Compensation of the Administrator For the services to be rendered by the Administrator as provided in Section 2 of this Agreement, the Portfolio shall pay to the Administrator, at the end of each month, a fee equal to one-twelfth of 0.15 percent of the net assets of the Portfolio. If this Agreement is terminated prior to the end of any month, the fee for such month shall be prorated.
The Administrator The Administrator shall furnish at its own expense the executive, supervisory and clerical personnel necessary to perform its obligations under this Agreement. The Administrator shall also provide the items which it is obligated to provide under this Agreement, and shall pay all compensation, if any, of officers of the Trust as well as all Trustees of the Trust who are affiliated persons of the Administrator or any affiliated corporation of the Administrator; provided, however, that unless otherwise specifically provided, the Administrator shall not be obligated to pay the compensation of any employee of the Trust retained by the Trustees of the Trust to perform services on behalf of the Trust.
Liability of the Administrator No provision of this Agreement shall be deemed to protect the Administrator against any liability to the Fund or its shareholders to which it might otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or the reckless disregard of its obligations under this Agreement.
Power of Board of Trustees to Change Provisions Relating to Shares Notwithstanding any other provision of this Declaration of Trust to the contrary, and without limiting the power of the Board of Trustees to amend the Declaration of Trust as provided elsewhere herein, the Board of Trustees shall have the power to amend this Declaration of Trust, at any time and from time to time, in such manner as the Board of Trustees may determine in their sole discretion, without the need for Shareholder action, so as to add to, delete, replace or otherwise modify any provisions relating to the Shares contained in this Declaration of Trust, provided that before adopting any such amendment without Shareholder approval the Board of Trustees shall determine that it is consistent with the fair and equitable treatment of all Shareholders and that Shareholder approval is not required by the 1940 Act or other applicable federal law. If Shares have been issued, Shareholder approval shall be required to adopt any amendments to this Declaration of Trust which would adversely affect to a material degree the rights and preferences of the Shares of any Series (or class) or to increase or decrease the par value of the Shares of any Series (or class).
Retention of the Administrator The Trust hereby retains the Administrator to act as the administrator of the Portfolios and to furnish the Portfolios with the management and administrative services as set forth in Article 2 below. The Administrator hereby accepts such employment to perform the duties set forth below. The Administrator shall, for all purposes herein, be deemed to be an independent contractor and, unless otherwise expressly provided or authorized, shall have no authority to act for or represent the Trust in any way and shall not be deemed an agent of the Trust.
Duties of the Administrator (a) Duties with Respect to the Indenture and the Depository Agreement. The Administrator shall perform all of its duties as Administrator and the duties of the Issuing Entity and the Trustee under the Indenture and the Depository Agreement. In addition, the Administrator shall consult with the Trustee regarding the duties of the Issuing Entity and the Trustee under such documents. The Administrator shall monitor the performance of the Issuing Entity and shall advise the Trustee when action is necessary to comply with the Issuing Entity’s or the Trustee’s duties under such documents. The Administrator shall prepare for execution by the Issuing Entity or shall cause the preparation by other appropriate persons of all such documents, reports, filings, instruments, certificates and opinions as it shall be the duty of the Issuing Entity or the Trustee to prepare, file or deliver pursuant to such documents. In furtherance of the foregoing, the Administrator shall take all appropriate action that is the duty of the Issuing Entity or the Trustee to take pursuant to such documents, including, without limitation, such of the foregoing as are required with respect to the following matters (references in this Section are to sections of the Indenture):
(i) the duty to cause the Note Register to be kept and to give the Indenture Trustee notice of any appointment of a new Note Registrar and the location, or change in location, of the Note Register (Section 2.4);
(ii) the fixing or causing to be fixed of any specified record date and the notification of the Indenture Trustee and Noteholders with respect to special payment dates, if any (Section 2.7(c));
(iii) the preparation of or obtaining of the documents and instruments required for authentication of the Notes and delivery of the same to the Indenture Trustee (Section 2.2);
(iv) the preparation, obtaining or filing of the instruments, opinions, certificates and other documents required for the release of the Collateral (Section 2.9);
(v) [reserved];
(vi) the duty to cause newly appointed Paying Agents, if any, to deliver to the Indenture Trustee the instrument specified in the Indenture regarding funds held in trust (Section 3.3);
(vii) the direction to the Paying Agents to deposit monies with the Indenture Trustee (Section 3.3);
(viii) the obtaining and preservation of the Issuing Entity’s qualification to do business in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is or shall be necessary to protect the validity and enforceability of the Indenture, the Notes, the Collateral and each other instrument and agreement included in the Trust Estate (Section 3.4);
(ix) the preparation of all supplements, amendments, financing statements, continuation statements, instruments of further assurance and other instruments, in accordance with Section 3.5 of the Indenture, necessary to protect the Trust Estate (Section 3.5);
(x) the delivery of the Opinion of Counsel on the Closing Date and the annual delivery of Opinions of Counsel, in accordance with Section 3.6 of the Indenture, as to the Trust Estate, and the annual delivery of the Officer’s Certificate and certain other statements, in accordance with Section 3.9 of the Indenture, as to compliance with the Indenture (Sections 3.6 and 3.9);
(xi) the identification to the Indenture Trustee in an Officer’s Certificate of a Person with whom the Issuing Entity has contracted to perform its duties under the Indenture (Section 3.7(b));
(xii) the notification of the Indenture Trustee and the Rating Agencies of a Servicer Default pursuant to the Sale and Servicing Agreement and, if such Servicer Default arises from the failure of the Servicer to perform any of its duties under the Sale and Servicing Agreement, the taking of all reasonable steps available to remedy such failure (Section 3.7(d));
(xiii) the preparation and obtaining of documents and instruments required for the release of the Issuing Entity from its obligations under the Indenture (Section 3.10(b));
(xiv) the delivery of notice to the Indenture Trustee and the Rating Agencies of (a) each Event of Default under the Indenture, (b) each default by the Servicer or Seller under the Sale and Servicing Agreement and (c) each default by CNHICA under the Purchase Agreement (Section 3.19);
(xv) the monitoring of the Issuing Entity’s obligations as to the satisfaction and discharge of the Indenture and the preparation of an Officer’s Certificate and the obtaining of the Opinion of Counsel and the Independent Certificate relating thereto (Section 4.1);
(xvi) the compliance with any written directive of the Indenture Trustee with respect to the sale of the Trust Estate in a commercially reasonable manner if an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing (Section 5.4);
(xvii) the furnishing to the Indenture Trustee of the names and addresses of Noteholders during any period when the Indenture Trustee is not the Note Registrar (Section 7.1);
(xviii) the preparation, execution and filing with the Commission and the Indenture Trustee of documents required to be filed on a periodic basis with, and summaries thereof as may be required by rules and regulations prescribed by, the Commission and the transmission of such summaries, as necessary, to the Noteholders (Section 7.3);
(xix) the opening of one or more accounts in the Trust’s name, the preparation of Issuing Entity Orders, Officer’s Certificates and Opinions of Counsel and all other actions necessary with respect to investment and reinvestment of funds in the Trust Accounts (Sections 8.2 and 8.3);
(xx) the preparation of an Issuing Entity Request and Officer’s Certificate and the obtaining of an Opinion of Counsel and Independent Certificates, if necessary, for the release of the Trust Estate as defined in the Indenture (Sections 8.4 and 8.5);
(xxi) the preparation of Issuing Entity Orders and the obtaining of Opinions of Counsel with respect to the execution of supplemental indentures and the mailing to the Noteholders of notices with respect to such supplemental indentures (Sections 9.1, 9.2 and 9.3);
(xxii) the execution and delivery of new Notes conforming to any supplemental indenture (Section 9.6);
(xxiii) the notification of Noteholders of redemption of the Notes or the duty to cause the Indenture Trustee to provide such notification (Section 10.2);
(xxiv) the preparation of all Officer’s Certificates, Opinions of Counsel and Independent Certificates with respect to any requests by the Issuing Entity to the Indenture Trustee to take any action under the Indenture (Section 11.1(a));
(xxv) the preparation and delivery of Officer’s Certificates and the obtaining of Independent Certificates, if necessary, for the release of property from the Lien of the Indenture (Section 11.1(b));
(xxvi) the preparation and delivery to Noteholders and the Indenture Trustee of any agreements with respect to alternate payment and notice provisions (Section 11.6); and
(xxvii) the recording of the Indenture, if applicable (Section 11.15).
(b) Duties with Respect to the Trust.
(i) In addition to the duties of the Administrator set forth above, the Administrator shall perform the duties and obligations of the Issuing Entity under the Asset Representations Review Agreement and shall perform such calculations, and shall prepare for execution by the Issuing Entity or the Trustee or shall cause the preparation by other appropriate persons of all such documents, reports, filings, instruments, certificates and opinions, as it shall be the duty of the Issuing Entity or the Trustee to perform, prepare, file or deliver pursuant to the Related Agreements, and at the request of the Trustee shall take all appropriate action that it is the duty of the Issuing Entity or the Trustee to take pursuant to the Related Agreements (other than with respect to Sections 11.14, 11.15 and 11.16 of the Trust Agreement). Subject to Section 5 of this Agreement, the Administrator shall administer, perform or supervise the performance of such other activities in connection with the Collateral (including the Related Agreements) as are not covered by any of the foregoing and as are expressly requested by the Trustee and are reasonably within the capability of the Administrator.
(ii) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement or the Related Agreements to the contrary, if any Certificates are held by any Person other than the Depositor, the Administrator shall be responsible for promptly notifying the Trustee in the event that any withholding tax is imposed on the Trust’s payments (or allocations of income) to an Owner as contemplated in Section 5.2(c) of the Trust Agreement. Any such notice shall specify the amount of any withholding tax required to be withheld by the Trustee pursuant to such provision.
(iii) Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement or the Related Agreements to the contrary, the Administrator shall be responsible for performance of the duties of the Trustee (if any) set forth in Sections 5.2(a), (b) and (c), the first sentence of Section 5.5 and Section 5.6(a) of the Trust Agreement with respect to, among other things, accounting and reports to Owners; provided, however, that the Trustee shall retain responsibility for the distribution of the Schedule K-1s necessary to enable each Owner to prepare its federal and state income tax returns.
(iv) If any Certificates are held by any Person other than the Depositor, the Administrator shall satisfy its obligations with respect to clauses (ii) and (iii) by retaining, at the expense of the Trust payable by the Servicer, a firm of Independent certified public accountants (the “Accountants”) reasonably acceptable to the Trustee, which Accountants shall perform the obligations of the Administrator thereunder. In connection with clause (ii), the Accountants will provide, on or prior to the date on which the Trustee receives its notice from the Administrator under such clause, a letter in form and substance satisfactory to the Trustee as to whether any tax withholding is then required and, if required, the procedures to be followed with respect thereto to comply with the requirements of the Code. The Accountants shall be required to update the letter in each instance that any additional tax withholding is subsequently required or any previously required tax withholding shall no longer be required.
(v) The Administrator shall perform the duties of the Administrator specified in Section 10.2 of the Trust Agreement required to be performed in connection with the resignation or removal of the Trustee, and any other duties expressly required to be performed by the Administrator under the Trust Agreement.
(vi) In carrying out the foregoing duties or any of its other obligations under this Agreement, the Administrator may enter into transactions with or otherwise deal with any of its affiliates; provided, however, that the terms of any such transactions or dealings shall be in accordance with any directions received from the Issuing Entity and shall be, in the Administrator’s opinion, no less favorable to the Issuing Entity than would be available from unaffiliated parties.
(vii) The Administrator hereby agrees to execute on behalf of the Issuing Entity all such documents, reports, filings, instruments, certificates and opinions as it shall be the duty of the Issuing Entity to prepare, file or deliver pursuant to the Basic Documents or otherwise by law.
Limitation of Liability of the Administrator The duties of the Administrator shall be confined to those expressly set forth herein, and no implied duties are assumed by or may be asserted against the Administrator hereunder. The Administrator shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any act or omission in carrying out its duties hereunder, except a loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of its duties, or by reason of reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder, except as may otherwise be provided under provisions of applicable law which cannot be waived or modified hereby. Any person, even though also an employee, or agent of the Administrator, who may be or become an officer, Trustee, employee or agent of the Trust or the Funds shall be deemed, when rendering services to the Trust or the Funds, or acting on any business of that party, to be rendering such services to or acting solely for that party and not as a partner, employee, or agent or one under the control or direction of the Administrator even though paid by it. So long as the Administrator acts in good faith and with due diligence and without negligence, the Trust assumes full responsibility and shall indemnify the Administrator, its employees, agents, directors, officers and nominees and hold them harmless from and against any and all actions, suits and claims, whether groundless or otherwise, and from and against any and all losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees and disbursements, payments, expenses and liabilities (including reasonable investigation expenses) arising directly or indirectly out of the Administrator’s actions taken or non-actions with respect to the performance of services hereunder. The indemnity and defense provisions set forth herein shall indefinitely survive the termination of this Agreement. The rights hereunder shall include the right to reasonable advances of defense expenses in the event of any pending or threatened litigation with respect to which indemnification hereunder may ultimately be merited. In order that the indemnification provision contained herein shall apply, however, it is understood that if in any case the Trust may be asked to indemnify or hold the Administrator harmless, the Trust shall be fully and promptly advised of all pertinent facts concerning the situation in question, and it is further understood that the Administrator will use all reasonable care to identify and notify the Trust promptly concerning any situation which presents or appears likely to present the probability of such a claim for indemnification against the Trust, but failure to do so in good faith shall not affect the rights hereunder. The Trust shall be entitled to participate at its own expense or, if it so elects, to assume the defense of any suit brought to enforce any claims subject to this indemnity provision. If the Trust elects to assume the defense of any such claim, the defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by the Trust and satisfactory to the Administrator, whose approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. In the event that the Trust elects to assume the defense of any suit and retain counsel, the Administrator shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel retained by it. If the Trust does not elect to assume the defense of a suit, it will reimburse the Administrator for the reasonable fees and expenses of any counsel retained by the Administrator. The Administrator may apply to the Trust at any time for instructions and may consult counsel for the Trust or its own counsel and with accountants and other experts with respect to any matter arising in connection with the Administrator’s duties, and the Administrator shall not be liable or accountable for any action taken or omitted by it in good faith in accordance with such instruction or with the opinion of such counsel, accountants or other experts. The Administrator shall be protected in acting upon any document which it reasonably believes to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper person or persons. The Administrator will not be held to have notice of any change of authority of any officers, employees or agents of the Trust until receipt of written notice thereof from the Trust.
Administrator Termination Events; Termination of the Administrator (a) Subject to clause (d) below, the Administrator may resign its duties hereunder by providing the Issuer with at least sixty (60) days’ prior written notice.
(b) Subject to Section 3.15 of the Indenture, the Issuer may remove the Administrator without cause by providing the Administrator with at least sixty (60) days’ prior written notice.
(c) The occurrence of any one of the following events (each, an “Administrator Termination Event”) shall also entitle the Issuer, subject to Section 21 hereof, to terminate and replace the Administrator:
(i) any failure by the Administrator to duly observe or perform in any respect any other of its covenants or agreements in this Agreement, which failure materially and adversely affects the rights of the Issuer or the Noteholders, and which continues unremedied for 90 days after discovery thereof by a Responsible Officer of the Administrator or receipt by the Administrator of written notice thereof from the Indenture Trustee or Noteholders evidencing a majority of the Note Balance of the Outstanding Notes, voting together as a single class; or
(ii) the Administrator suffers a Bankruptcy Event; provided, however, that if any delay or failure of performance referred to under clause (c)(i) above shall have been caused by force majeure or other similar occurrence, the 90 day grace period referred to in such clause (c)(i) shall be extended for an additional 60 calendar days.
(d) If an Administrator Termination Event shall have occurred, the Issuer may, subject to Section 21 hereof, by notice given to the Administrator and the Owner Trustee, terminate all or a portion of the rights and powers of the Administrator under this Agreement, including the rights of the Administrator to receive the annual fee for services hereunder for all periods following such termination; provided, however that such termination shall not become effective until such time as the Issuer, subject to Section 21 hereof, shall have appointed a successor Administrator in the manner set forth below. Upon any such termination or upon a resignation of the Administrator in accordance with Section 8(a) hereof, all rights, powers, duties and responsibilities of the Administrator under this Agreement shall vest in and be assumed by any successor Administrator appointed by the Issuer, subject to Section 21 hereof, pursuant to a management agreement between the Issuer and such successor Administrator, containing substantially the same provisions as this Agreement (including with respect to the compensation of such successor Administrator), and the successor Administrator is hereby irrevocably authorized and empowered to execute and deliver, on behalf of the Administrator, as attorney-in-fact or otherwise, all documents and other instruments, and to do or accomplish all other acts or things necessary or appropriate to effect such vesting and assumption. Further, in such event, the Administrator shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to effect the orderly and efficient transfer of the administration of the Issuer to the new Administrator. No resignation or removal of the Administrator shall be effective until a successor Administrator shall have been appointed by the Issuer.
(e) The Issuer, subject to Section 21 hereof, may waive in writing any Administrator Termination Event by the Administrator in the performance of its obligations hereunder and its consequences. Upon any such waiver of a past Administrator Termination Event, such Administrator Termination Event shall cease to exist, and any Administrator Termination Event arising therefrom shall be deemed to have been remedied for every purpose of this Agreement. No such waiver shall extend to any subsequent or other Administrator Termination Event or impair any right consequent thereon.
Provision of Services by the Administrator The Administrator shall directly, or indirectly through one or more Affiliates (as defined below) or third parties as described in Section 1(b), engage and maintain personnel for the purpose of providing the following services (collectively, the “Services”) to the Issuer and Masterworks Cayman:
(i) Artwork-Level Services, including:
(A) custodial and storage services for the Artwork;
(B) maintaining asset-level insurance requirements for the Artwork;
(C) managing transport for the Artwork in the ordinary course of business, including the display and exhibition thereof;
(D) research services;
(E) appraisal and valuation services; and
(F) other services deemed necessary or appropriate by the Administrator at its discretion to maintain the Artwork;
(ii) Entity-Level Services for the Issuer and Masterworks Cayman, including:
(A) oversight and management of banking activities;
(B) management of preparation and filing of SEC and other corporate filings;
(C) financial, accounting and bookkeeping services, including retention of an auditor for the Issuer;
(D) record-keeping, shareholder registrar, investor relations and regulatory compliance;
(E) providing listing services, subject to the applicable law;
(F) tax reporting services;
(G) bill payment;
(H) selecting and negotiating insurance coverage for the Issuer and Masterworks Cayman, including operational errors and omissions coverage and directors’ and officers’ coverage;
(I) maintain the Issuer’s stock ledger and coordinating activities of the Issuer’s transfer agent, escrow agent and related parties;
(J) software services; and
(K) services related to Templum ATS trading.
(iii) Non-Routine Services, including:
(A) legal and professional transactional services;
(B) negotiation of terms of potential sale of the Artwork or the Issuer and the execution thereof;
(C) obtaining appraisals and statements of condition in connection with a sale transaction relating to the Artwork;
(D) other transaction-related services, cost, payments and expenditures relating to the Artwork or the Issuer;
(E) administrative services in connection with liquidation or winding up of the Issuer and Masterworks Cayman;
(F) managing litigation, judicial proceedings or arbitration, including the defense and or settlement of any claims (regardless of whether or not the Issuer is named as a defendant or party in any such claim);
(G) Conservation, restoration (as deemed necessary by the Administrator), reframing and other expenditures that increase the value of the Artwork; and
(H) other non-routine or extraordinary services.
Independence of the Administrator For all purposes of this Agreement, the Administrator shall be an independent contractor and shall not be subject to the supervision of the Issuer or the Owner Trustee with respect to the manner in which it accomplishes the performance of its obligations hereunder. Unless expressly authorized by the Issuer, the Administrator shall have no authority to act for or represent the Issuer or the Owner Trustee in any way and shall not otherwise be deemed an agent of the Issuer or the Owner Trustee.
