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Exhibit (h)(1)
ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT
THIS ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT is made as of this 6th day of July, 1999,
by and between The Parkstone Advantage Fund, a Massachusetts business trust,
(the "Trust"), and SEI Investments Mutual Funds Services (the "Administrator"),
a Delaware business trust.
WHEREAS, the Trust is an open-end diversified management investment
company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the
"1940 Act"), consisting of several series of shares of Common Stock; and
WHEREAS, the Trust desires the Administrator to provide, and the
Administrator is willing to provide, management and administrative services to
such portfolios of the Trust as the Trust and the Administrator may agree on
("Portfolios") and as listed on the schedules attached hereto ("Schedules") and
made a part of this Agreement, on the terms and conditions hereinafter set
forth;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants
hereinafter contained, the Trust and the Administrator hereby agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1. 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.
ARTICLE 2. ADMINISTRATIVE AND ACCOUNTING SERVICES. The Administrator
shall perform or supervise the performance by others of other administrative
services in connection with the operations of the Portfolios, and, on behalf of
the Trust, will investigate, assist in the selection of and conduct relations
with custodians, depositories, accountants, legal counsel, underwriters, brokers
and dealers, corporate fiduciaries, insurers, banks and persons in any other
capacity deemed to be necessary or desirable for the Portfolios' operations. All
services provided hereunder shall be in conformity with the Declaration of
trust, Bylaws, resolutions and other instructions of the Board of trustees and
the current prospectuses and statements of additional information of the
Portfolios. The Administrator agrees to furnish the services set forth herein in
return for the compensation provided in Article 4 of this Agreement. The
determination of compliance with the requisite service level standards shall be
the responsibility of the Board of Trustees of the Trust. The Administrator
shall provide the Trustees of the Trust with such reports regarding investment
performance and compliance with investment policies and applicable laws, rules
and regulations as they may reasonably request but shall have no responsibility
for supervising
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the performance by any investment adviser or sub-adviser of its
responsibilities, except with respect to the Portfolios' compliance with
investment objective and policies.
The Administrator shall provide the Trust with administrative services,
regulatory reporting, fund accounting and related portfolio accounting services
as set forth on Schedule II of this Agreement, all necessary office space,
equipment, personnel, compensation and facilities (including facilities for
Shareholders' and Trustees' meetings) for handling the affairs of the Portfolios
and such other services as the Trustees may, from time to time, reasonably
request and the Administrator shall, from time to time, reasonably determine to
be necessary to perform its obligations under this Agreement. In addition, at
the request of the Trust's Board of Trustees (the "Trustees"), the Administrator
shall make reports to the Trustees concerning the performance of its obligations
hereunder.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrator shall:
(A) calculate contractual Trust expenses and control all disbursements for
the Trust, and as appropriate compute the Trust's yields, total
return, expense ratios, portfolio turnover rate and, if required,
portfolio average dollar-weighed maturity;
(B) assist Trust counsel with the preparation of prospectuses, statements
of additional information, registration statements, and proxy
materials;
(C) 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 Trust's shares to enable the
Trust to make a continuous offering of its shares;
(D) develop and prepare communications to shareholders, including the
annual report to shareholders, coordinate mailing prospectuses,
notices, proxy statements, proxies and other reports to Trust
shareholders, and supervise and facilitate the solicitation of proxies
solicited by the Trust for all shareholder meetings, including
tabulation process for shareholder meetings;
(E) coordinate with Trust counsel the preparation of, and administer
contracts on behalf of the Trust with, among others, the Trust's
investment adviser, distributor, custodian, and transfer agent;
(F) maintain the Trust's general ledger and prepare the Trust's financial
statements, including expense accruals and payments, determine the net
asset value of the Trust's assets and of the Trust's shares, and
supervise the Trust's transfer agent with respect to the payment of
dividends and other distributions to shareholders;
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(G) calculate performance data of the Trust and its portfolios for
dissemination to information services covering the investment company
industry;
(H) coordinate and supervise the preparation and filing of the Trust's tax
returns;
(I) At the request of the Trustees, examine and review the operations and
performance of the various organizations providing services to the
Trust or any Portfolio of the Trust, and report to the Trustees;
(J) assist with the layout and printing of publicly disseminated
prospectuses and assist with and coordinate layout and printing of the
Trust's semi-annual and annual reports to shareholders;
(K) provide internal legal and administrative services as requested by the
Trust from time to time;
(L) assist with the design, development, and operation of the Trust,
including new portfolio and class investment objectives, policies and
structure;
(M) provide individuals acceptable to the Trustees for nomination,
appointment, or election as officers of the Trust, who will be
responsible for the management of certain of the Trust's affairs as
determined by the Trustees;
(N) advise the Trust and its Trustees on matters concerning the Trust and
its affairs;
(O) obtain and keep in effect fidelity bonds and directors and
officers/errors and omissions insurance policies for the Trust in
accordance with the requirements of Rules 17g-1 and 17d-1(7) under the
1940 Act as such bonds and policies are approved by the Trust's Board
of Trustees;
(P) monitor and advise the Trust and its Portfolios on their registered
investment company status under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended;
(Q) perform all administrative services and functions of the Trust and
each Portfolio to the extent administrative services and functions are
not provided to the Trust or such Portfolio pursuant to the Trust's or
such Portfolio's investment advisory agreement, distribution
agreement, custodian agreement and transfer agent agreement;
(R) furnish advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of
the business and affairs of the Portfolios as the Trust and the
Administrator shall determine desirable; and
(S) prepare and file with the SEC the semi-annual report for the Trust on
Form N-SAR and all required notices pursuant to Rule 24f-2.
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Also, the Administrator will perform other services for the Trust as agreed from
time to time, including, but not limited to performing internal audit
examinations; mailing the annual reports of the Portfolios; preparing an annual
list of shareholders; and mailing notices of shareholders' meetings, proxies and
proxy statements, for all of which the Trust will pay the Administrator's or
out-of-pocket expenses.
In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act,
the Administrator agrees that all records which it maintains for the Trust are
the property of the Trust and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Trust
any of such records upon the Trust's request.
In the event that the Administrator cannot perform the services
required by this Agreement, SEI, the parent of the Administrator shall succeed
to the rights, duties, obligations and liabilities of the Administrator
hereunder, and may without limitation and whenever it deems necessary or
appropriate, subcontract, delegate or assign its rights, duties, obligations and
liabilities hereunder to subsidiaries or affiliates of the Administrator
following notice to the Trust. Such actions shall discharge the Administrator or
SEI from its obligations hereunder.
ARTICLE 3. ALLOCATION OF CHARGES AND EXPENSES.
(A) 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.
(B) THE TRUST. The Trust assumes and shall pay or cause to be paid all
other expenses of the Trust not otherwise allocated herein, including, without
limitation, organizational costs, taxes, expenses for legal and auditing
services, the expenses of preparing (including typesetting), printing and
mailing reports, prospectuses, statements of additional information, proxy
solicitation material and notices to existing Shareholders, all expenses
incurred in connection with issuing and redeeming Shares, the costs of pricing
services, the costs of custodial services, the cost of initial and ongoing
registration of the Shares under Federal and state securities laws, fees and
out-of-pocket expenses of Trustees who are not affiliated persons of the
Administrator or the investment adviser to the Trust or any affiliated
corporation of the Administrator or the investment Adviser, the costs of
Trustees' meetings, insurance, interest, brokerage costs, litigation and other
extraordinary or nonrecurring expenses, and all fees and charges of investment
advisers to the Trust.
ARTICLE 4. COMPENSATION OF THE ADMINISTRATOR.
(A) ADMINISTRATION FEE. For the services to be rendered, the facilities
furnished and the expenses assumed by the Administrator pursuant to this
Agreement, the Trust shall
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pay to the Administrator compensation at an annual rate specified in the
Schedule. Such compensation shall be calculated and accrued daily, and paid to
the Administrator monthly. The Trust shall also reimburse the Administrator for
its reasonable out-of-pocket expenses.
If this Agreement becomes effective subsequent to the first day of a
month or terminates before the last day of a month, the Administrator's
compensation for that part of the month in which this Agreement is in effect
shall be prorated in a manner consistent with the calculation of the fees as set
forth above. Payment of the Administrator's compensation for the preceding month
shall be made promptly.
(B) COMPENSATION FROM TRANSACTIONS. The Trust hereby authorizes any
entity or person associated with the Administrator which is a member of a
national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the
account of the Trust which is permitted by Section 11 (a) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Trust hereby
consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance
with Rule 11a2-2(T) (a) (2) (iv).
(C) SURVIVAL OF COMPENSATION RATES. All rights of compensation under
this Agreement for services performed as of the termination date shall survive
the termination of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 5. 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 investment or for 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. (As used in this Article 5, the term
"Administrator" shall include directors, officers, employees and other agents of
the Administrator as well as that corporation itself.)
So long as the Administrator, or its agents, acts in good faith and
with due diligence the Trust assumes full responsibility and shall indemnify the
Administrator and hold it 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 from any action which the Administrator takes or
does not take (i) at the request, on the direction of or in reliance on the
advice of the Trust pursuant to this agreement or (ii) upon oral or written
instructions. The indemnity provision set forth herein shall survive the
termination of this Agreement.
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
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Administrator shall not be liable or accountable for any action taken or omitted
by it in good faith in accordance with the written opinion of such counsel,
accountants or other experts.
Also, 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. Nor shall the Administrator be held to have
notice of any change of authority of any officers, employee or agent of the
Trust until receipt of written notice thereof from the Trust.
ARTICLE 6. ACTIVITIES OF THE ADMINISTRATOR. The services of the
Administrator rendered to the Trust are not to be deemed to be exclusive. The
Administrator is free to render such services to others and to have other
businesses and interests. It is understood that Trustees, officers, employees
and Shareholders of the Trust are or may be or become interested in the
Administrator, as directors, officers, employees and shareholders or otherwise
and that directors, officers, employees and shareholders of the Administrator
and its counsel are or may be or become similarly interested in the Trust, and
that the Administrator may be or become interested in the Trust as a Shareholder
or otherwise.
ARTICLE 7. CONFIDENTIALITY. The Administrator agrees on behalf of
itself and its employees to treat confidentially all records and other
information relative to the Trust and its prior, present or potential
Shareholders and relative to the Adviser and its prior, present or potential
customers, except, after prior notification to and approval in writing by the
Trust, which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld and may not be withheld
where the Administrator may be exposed to civil or criminal contempt proceedings
for failure to comply, when requested to divulge such information by duly
constituted authorities, or when so requested by the Trust.
ARTICLE 8. EQUIPMENT FAILURES. In the event of equipment failures
beyond the Administrator's control, the Administrator shall, at no additional
expense to the Trust, take reasonable steps to minimize service interruptions
but shall have no liability with respect thereto. The Administrator shall
develop and maintain a plan for recovery from equipment failures which may
include contractual arrangements with appropriate parties making reasonable
provision for emergency use of electronic data processing equipment to the
extent appropriate equipment is available.
ARTICLE 9. YEAR 2000 COMPLIANT. The Administrator warrants that all
software code owned by or under the Administrator's control, used in the
performance of the Administrator's obligations under this contract, will be Year
2000 compliant. For purposes of this paragraph, "Year 2000 Compliant" means that
the software will continue to operate beyond December 31, 1999 without creating
any logical or mathematical inconsistencies concerning any date after December
31, 1999 and without decreasing the functionality of the system applicable to
dates prior to January 1, 2000 including, but not limited to, making changes to
[a] date and data century recognition; [b] calculations which accommodate same-
and multi-century formulas and date values; and [c] input/output of date values
which reflect century dates. All changes described in this paragraph will be
made at no additional cost to the Trust.
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ARTICLE 10. COMPLIANCE WITH GOVERNMENTAL RULES AND REGULATIONS. The
Administrator undertakes to comply with all applicable requirements of the 1933
Act, the 1934 Act, the 1940 Act and any laws, rules and regulations of
governmental authorities having jurisdiction with respect to the duties to be
performed by the Administrator hereunder.
ARTICLE 11. DURATION AND TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT. This Agreement
shall become effective on the date set forth above in the Schedules and shall
remain in effect until May 1, 2002 (the "Initial Term"). This Agreement may be
renewed for subsequent terms upon the agreement of the parties (each, a "Renewal
Term"), unless terminated in accordance with the provisions of this Article 11.
This Agreement may be terminated only: (a) by the mutual written agreement of
the parties; (b) by either party hereto on 90 days' written notice, as of the
end of the Initial Term or the end of any Renewal Term; (c) by either party
hereto on such date as is specified in written notice given by the terminating
party, in the event of a material breach of this Agreement by the other party,
provided the terminating party has notified the other party of such breach at
least 45 days prior to the specified date of termination and the breaching party
has not remedied such breach by the specified date; (d) effective upon the
liquidation of the Administrator; or (e) as to any Portfolio or the Trust,
effective upon the liquidation of such Portfolio or the Trust, as the case may
be. For purposes of this Article 11, the term "liquidation" shall mean a
transaction in which the assets of the Administrator, the Trust or a Portfolio
are sold or otherwise disposed of and proceeds therefrom are distributed in cash
to the shareholders in complete liquidation of the interests of such
shareholders in the entity.
This Agreement shall not be assignable by the Administrator, without
the prior written consent of the Trust, except to an entity that is controlled
by, or under common control, with, the Administrator.
Upon termination of this Agreement, the Administrator shall use its
best efforts to assist in the transfer of its responsibilities hereunder to any
successor administrator without additional compensation (it being understood
that they would be reimbursed for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses).
ARTICLE 12. AMENDMENTS. This Agreement or any part hereof may be
changed or waived only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against
which enforcement of such change or waiver is sought.
ARTICLE 13. CERTAIN RECORDS. The Administrator shall maintain customary
records in connection with its duties as specified in this Agreement. Any
records required to be maintained and preserved pursuant to Rules 31a-1 and
31a-2 under the 1940 Act which are prepared or maintained by the Administrator
on behalf of the Trust shall be prepared and maintained at the expense of the
Administrator, but shall be the property of the Trust and will be made available
to or surrendered promptly to the Trust on request.
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In case of any request or demand for the inspection of such records by
another party, the Administrator shall notify the Trust and follow the Trust's
instructions as to permitting or refusing such inspection; provided that the
Administrator may exhibit such records to any person in any case where it is
advised by its counsel that it may be held liable for failure to do so, unless
(in cases involving potential exposure only to civil liability) the Trust has
agreed to indemnify the Administrator against such liability.
ARTICLE 14. DEFINITIONS OF CERTAIN TERMS. The terms "interested person"
and "affiliated person," when used in this Agreement, shall have the respective
meanings specified in the 1940 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder,
subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
ARTICLE 15. NOTICE. Any notice required or permitted to be given by
either party to the other shall be deemed sufficient if sent by registered or
certified mail, postage prepaid, addressed by the party giving notice to the
other party at the last address furnished by the other party to the party giving
notice: if to the Trust, at National City Bank, 0000 Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx,
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxx 00000, with a copy to:
W. Xxxxx XxXxxxxx, III, Esquire
Drinker Xxxxxx & Xxxxx, LLP
0000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxx 00000;
and if to the Administrator at 0 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxx, Xxxx,
Xxxxxxxxxxxx, 00000.
ARTICLE 16. GOVERNING LAW. This Agreement shall be construed in
accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the applicable
provisions of the 1940 Act. To the extent that the applicable laws of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with
the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the latter shall control.
ARTICLE 17. MULTIPLE ORIGINALS. This Agreement may be executed in two
or more counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an
original, but such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same
instrument.
ARTICLE 18. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. The Administrator is hereby
expressly put on notice of the limitation of liability as set forth in Article
XI of the Trust's Declaration of Trust and agrees that the obligations pursuant
to this Agreement of a particular Portfolio and of the Trust with respect to
that Portfolio shall be limited solely to the assets of that Portfolio, and the
Administrator shall not seek satisfaction of any such obligation from any other
Portfolio, the shareholders of any Portfolio, the Trustees, officers, employees
or agents of the Trust, or any of them.
ARTICLE 19. BINDING AGREEMENT. This Agreement, and the rights and
obligations of the parties and the Portfolios hereunder, shall be binding on,
and inure to the benefit of, the parties and the Portfolios and the respective
successors and assigns of each of them.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed and delivered this
Agreement as of the day and year first above written.
The Parkstone Advantage Fund
By: /s/Xxxx Xxxxxxx
SEI Investments Mutual Fund Services
By: /s/Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
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SCHEDULE
TO THE ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT
DATED JULY 6, 1999
BETWEEN
THE PARKSTONE ADVANTAGE FUND (THE "TRUST")
AND
SEI INVESTMENTS MUTUAL FUND SERVICES
Portfolios: This Agreement shall apply to all Portfolios of the Trust as
set forth below (collectively, the "Portfolios").
The following is a listing of the portfolios of the Trust:
SMALL CAPITALIZATION FUND, MID CAPITALIZATION FUND, BOND FUND,
INTERNATIONAL DISCOVERY FUND, ARMADA ADVANTAGE EQUITY GROWTH
FUND, AND ARMADA ADVANTAGE BALANCED ALLOCATION FUND.
Fees: Pursuant to Article 4, Section A of the Administration
Agreement, the Trust shall pay the Administrator
compensation for services rendered to the Portfolios at an
annual rate of .20% of the Portfolio's average daily net
assets, which is calculated daily and paid monthly, prior to
January 1, 2000; thereafter, the Trust shall pay the
Administrator the greater of an annual rate of .20% of the
Portfolio's average daily net assets, calculated daily and
paid monthly, or $135,000 on aggregate net assets in the
Trust.
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SCHEDULE II
ACCOUNTING SERVICES
The Administrator will perform the following accounting functions:
(i) Journalize each Portfolio's investment, capital share and
income and expense activities;
(ii) Receive duplicate investment buy/sell trade tickets and
receivable trades with the Fund's custodian;
(iii) Maintain individual ledgers for investment securities;
(iv) Maintain historical tax lots for each security;
(v) Reconcile cash and investment balances of each Portfolio
with the custodian, and prepare the beginning cash balance
available for investment purposes;
(vi) Update the cash availability throughout the day as
required;
(vii) Post to and prepare each Portfolio's statement of Assets
and Liabilities and the Statement of Operations;
(viii) Calculate various contractual expenses (e.g., advisory and
custody fees);
(ix) Monitor the expense accruals and notify Fund management of
any proposed adjustments;
(x) Control all disbursements from each Portfolio and authorize
such disbursements upon Written Instruction;
(xi) Calculate capital gains and losses;
(xii) Determine each Portfolio's net income;
(xiii) Obtain security market quotes from independent pricing
services approved by the Fund, or if such quotes are
unavailable, then obtain such prices from the management of
the Fund, and in either case calculate the market value of
each Portfolio's investment's;
(xiv) Transit or mail a copy of the daily portfolio valuation to
each Portfolio's investment advisor;
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(xv) Compute the net asset value of each Portfolio;
(xvi) As appropriate, compute the yields, total return, expense
ratios, portfolio turnover rate, and, if required,
portfolio average dollar- weighted maturity; and
(xvii) Prepare a monthly financial statement, which will include
the following items:
Schedule of Investments Statement of
Assets and Liabilities Statement of
Operations Statement of Change in Net
Assets Cash Statement Schedule of
Capital Gains and Loses.
