Terms of Office of Trustees The Trustees shall hold office during the lifetime of this Trust, and until its termination as herein provided; except that (A) any Trustee may resign his trusteeship or may retire by written instrument signed by him and delivered to the other Trustees, which shall take effect upon such delivery or upon such later date as is specified therein; (B) any Trustee may be removed at any time by written instrument signed by at least two-thirds of the number of Trustees prior to such removal, specifying the date when such removal shall become effective; (C) any Trustee who has died, become physically or mentally incapacitated by reason of disease or otherwise, or is otherwise unable to serve, may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees, specifying the date of his retirement; (D) a Trustee may be removed at any meeting of the Shareholders by a vote of the Shareholders owning at least two-thirds (66 2/3%) of the Outstanding Shares; and (E) a Trustee shall be retired in accordance with the terms of any retirement policy adopted by the Trustees and in effect from time to time.
Duties of Trustees (a) The Trustee, prior to the occurrence of an Event of Default and after the curing of all Events of Default which may have occurred, undertakes to perform such duties and only such duties as are specifically set forth in this Agreement. In case an Event of Default has occurred (which has not been cured or waived) the Trustee shall exercise such of the rights and powers vested in it by this Agreement, and use the same degree of care and skill in its exercise as a prudent person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such person’s own affairs.
(b) The Trustee, upon receipt of all resolutions, certificates, statements, opinions, reports, documents, orders or other instruments furnished to it which are specifically required to be furnished to it pursuant to any provision of this Agreement, shall examine them to determine whether they are in the form required by this Agreement; provided, however, that the Trustee shall not be responsible for the accuracy or content of any such certificate, statement, opinion, report, or other order or instrument furnished by the Company or Servicer to the Trustee pursuant to this Agreement.
(c) No provision of this Agreement shall be construed to relieve the Trustee or the Delaware Trustee from liability for its own negligent action, its own negligent failure to act or its own willful misconduct; provided, however, that:
(i) Prior to the occurrence of an Event of Default and after the curing of all such Events of Default which may have occurred, the duties and obligations of the Trustee shall be determined solely by the express provisions of this Agreement,
(ii) Neither the Trustee nor the Delaware Trustee shall be liable except for the performance of such duties and obligations as are specifically set forth in this Agreement, no implied covenants or obligations shall be read into this Agreement against the Trustee or the Delaware Trustee, and, in the absence of bad faith on the part of the Trustee or the Delaware Trustee, such trustee may conclusively rely, as to the truth of the statements and the correctness of the opinions expressed therein, upon any certificates or opinions furnished to such trustee and conforming to the requirements of this Agreement; and
(iii) Neither the Trustee nor the Delaware Trustee shall be personally liable with respect to any action taken or omitted to be taken by it in good faith in accordance with the direction of the Certificateholders holding Certificates which evidence Percentage Interests aggregating not less than 25% relating to the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to such trustee, or relating to the exercise of any trust or power conferred upon such trustee under this Agreement.
(d) Within ten Business Days after the occurrence of any Event of Default known to the Trustee, the Trustee shall transmit by mail to the Rating Agencies notice of each Event of Default. Within 90 days after the occurrence of any Event of Default known to the Trustee, the Trustee shall transmit by mail to all Certificateholders (with a copy to the Rating Agencies) notice of each Event of Default, unless such Event of Default shall have been cured or waived; provided, however, the Trustee shall be protected in withholding such notice if and so long as a Responsible Officer of the Trustee in good faith determines that the withholding of such notice is in the best interests of the Certificateholders; and provided, further, that in the case of any Event of Default of the character specified in Section 7.01(a)(i) or Section 7.01(a)(ii), no such notice to Certificateholders or to the Rating Agencies shall be given until at least 30 days after the occurrence thereof.
Election of Trustees The members of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company are its policyholders of insurance policies and deferred annuity contracts. The members exercise control through a Board of Trustees. Elections to the Board are held each year at the annual meeting of members. Members are entitled to vote in person or by proxy.
Powers of Trustees Subject to the provisions of this Declaration of Trust, the business of the Trust shall be managed by the Trustees, and they shall have all powers necessary or convenient to carry out that responsibility and the purpose of the Trust. Without limiting the foregoing, the Trustees may adopt By-Laws not inconsistent with this Declaration of Trust providing for the conduct of the business and affairs of the Trust and may amend and repeal them to the extent that such By-Laws do not reserve that right to the Shareholders; they may as they consider appropriate elect and remove officers and appoint and terminate agents and consultants and hire and terminate employees, any one or more of the foregoing of whom may be a Trustee, and may provide for the compensation of all of the foregoing; they may appoint from their own number, and terminate, any one or more committees consisting of two or more Trustees, including without implied limitation an executive committee, which may, when the Trustees are not in session and subject to the 1940 Act, exercise some or all of the power and authority of the Trustees as the Trustees may determine; in accordance with Section 3.3 they may employ one or more advisers, administrators, depositories and custodians and may authorize any depository or custodian to employ subcustodians or agents and to deposit all or any part of such assets in a system or systems for the central handling of securities and debt instruments, retain transfer, dividend, accounting or Shareholder servicing agents or any of the foregoing, provide for the distribution of Shares by the Trust through one or more distributors, principal underwriters or otherwise, set record dates or times for the determination of Shareholders or certain of them with respect to various matters; they may compensate or provide for the compensation of the Trustees, officers, advisers, administrators, custodians, other agents, consultants and employees of the Trust or the Trustees on such terms as they deem appropriate; and in general they may delegate to any officer of the Trust, to any committee of the Trustees and to any employee, adviser, administrator, distributor, principal underwriter, depository, custodian, transfer and dividend disbursing agent, or any other agent or consultant of the Trust such authority, powers, functions and duties as they consider desirable or appropriate for the conduct of the business and affairs of the Trust, including without implied limitation the power and authority to act in the name of the Trust and of the Trustees, to sign documents and to act as attorney-in-fact for the Trustees. Without limiting the foregoing and to the extent not inconsistent with the 1940 Act or other applicable law, the Trustees shall have power and authority:
Powers and Duties of Trustees Section 3.1 General 6 Section 3.2 Investments 6 Section 3.3 Legal Title 7 Section 3.4 Issuance and Repurchase of Shares 7 Section 3.5 Borrow Money or Utilize Leverage 7 Section 3.6 Delegation; Committees 7 Section 3.7 Collection and Payment 8 Section 3.8 Expenses 8 Section 3.9 By-Laws 8 Section 3.10 Miscellaneous Powers 8 Section 3.11 Further Powers 8
Compensation of Trustees The Trustees as such shall be entitled to reasonable compensation from the Trust, and they may fix the amount of such compensation from time to time. Nothing herein shall in any way prevent the employment of any Trustee to provide advisory, management, legal, accounting, investment banking or other services to the Trust and to be specially compensated for such services by the Trust.
Term of Office of Trustees The Board of Trustees shall be divided into three classes. Within the limits above specified, the number of the Trustees in each class and the class which each Trustee is assigned shall be determined by resolution of the Board of Trustees. The term of office of the first class shall expire on the date of the first annual meeting of Shareholders or special meeting in lieu thereof following the effective date of the Registration Statement. The term of office of the second class shall expire on the date of the second annual meeting of Shareholders or special meeting in lieu thereof following the effective date of the Registration Statement. The term of office of the third class shall expire on the date of the third annual meeting of Shareholders or special meeting in lieu thereof following the effective date of the Registration Statement. Upon expiration of the term of office of each class as set forth above, the number of Trustees in such class, as determined by the Board of Trustees, shall be elected for a term expiring on the date of the third annual meeting of Shareholders or special meeting in lieu thereof following such expiration to succeed the Trustees whose terms of office expire. The Trustees shall be elected at an annual meeting of the Shareholders or special meeting in lieu thereof called for that purpose, except as provided in Section 2.3 of this Article and each Trustee elected shall hold office until his successor shall have been elected and shall have qualified; except (a) that any Trustee may resign his trust (without need for prior or subsequent accounting) by an instrument in writing signed by him and delivered to the other Trustees, which shall take effect upon such delivery or upon such later date as is specified therein; (b) that any Trustee may be removed (provided the aggregate number of Trustees after such removal shall not be less than the number required by Section 2.2 hereof) for cause, at any time by written instrument, signed by the remaining Trustees, specifying the date when such removal shall become effective; and (c) that any Trustee who requests in writing to be retired or who has become incapacitated by illness or injury may be retired by written instrument signed by a majority of the other Trustees, and he shall execute and deliver such documents as the remaining Trustees shall require for the purpose of conveying to the Fund or the remaining Trustees any Fund property held in the name of the resigning or removed Trustee. Upon the incapacity or death of any Trustee, his legal representative shall execute and deliver on his behalf such document as the remaining Trustees shall require as provided in the preceding sentence.
Number of Trustees (a) The number of Trustees shall initially be four, provided that the Depositor by written instrument may increase or decrease the number of Administrative Trustees.
(b) If a Trustee ceases to hold office for any reason and the number of Administrative Trustees is not reduced pursuant to Section 8.17(a), or if the number of Trustees is increased pursuant to Section 8.17(a), a vacancy shall occur. The vacancy shall be filled with a Trustee appointed in accordance with Section 8.10.
(c) The death, resignation, retirement, removal, bankruptcy, incompetence or incapacity to perform the duties of a Trustee shall not operate to annul the Trust. Whenever a vacancy in the number of Administrative Trustees shall occur, until such vacancy is filled by the appointment of an Administrative Trustee in accordance with Section 8.10, the Administrative Trustees in office, regardless of their number (and notwithstanding any other provision of this Trust Agreement), shall have all powers granted to the Administrative Trustees and shall discharge the duties imposed upon the Administrative Trustees by this Trust Agreement.
Compensation and Limitation of Liability of Trustees Compensation ------------
Section 1. The Trustees as such shall be entitled to reasonable ---------- compensation from the Trust; they may fix the amount of their compensation. Nothing herein shall in any way prevent the employment of any Trustee for advisory, management, legal, accounting, investment banking, underwriting, brokerage or other services and payment for the same by the Trust. Limitation of Liability -----------------------
Section 2. The Trustees shall not be responsible or liable in any event ---------- for any neglect or wrongdoing of any officer, agent, employee, adviser, sub- adviser, manager or principal underwriter of the Trust, nor shall any Trustee be responsible for the act or omission of any other Trustee, but nothing herein contained shall protect any Trustee against any liability to which he or she would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office. Every note, bond, contract, instrument, certificate, Share or undertaking and every other act or thing whatsoever executed or done by or on behalf of the Trust or the Trustees or any of them in connection with the Trust shall be conclusively deemed to have been executed or done only in or with respect to their or his or her capacity as Trustees or Trustee, and such Trustees or Trustee shall not be personally liable thereon.
Vacancies; Appointment of Trustees Whenever a vacancy shall exist in the Board of Trustees, regardless of the reason for such vacancy, the remaining Trustees shall appoint any person as they determine in their sole discretion to fill that vacancy, consistent with the limitations under the 1940 Act. Such appointment shall be made by a written instrument signed by a majority of the Trustees or by a resolution of the Trustees, duly adopted and recorded in the records of the Trust, specifying the effective date of the appointment. The Trustees may appoint a new Trustee as provided above in anticipation of a vacancy expected to occur because of the retirement, resignation or removal of a Trustee, or an increase in number of Trustees, provided that such appointment shall become effective only at or after the expected vacancy occurs. As soon as any such Trustee has accepted his appointment in writing, the trust estate shall vest in the new Trustee, together with the continuing Trustees, without any further act or conveyance, and he shall be deemed a Trustee hereunder. The Trustees' power of appointment is subject to Section 16(a) of the 1940 Act. Whenever a vacancy in the number of Trustees shall occur, until such vacancy is filled as provided in this Article II, the Trustees in office, regardless of their number, shall have all the powers granted to the Trustees and shall discharge all the duties imposed upon the Trustees by the Declaration. The death, declination to serve, resignation, retirement, removal or incapacity of one or more Trustees, or all of them, shall not operate to annul the Trust or to revoke any existing agency created pursuant to the terms of this Declaration of Trust.
