Trust Administration The Adviser shall give the Trust the benefit of its best judgment, efforts and facilities in rendering its services. The Adviser shall at all times conform to: (i) all applicable provisions of the Act and any rules and regulations adopted thereunder; (ii) the provisions of the Registration Statement of the Trust under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Act as amended from time to time; (iii) the provisions of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust and the By-Laws of the Trust; and (iv) any other applicable provisions of state and federal law. Subject to the direction and control of the Trust, the Adviser shall supervise the Fund’s business affairs. In addition, to the extent not otherwise provided by other parties under agreements with the Trust, the Adviser shall supply: (i) non-investment related statistical and research data; (ii) the services of a Chief Compliance Officer for the Trust with respect to the Fund and (iii) executive and administrative services. The Adviser shall also assist with and/or supervise the preparation by the Trust’s administrator, transfer agent, and/or auditors of: (i) tax returns; (ii) reports to shareholders of the Fund; (iii) reports to, and filings with, the Securities and Exchange Commission, state securities commissions and Blue Sky authorities including preliminary and definitive proxy materials and post-effective amendments to the Trust’s registration statement; and (iv) necessary materials for meetings of the Trust’s Board of Trustees. The Adviser shall provide personnel to serve as officers of the Trust if so elected by the Board of Trustees. Executive and administrative services include, but are not limited to, the coordination of all third parties furnishing services to the Fund, review of the books and records of the Fund maintained by such third parties, and the review and submission to the officers of the Fund for their approval, of invoices or other requests for payment of Fund expenses; and such other action with respect to the Fund as may be necessary in the opinion of the Adviser to perform its duties hereunder.
OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES 1. Coordinate the layout, printing and electronic delivery of publicly disseminated prospectuses and shareholder reports, make recommendations to improve their effectiveness or reduce expenses.
2. Perform internal audit examinations in accordance with a charter adopted by the Investment Company.
3. Monitor enterprise level risks associated with the services provided herein in accordance with a charter adopted by Investment Company.
4. Develop and recommend changes in the investment strategy and operation of the Investment Company that may be in the interest of its Shareholders.
5. Provide individuals reasonably acceptable to the Board for nomination, appointment, or election as the following officers of the Investment Company, who will be responsible for the management of certain of the Investment Company's affairs as specified in the Investment Company's charter documents and by-laws, subject to direction by the Board: (i) the president and principal executive officer, (ii) the treasurer and principal financial and accounting officer; (iii) the secretary, and (iv) such other officers as are mutually agreeable.
6. For each Fund that is not an ETF, monitor trading activity to help identify market timers and recommend policies to deter market timing.
7. For each Fund that is not an ETF, review potential intermediary clients and existing intermediary clients as appropriate to determine/monitor the client’s ability to adhere to the terms of any servicing agreement between the client and Investment Company.
8. For each Fund that is an ETF, review potential authorized participants and existing authorized participants as appropriate to determine/monitor the authorized participant’s ability to adhere to the terms of the authorized participant agreement between the authorized participant and the Fund’s distributor.
9. Review and recommend changes to the transfer agent’s policies and procedures to mitigate fraud, enhance shareholder services or reduce expenses.
10. Review and recommend changes to policies and procedures and operating processes designed to reduce Fund expenses.
11. Respond to all inquiries or other communications from shareholders and other parties, not otherwise provided by the Investment Company’s other service providers; if the inquiry is more properly responded to by another of the Investment Company’s service providers, referring the individual making the inquiry to the appropriate person.
12. Provide services and support, as requested by the Responsible Investing Office (“RIO”), in relation to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) investing by the Funds, which include monitoring compliance with its policies and procedures with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.
13. Perform the following services for each Fund, as applicable, either itself or through its affiliate, Federated Shareholder Services company; (i) select and perform due diligence regarding proposed new owners of omnibus accounts as proposed recordkeeping agents for the Investment Company, (ii) enter into agreements as agent for the Investment Company, or any of them, substantially in the form most recently approved by the Board, with the registered owners of omnibus accounts for the provision of services necessary for the recordkeeping or sub-accounting of share positions held in underlying sub-accounts (“Recordkeeping Agreements”), together with such changes thereto as may be agreed to by FAS so long as such changes do not (a) increase the fees payable by the Investment Company under the Recordkeeping Agreements, (b) alter the indemnity obligations of the Investment Company owing to or from the Investment Company thereunder or (c) otherwise materially alter the obligations of the Investment Company under the Recordkeeping Agreements, (iii) agree, on behalf of the Investment Company, to make payments for services rendered under Recordkeeping Agreements out of the assets of the Investment Company in amounts not to exceed the amounts determined from time to time by the Board, and (iv) give instructions to the transfer agent of the Investment Company (the “Transfer Agent”), for and on behalf of the Investment Company as “Proper Instructions” of the Investment Company under and pursuant to the agreement for transfer agency services with the Transfer Agent, to perform the services of Company and/or the Investment Company under each such Recordkeeping Agreement, excepting only the indemnity obligations owning from the Investment Company or Company thereunder.
Administrative Services In addition to the portfolio management services specified above in section 2, you shall furnish at your expense for the use of the Fund such office space and facilities in the United States as the Fund may require for its reasonable needs, and you (or one or more of your affiliates designated by you) shall render to the Trust administrative services on behalf of the Fund necessary for operating as an open end investment company and not provided by persons not parties to this Agreement including, but not limited to, preparing reports to and meeting materials for the Trust's Board of Trustees and reports and notices to Fund shareholders; supervising, negotiating contractual arrangements with, to the extent appropriate, and monitoring the performance of, accounting agents, custodians, depositories, transfer agents and pricing agents, accountants, attorneys, printers, underwriters, brokers and dealers, insurers and other persons in any capacity deemed to be necessary or desirable to Fund operations; preparing and making filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and other regulatory and self-regulatory organizations, including, but not limited to, preliminary and definitive proxy materials, post-effective amendments to the Registration Statement, semi-annual reports on Form N-SAR and notices pursuant to Rule 24f-2 under the 1940 Act; overseeing the tabulation of proxies by the Fund's transfer agent; assisting in the preparation and filing of the Fund's federal, state and local tax returns; preparing and filing the Fund's federal excise tax return pursuant to Section 4982 of the Code; providing assistance with investor and public relations matters; monitoring the valuation of portfolio securities and the calculation of net asset value; monitoring the registration of Shares of the Fund under applicable federal and state securities laws; maintaining or causing to be maintained for the Fund all books, records and reports and any other information required under the 1940 Act, to the extent that such books, records and reports and other information are not maintained by the Fund's custodian or other agents of the Fund; assisting in establishing the accounting policies of the Fund; assisting in the resolution of accounting issues that may arise with respect to the Fund's operations and consulting with the Fund's independent accountants, legal counsel and the Fund's other agents as necessary in connection therewith; establishing and monitoring the Fund's operating expense budgets; reviewing the Fund's bills; processing the payment of bills that have been approved by an authorized person; assisting the Fund in determining the amount of dividends and distributions available to be paid by the Fund to its shareholders, preparing and arranging for the printing of dividend notices to shareholders, and providing the transfer and dividend paying agent, the custodian, and the accounting agent with such information as is required for such parties to effect the payment of dividends and distributions; and otherwise assisting the Trust as it may reasonably request in the conduct of the Fund's business, subject to the direction and control of the Trust's Board of Trustees. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to shift to you or to diminish the obligations of any agent of the Fund or any other person not a party to this Agreement which is obligated to provide services to the Fund.
Grantor Trust Administration (a) The Tax Administrator shall treat the Grantor Trust Pool, for tax return preparation purposes, as a Grantor Trust under the Code. The Tax Administrator shall also perform on behalf of the Grantor Trust Pool all reporting and other tax compliance duties that are the responsibility of such Grantor Trust Pool under the Code or any compliance guidance issued by the IRS or any state or local taxing authorities. The expenses of preparing and filing such returns shall be borne by the Tax Administrator.
(b) The Tax Administrator shall pay out of its own funds any and all routine tax administration expenses of the Trust Fund incurred with respect to the Grantor Trust Pool (but not including any professional fees or expenses related to audits or any administrative or judicial proceedings with respect to the Trust Fund that involve the IRS or state tax authorities which extraordinary expenses shall be payable or reimbursable to the Tax Administrator from the assets in the Grantor Trust Pool, unless otherwise provided in Section 10.02(e) or 10.02(f)).
(c) The Tax Administrator shall prepare or cause to be prepared, submit to the Trustee for execution (and the Trustee shall timely execute and timely return to the Tax Administrator) and timely file all of the Tax Returns in respect of the Grantor Trust Pool. The expenses of preparing and filing such returns shall be borne by the Tax Administrator without any right of reimbursement therefor. Except as provided in Section 10.02(h), 10.02(i) and 10.02(j), the Tax Administrator shall comply with such requirement by filing IRS Form 1041, indicating the name and address of the Trust and signed by the Tax Administrator but otherwise left blank, IRS Form 1099 or any other such form as may be applicable. There shall be appended to each such form a schedule for each Certificateholder indicating such Certificateholder’s share of income and expenses of the Trust for the portion of the preceding calendar year in which such Certificateholder possessed an Ownership Interest in a Certificate. Such form shall be prepared in sufficient detail to enable reporting on the cash or accrual method of accounting, as applicable, and to report on such Certificateholder’s fiscal year if other than the calendar year.
(d) The other parties hereto shall provide on a timely basis to the Tax Administrator or its designee such information with respect to the Grantor Trust Pool as is in its possession and reasonably requested by the Tax Administrator to enable it to perform its obligations under this Section 10.02. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Depositor, within ten (10) days following the Tax Administrator’s request therefor, shall provide in writing to the Tax Administrator such information as is reasonably requested by the Tax Administrator for tax purposes, and the Tax Administrator’s duty to perform its reporting and other tax compliance obligations under this Section 10.02 shall be subject to the condition that it receives from the Depositor such information possessed by the Depositor that is necessary to permit the Tax Administrator to perform such obligations.
(e) The Tax Administrator shall perform on behalf of the Grantor Trust Pool all reporting and other tax compliance duties that are required in respect thereof under the Code, the Grantor Trust Provisions or other compliance guidance issued by the IRS or any state or local taxing authority, including the furnishing to Certificateholders of the schedules described in Section 10.02(c).
(f) The Tax Administrator shall perform its duties hereunder so as to maintain the status of the Grantor Trust Pool as Grantor Trust under the Grantor Trust Provisions (and the Trustee, the Master Servicers and the Special Servicers shall assist the Tax Administrator to the extent reasonably requested by the Tax Administrator and to the extent of information within the Trustee’s, the Master Servicers’ or the Special Servicers’ possession or control). None of the Tax Administrator, Master Servicers, the Special Servicers or the Trustee shall knowingly take (or cause the Grantor Trust Pool to take) any action or fail to take (or fail to cause to be taken) any action that, under the Grantor Trust Provisions, if taken or not taken, as the case may be, could result in an Adverse Grantor Trust Event, unless the Tax Administrator has obtained or received an Opinion of Counsel (at the expense of the party requesting such action or at the expense of the Trust Fund if the Tax Administrator seeks to take such action or to refrain from taking any action for the benefit of the Certificateholders) to the effect that the contemplated action will not result in an Adverse Grantor Trust Event. None of the other parties hereto shall take any action or fail to take any action (whether or not authorized hereunder) as to which the Tax Administrator has advised it in writing that the Tax Administrator has received or obtained an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that an Adverse Grantor Trust Event could result from such action or failure to act. In addition, prior to taking any action with respect to the Grantor Trust Pool, or causing the Trust Fund to take any action, that is not expressly permitted under the terms of this Agreement, the Master Servicers and the Special Servicers shall consult with the Tax Administrator or its designee, in writing, with respect to whether such action could cause an Adverse Grantor Trust Event to occur. The Tax Administrator may consult with counsel to make such written advice, and the cost of same shall be borne by the party seeking to take the action not permitted by this Agreement, but in no event at the cost or expense of the Trust Fund, the Tax Administrator or the Trustee.
(g) If any tax is imposed on the Grantor Trust Pool pursuant to the Code or any applicable provisions of state or local tax laws, then such tax, together with all incidental costs and expenses (including penalties and reasonable attorneys’ fees), shall be charged to and paid by: (i) the Trustee, if such tax arises out of or results from a breach of any of its obligations under Article IV, Article VIII or this Section 10.02 (which breach constitutes negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct); (ii) the Certificate Administrator, if such tax arises out of or results from a breach by the Certificate Administrator of any of its obligations under Article IV, Article VIII or this Section 10.02 (which breach constitutes negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct); (iii) the Tax Administrator, if such tax arises out of or results from a breach by the Tax Administrator of any of its obligations under Article IV, Article VIII or this Section 10.02 (which breach constitutes negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct); (iv) a Master Servicer, if such tax arises out of or results from a breach by such Master Servicer of any of its obligations under Article III or this Section 10.02 (which breach constitutes negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct); (v) a Special Servicer, if such tax arises out of or results from a breach by such Special Servicer of any of its obligations under Article III or this Section 10.02 (which breach constitutes negligence, bad faith or willful misconduct); or (vi) the Trust, out of the Trust Fund, in all other instances. Any such amounts payable by the Trust in respect of taxes shall be paid by the Trustee out of amounts on deposit in the Distribution Account.
(h) The Grantor Trust is a WHFIT that is a WHMT. The Tax Administrator will report as required under the WHFIT Regulations to the extent such information as is reasonably necessary to enable the Tax Administrator to do so is provided to the Tax Administrator on a timely basis. The Certificate Administrator shall provide such information in its possession to the Tax Administrator on a timely basis. With respect to the Class A-S, Class B, Class C and Class PEX Certificates, the Tax Administrator is hereby directed to assume that DTC is the only “middleman” as defined by the WHFIT Regulations unless the Depositor provides the Tax Administrator with the identities of other “middlemen” that are Certificateholders. The Tax Administrator will report as required under the WHFIT Regulations to the extent such information as is reasonably necessary to enable the Tax Administrator to do so, and is not in its possession, is provided to the Tax Administrator on a timely basis. The Tax Administrator will not be liable for any tax reporting penalties that may arise under the WHFIT Regulations as a result of a determination by the IRS that is contrary to the first sentence of this paragraph.
(i) The Tax Administrator, in its discretion, will report required WHFIT information using either the cash or accrual method, except to the extent the WHFIT Regulations specifically require a different method. The Tax Administrator will be under no obligation to determine whether any Certificateholder uses the cash or accrual method. The Tax Administrator will make available WHFIT information to Certificateholders annually. In addition, the Tax Administrator will not be responsible or liable for providing subsequently amended, revised or updated information to any Certificateholder, unless requested by the Certificateholder.
(j) The Tax Administrator shall not be liable for failure to meet the reporting requirements of the WHFIT Regulations nor for any penalties thereunder if such failure is due to: (i) the lack of reasonably necessary information being provided to the Tax Administrator or (ii) incomplete, inaccurate or untimely information being provided to the Tax Administrator. Each owner of a class of securities representing, in whole or in part, beneficial ownership of an interest in a WHFIT, by acceptance of its interest in such class of securities, will be deemed to have agreed to provide the Tax Administrator with information regarding any sale of such securities, including the price, amount of proceeds and date of sale. Absent receipt of such information, and unless informed otherwise by the Depositor, the Tax Administrator will assume there is no secondary market trading of WHFIT interests.
(k) To the extent required by the WHFIT Regulations, the Tax Administrator will use reasonable efforts to publish on an appropriate website the CUSIPs for the Certificates that represent ownership of a WHFIT. The CUSIPs so published will represent the Rule 144A CUSIPs. The Tax Administrator will not publish any associated Regulation S CUSIPs. The Tax Administrator will make reasonable good faith efforts to keep the website accurate and updated to the extent CUSIPs have been received. Absent the receipt of a CUSIP, the Tax Administrator will use a reasonable identifier number in lieu of a CUSIP. The Tax Administrator will not be liable for investor reporting delays that result from the receipt of inaccurate or untimely CUSIP information.
Successor Trust Administrator Any successor trust administrator appointed as provided in Section 10.07 hereof shall execute, acknowledge and deliver to the Depositor and to its predecessor trust administrator an instrument accepting such appointment hereunder and thereupon the resignation or removal of the predecessor trust administrator shall become effective and such successor trust administrator, without any further act, deed or conveyance, shall become fully vested with all the rights, powers, duties and obligations of its predecessor hereunder, with the like effect as if originally named as trust administrator herein. The Depositor, upon receipt of all amounts due it hereunder, and the predecessor trust administrator shall execute and deliver such instruments and do such other things as may reasonably be required for more fully and certainly vesting and confirming in the successor trust administrator all such rights, powers, duties, and obligations. No successor trust administrator shall accept appointment as provided in this Section 10.08 unless at the time of such acceptance such successor trust administrator shall be eligible under the provisions of Section 10.06 hereof and its acceptance shall not adversely affect the then current rating of the Certificates. Upon acceptance of appointment by a successor trust administrator as provided in this Section 10.08, the Depositor shall mail notice of the succession of such trust administrator hereunder to all Holders of Certificates at their addresses as shown in the Certificate Register. If the Depositor fails to mail such notice within ten days after acceptance of appointment by the successor trust administrator, the successor trust administrator shall cause such notice to be mailed at the expense of the Depositor.
Contract Administration The Delegate shall cause that the foreign custody arrangements with an Eligible Foreign Custodian shall be governed by a written contract that the Delegate has determined will provide reasonable care for Fund assets based on the standards applicable to custodians in the relevant market. Each such contract shall, except as set forth in the last paragraph of this subsection (b), include provisions that provide:
(i) For indemnification or insurance arrangements (or any combination of the foregoing) such that the Fund will be adequately protected against the risk of loss of assets held in accordance with such contract;
(ii) That the Fund's Assets will not be subject to any right, charge, security interest, lien or claim of any kind in favor of the Eligible Foreign Custodian or its creditors except a claim of payment for their safe custody or administration or, in the case of cash deposits, liens or rights in favor of creditors of such Custodian arising under bankruptcy, insolvency or similar laws;
(iii) That beneficial ownership of the Fund's Assets will be freely transferable without the payment of money or value other than for safe custody or administration;
(iv) That adequate records will be maintained identifying the Fund's Assets as belonging to the Fund or as being held by a third party for the benefit of the Fund;
(v) That the Fund's independent public accountants will be given access to those records described in (iv) above or confirmation of the contents of such records; and
(vi) That the Delegate will receive sufficient and timely periodic reports with respect to the safekeeping of the Fund's Assets, including, but not limited to, notification of any transfer to or from the Fund's account or a third party account containing the Fund's Assets. Such contract may contain, in lieu of any or all of the provisions specified in this Section 3(b), such other provisions that the Delegate determines will provide, in their entirety, the same or a greater level of care and protection for the Fund's Assets as the specified provisions, in their entirety.
CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION & NOTICES Except for legal notices, the parties hereby designate the following contract administrators as the respective single points of contact for purposes of this Master Contract. Enterprise Services’ contract administrator shall provide Master Contract oversight. Contractor’s contract administrator shall be Contractor’s principal contact for business activities under this Master Contract. The parties may change contractor administrators by written notice as set forth below. Any notices required or desired shall be in writing and sent by U.S. mail, postage prepaid, or sent via email, and shall be sent to the respective addressee at the respective address or email address set forth below or to such other address or email address as the parties may specify in writing:
Special Services Should the Trust have occasion to request the Adviser to perform services not herein contemplated or to request the Adviser to arrange for the services of others, the Adviser will act for the Trust on behalf of the Fund upon request to the best of its ability, with compensation for the Adviser's services to be agreed upon with respect to each such occasion as it arises.
Custodial Services The charges and expenses of the custodian appointed by the Trust for custodial services;
Administrative Services Agreement The Administrative Services Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.
