Trustees, Shareholders, etc. Not Personally Liable; Notice All persons extending credit to, contracting with or having any claim against the Trust or a particular series or class of Shares shall look only to the assets of the Trust or the assets of that particular series or class of Shares for payment under such credit, contract or claim; and neither the Shareholders nor the Trustees, nor any of the Trust’s officers, employees or agents, whether past, present or future, shall be personally liable therefor. Nothing in this Declaration shall protect any Trustee against any liability to which such Trustee would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of the office of Trustee. Every note, bond, contract, instrument, certificate or undertaking made or issued by the Trustees or by any officer or officers shall give notice that this Declaration is on file with the Secretary of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and shall recite that the same was executed or made by or on behalf of the Trust or by them as Trustee or Trustees or as officer or officers and not individually and that the obligations of such instrument are not binding upon any of them or the Shareholders individually but are binding only upon the assets and property of the Trust, and may contain such further recital as he or she or they may deem appropriate, but the omission thereof shall not operate to bind any Trustee or Trustees or officer or officers or Shareholder or Shareholders individually.
Acquiring Person As of the Signing Date, neither the Investor nor any of its Affiliates beneficially owns, and immediately prior to the Closing, neither the Investor nor any of its Affiliates will beneficially own (in each case, as determined pursuant to Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act without regard for the number of days in which a Person has the right to acquire such beneficial ownership, and without regard to Investor’s rights under this Agreement), any securities of the Company, except for securities that may be beneficially owned by employee benefit plans of either the Investor or any of its Affiliates.
Incorporators, Stockholders, Officers and Directors of Company Exempt from Individual Liability No recourse under or upon any obligation, covenant or agreement contained in this Indenture or any indenture supplemental hereto, or in any Security or any coupons appertaining thereto, or because of any indebtedness evidenced thereby, shall be had against any incorporator, as such or against any past, present or future stockholder, officer, director or employee, as such, of the Company or of any successor, either directly or through the Company or any successor, under any rule of law, statute or constitutional provision or by the enforcement of any assessment or by any legal or equitable proceeding or otherwise, all such liability being expressly waived and released by the acceptance of the Securities and the coupons appertaining thereto by the holders thereof and as part of the consideration for the issue of the Securities and the coupons appertaining thereto.
Person The term “Person” shall mean any individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, trust, joint stock company, business trust, unincorporated association, joint venture, governmental authority or other entity of any nature whatsoever.
Sub-Adviser Services Subject always to the supervision of the Fund’s Board of Trustees (“Board of Trustees” or “Trustees”) and Adviser, Sub-Adviser will furnish an investment program in respect of, and make investment decisions for, such portion of the assets of each Fund Portfolio as Adviser shall from time to time designate (each a “Portfolio Segment”) and place all orders for the purchase and sale of securities on behalf of each Portfolio Segment. In the performance of its duties, Sub-Adviser will satisfy its fiduciary duties to the Fund and each Fund Portfolio and will monitor a Portfolio Segment’s investments, and will comply with the provisions of the Fund’s Declaration of Trust and By-laws, as amended from time to time, and the stated investment objectives, policies and restrictions of each Fund Portfolio as set forth in the prospectus and Statement of Additional Information for each Fund Portfolio, as amended from time to time, as well as any other objectives, policies or limitations as may be provided by Adviser to Sub-Adviser in writing from time to time. Sub-Adviser will provide reports at least quarterly to the Board of Trustees and to Adviser. Sub-Adviser will make its officers and employees available to Adviser and the Board of Trustees from time to time at reasonable times to review investment policies of each Fund Portfolio with respect to each Portfolio Segment and to consult with Adviser regarding the investment affairs of each Portfolio Segment. Sub-Adviser agrees that it:
(a) will conform with all applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission in all material respects and in addition will conduct its activities under this Agreement in accordance with any applicable laws and regulations of any governmental authority pertaining to its investment advisory activities, including all portfolio diversification requirements necessary for each Portfolio Segment to comply with subchapter M and Section 817(h) of the Internal Revenue Code as if each were a regulated investment company thereunder;
(b) to the extent authorized by Adviser in writing, and to the extent permitted by law, will execute purchases and sales of portfolio securities and other investments for each Portfolio Segment through brokers or dealers designated by management of the Fund to Adviser for the purpose of providing direct benefits to the Fund, provided that Sub-Adviser determines that such brokers or dealers will provide best execution in view of all appropriate factors, and is hereby authorized as the agent of the Fund to give instructions to the Fund’s custodian as to deliveries of securities or other investments and payments of cash of each Portfolio Segment to such brokers or dealers for the account of the relevant Fund Portfolio. Adviser and the Fund understand that the brokerage commissions or transaction costs in such transactions may be higher than those which the Sub-Adviser could obtain from another broker or dealer, in order to obtain such benefits for the Fund.
(c) is authorized to and will select all other brokers or dealers that will execute the purchases and sales of portfolio securities for each Portfolio Segment and is hereby authorized as the agent of the Fund to give instructions to the Fund’s custodian as to deliveries of securities or other investments and payments of cash of each Portfolio Segment for the account of each Fund Portfolio. In making such selection, Sub-Adviser is directed endeavor to use its best efforts to obtain best execution, which includes most favorable net results and execution of a Portfolio Segment’s orders, taking into account all appropriate factors, including price, dealer spread or commission, size and difficulty of the transaction and research or other services provided. With respect to transactions under sub-paragraph (c) or this sub-paragraph (d), it is understood that Sub-Adviser will not be deemed to have acted unlawfully, or to have breached a fiduciary duty to the Fund or in respect of any Fund Portfolio, or be in breach of any obligation owing to the Fund or in respect of any Fund Portfolio under this Agreement, or otherwise, solely by reason of its having caused a Fund Portfolio to pay a member of a securities exchange, a broker or a dealer a commission for effecting a securities transaction of a Fund Portfolio in excess of the amount of commission another member of an exchange, broker or dealer would have charged if Sub-Adviser determined in good faith that the commission paid was reasonable in relation to the brokerage and research services provided by such member, broker, or dealer, viewed in terms of that particular transaction or Sub-Adviser’s overall responsibilities with respect to its accounts, including the Fund, as to which it exercises investment discretion;
(d) is authorized to consider for investment by each Portfolio Segment securities that may also be appropriate for other funds and/or clients served by Sub-Adviser. To assure fair treatment of each Portfolio Segment and all other clients of Sub-Adviser in situations in which two or more clients’ accounts participate simultaneously in a buy or sell program involving the same security, such transactions will be allocated among each Portfolio Segment and other clients in a manner deemed equitable by Sub-Adviser. Sub-Adviser is authorized to aggregate purchase and sale orders for securities held (or to be held) in each Portfolio Segment with similar orders being made on the same day for other client accounts or portfolios managed by Sub-Adviser. When an order is so aggregated, the actual prices applicable to the aggregated transaction will be averaged and each Portfolio Segment and each other account or portfolio participating in the aggregated transaction will be treated as having purchased or sold its portion of the securities at such average price, and all transaction costs incurred in effecting the aggregated transaction will be shared on a pro-rata basis among the accounts or portfolios (including each Portfolio Segment) participating in the transaction. Adviser and the Fund understand that Sub-Adviser may not be able to aggregate transactions through brokers or dealers designated by Adviser with transactions through brokers or dealers selected by Sub-Adviser, in which event the prices paid or received by each Portfolio Segment will not be so averaged and may be higher or lower than those paid or received by other accounts or portfolios of Sub-Adviser.;
(e) will report regularly to Adviser and to the Board of Trustees and will make appropriate persons available for the purpose of reviewing with representatives of Adviser and the Board of Trustees on a regular basis at reasonable times the management of each Portfolio Segment, including without limitation, review of the general investment strategies of each Portfolio Segment, the performance of each Portfolio Segment in relation to standard industry indices, interest rate considerations and general conditions affecting the marketplace, and will provide various other reports from time to time as reasonably requested by Adviser;
(f) will be required to provide portfolio reports to the Adviser and the Fund’s Board of Trustees on a quarterly basis including but not limited to the following data items: market review and outlook, portfolio specific commentary, portfolio composition data, portfolio allocation, portfolio performance versus the index, portfolio characteristic data (ie, price/earnings price/book, dividend yield), sector allocation, sector performance, audited portfolio holdings and portfolio purchases and sales.
(g) will vote all proxies with respect to securities in each Portfolio Segment in accordance with the policies, procedures and guidelines Sub-Adviser may establish from time to time, without any required consultation with Adviser or the Fund’s Board of Trustees and without any required notice to Adviser or the Fund’s Board of Trustees in advance of or subsequent to any action taken with respect to the voting of proxies. Sub-adviser will not take any action or render any advice with respect to any assets held in the Fund Portfolios that are named in or subject to any legal action, including a class action; and
(h) will act upon reasonable instructions from Adviser which, in the reasonable determination of Sub-Adviser, are not inconsistent with Sub-Adviser’s fiduciary duties under this Agreement.
Qualified Independent Underwriter 7.1. QIU represents that it is qualified to act as a “qualified independent underwriter” within the meaning of Rule 5121 of the Conduct Rules of FINRA. The Company hereby confirms that, at its request, QIU has acted as a “qualified independent underwriter” within the meaning of Rule 5121 of the Conduct Rules of FINRA in connection with the offering of the Public Securities.
7.2. The Company shall pay QIU a fee of $25,000 in consideration for its services and expenses as a “qualified independent underwriter”. QIU will receive no other compensation in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
7.3. The Company will indemnify and hold harmless QIU, its directors, officers, employees and agents and each person, if any, who controls QIU within the meaning of Section 15 of the Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which QIU may become subject, under the Act, the Exchange Act, other federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon QIU’s acting (or alleged failing to act) as such “qualified independent underwriter” and will reimburse QIU for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by QIU in connection with investigating or defending any such loss, claim, damage, liability or action as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company shall not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, claim, damage, liability or expense results from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of QIU. If indemnification pursuant to this Section 7.3 is unavailable to hold harmless QIU for any reason, the Company and QIU agree to contribution in accordance with Section 5.4 above, with the rights and duties of the Underwriters given to QIU. The relative benefits received by QIU with respect to the offering contemplated by this Agreement shall, for purposes of Section 5.4, be deemed to be equal to the fees received by QIU. In addition, notwithstanding the provisions of Section 5.4, QIU shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the fees received by QIU in connection with the offering contemplated by this Agreement.
Acting Jointly or in Concert For purposes of this Agreement, a Person is acting jointly or in concert with another Person if such Person has any agreement, arrangement or understanding (whether formal or informal and whether or not in writing) with such other Person to acquire, or Offer to Acquire, any Common Shares of the Corporation (other than (A) customary agreements with and between underwriters and banking group or selling group members with respect to a distribution of securities by way of prospectus or private placement, or (B) pursuant to a pledge of securities in the ordinary course of business).
Shareholder Communications Election SEC Rule 14b-2 requires banks which hold securities for the account of customers to respond to requests by issuers of securities for the names, addresses and holdings of beneficial owners of securities of that issuer held by the bank unless the beneficial owner has expressly objected to disclosure of this information. In order to comply with the rule, the Custodian needs the Fund to indicate whether it authorizes the Custodian to provide the Fund’s name, address, and share position to requesting companies whose securities the Fund owns. If the Fund tells the Custodian “no”, the Custodian will not provide this information to requesting companies. If the Fund tells the Custodian “yes” or does not check either “yes” or “no” below, the Custodian is required by the rule to treat the Fund as consenting to disclosure of this information for all securities owned by the Fund or any funds or accounts established by the Fund. For the Fund’s protection, the Rule prohibits the requesting company from using the Fund’s name and address for any purpose other than corporate communications. Please indicate below whether the Fund consents or objects by checking one of the alternatives below. YES [ ] The Custodian is authorized to release the Fund’s name, address, and share positions. NO [X] The Custodian is not authorized to release the Fund’s name, address, and share positions.
Interested Person 2 (l) Investment Adviser.............................................. 2 (m) Series.......................................................... 2
Interested Stockholder None of Parent, Merger Sub or any of their respective “affiliates” or “associates” is, as of the date hereof, or has been within the last three years, an “interested stockholder” of the Company as defined in Section 203 of the DGCL.