs of the Portfolios and such other services as the Administrator shall, from time to time, determine to be necessary to perform its obligations under this Agreement. In addition, at the request of the Fund's Board of Directors, the Administrator shall make reports to the Fund's Directors concerning the performance of its obligations hereunder including such activities as are set forth on Exhibit A hereto, as amended by agreement of the parties from time to time. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrator, under the supervision of the Fund's Board of Directors, shall: o calculate Fund expenses and control all disbursements for the Fund, and as appropriate, compute the Fund's yields, total return, expense ratios, portfolio turnover rate and, if required, portfolio average dollar-weighted maturity; o assist outside Fund counsel with preparation of prospectuses, statements of additional information, registration statements and proxy materials; o prepare such reports, applications and documents (including reports regarding the sale and redemption of shares as may be required in order to comply with Federal and state securities law) as may be necessary or desirable to register the Fund's shares with state securities authorities, monitor sale of Fund shares for compliance with state securities laws, and file with the appropriate securities authorities the registration statements and reports for the Fund and the Fund's shares and all amendments thereto, as may be necessary or convenient to register and keep effective the Fund and the Fund's shares with state securities authorities to enable the Fund to make a continuous offering of its shares; o prepare communications to shareholders, including the annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders, coordinate mailing prospectuses, notices, proxy statements, proxies and other reports to Fund shareholders, and supervise and facilitate the solicitation of proxies solicited by the Fund for all shareholder meetings, including the tabulation process for shareholder meetings; o prepare, negotiate, and administer contracts on behalf of the Fund with, among others, the Fund's distributor, subject to any approvals or reapprovals by the Fund's Board of Directors required by applicable law or Board procedures; o maintain the Fund's general ledger and prepare the Fund's financial statements, including expense accruals and payments, determine the net asset value of the Fund's assets and of the Fund's shares, and provide for the payment of dividends and other distributions to shareholders; o calculate performance data of the Fund and the Portfolios for dissemination to information services covering the investment company industry; o coordinate and supervise the preparation and filing of the Fund's tax returns; o examine and review the operations and performance of the various organizations providing services to the Fund or any Portfolio directly or on a subcontracted basis as provided for herein and, at the request of the Fund's Board of Directors, report to the Board on the performance of such organizations; o provide for and coordinate the layout and printing of publicly disseminated prospectuses and the Fund's semi-annual and annual reports to shareholders; o provide internal legal and administrative services as requested by the Fund from time to time; o provide for and coordinate the design, development, and operation of the Fund, including new portfolio and class investment objectives, policies and structure; o provide individuals reasonably acceptable to the Fund's Board of Directors for nomination, appointment, or election as officers of the Fund, who will be responsible for the management of certain of the Fund's affairs as determined by the Fund's Board of Directors; o advise the Fund and its Board of Directors on matters concerning the Fund and its affairs;
Tax Accounting Services (1) Maintain accounting records for the investment portfolio of the Fund to support the tax reporting required for “regulated investment companies” under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).
(2) Maintain tax lot detail for the Fund’s investment portfolio.
(3) Calculate taxable gain/loss on security sales using the tax lot relief method designated by the Trust.
(4) Provide the necessary financial information to calculate the taxable components of income and capital gains distributions to support tax reporting to the shareholders.
Performance of Daily Accounting Services In addition to the maintenance of the books and records specified above, Ultimus shall perform the following accounting services daily for each Fund, each in accordance with the Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information:
(i) Calculate the net asset value per share utilizing prices obtained from the sources described in subsection 1(b)(ii) below;
(ii) Obtain security prices from independent pricing services, or if such quotes are unavailable, then obtain such prices from each Fund’s investment adviser or its designee, as approved by the Trust’s Board of Trustees (hereafter referred to as “Trustees”);
(iii) Verify and reconcile with the Funds’ custodian all daily trade activity;
(iv) Compute, as appropriate, each Fund’s net income and capital gains, dividend payables, dividend factors, yields, and weighted average portfolio maturity;
(v) Review daily the net asset value calculation and dividend factor (if any) for each Fund prior to release to shareholders, check and confirm the net asset values and dividend factors for reasonableness and deviations, and distribute net asset values and yields to NASDAQ and such other entities as directed by the Fund;
(vi) Determine unrealized appreciation and depreciation on securities held by the Funds;
(vii) Amortize premiums and accrete discounts on securities purchased at a price other than face value, if requested by the Trust;
(viii) Update fund accounting system to reflect rate changes, as received from a Fund’s investment adviser, on variable interest rate instruments;
(ix) Post Fund transactions to appropriate categories;
(x) Accrue expenses of each Fund;
(xi) Determine the outstanding receivables and payables for all (1) security trades, (2) Fund share transactions and (3) income and expense accounts;
(xii) Provide accounting reports in connection with the Trust’s regular annual audit and other audits and examinations by regulatory agencies; and
(xiii) Provide such periodic reports as the parties shall reasonably agree upon.
Additional Accounting Services Ultimus shall also perform the following additional accounting services for each Portfolio:
(i) Provide monthly (or as frequently as may reasonably be requested by the Trust or a Portfolio's investment adviser) a set of financial statements for each Portfolio as described below, upon request of the Trust: Statement of Assets and Liabilities Statement of Operations Statement of Changes in Net Assets Security Purchases and Sales Journals Portfolio Holdings Reports
(ii) Provide accounting information for the following:
(A) federal and state income tax returns and federal excise tax returns; (B) the Trust's semi-annual reports with the SEC on Form N-SAR; (C) the Trust's annual, semi-annual and quarterly (if any) shareholder reports; (D) registration statements on Form N-1A and other filings relating to the registration of shares; (E) Ultimus' monitoring of the Trust's status as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended; (F) annual audit by the Trust's auditors; and (G) examinations performed by the SEC.
