Exhibit (e)(4)
XXXXXX XXXXXX FUNDS I
XXXXXX XXXXXX HIGH INCOME OPPORTUNITIES FUND
FORM OF DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT made this [__]th day of [________] 2004 by and between XXXXXX
XXXXXX FUNDS I, a Massachusetts business trust (the "Trust"), on behalf of
XXXXXX XXXXXX HIGH INCOME OPPORTUNITIES FUND (the "Series"), CDC IXIS ASSET
MANAGEMENT DISTRIBUTORS, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (the
"Distributor"), and for purposes of Section 5 of this Agreement, XXXXXX, XXXXXX
& COMPANY, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership ("Xxxxxx Xxxxxx").
W I T N E S S E T H:
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and covenants
hereinafter contained, the Trust and the Distributor agree as follows:
1. Distributor. The Trust hereby appoints the Distributor as general
distributor of shares of beneficial interest of the Series ("Series
shares") during the term of this Agreement. The Trust reserves the
right, however, to refuse at any time or times to sell Series shares
hereunder for any reason deemed adequate by the Board of Trustees of the
Trust.
2. Sale and Payment. Under this agreement, the following provisions shall
apply with respect to the sale of and payment for Series shares:
(a) The Distributor shall have the right, as principal, to
purchase Series shares from the Trust at their net asset value
and to sell such shares to the public against orders therefor at
the applicable public offering price, as defined in Section 3
hereof. The Distributor shall also have the right, as principal,
to sell shares to dealers against orders therefor at the public
offering price less a concession determined by the Distributor.
(b) Prior to the time of delivery of any shares by the Trust to,
or on the order of, the Distributor, the Distributor shall pay
or cause to be paid to the Trust or to its order an amount in
Boston or New York clearing house funds equal to the applicable
net asset value of such shares. The Distributor shall retain so
much of any underwriting discount as is not allowed by it as a
concession to dealers.
3. Public Offering Price. The public offering price shall be the net asset
value of Series shares all as set forth in the current prospectus and
statement of additional information ("prospectus") of the Trust relating
to the Series shares. In no event shall the public offering price exceed
1000/935 of such net asset value, and in no event shall any applicable
underwriting discount exceed 6.5% of the public offering price. The net
asset value of Series shares shall be determined in accordance with the
provisions of the
agreement and declaration of trust and by-laws of the Trust and the
current prospectus of the Trust relating to the Series shares.
4. Trust Issuance of Series Shares. The delivery of Series shares shall be
made promptly by a credit to a shareholder's open account for the Series
or by delivery of a share certificate. The Trust reserves the right (a)
to issue Series shares at any time directly to the shareholders of the
Series as a stock dividend or stock split, (b) to issue to such
shareholders shares of the Series, or rights to subscribe to shares of
the Series, as all or part of any dividend that may be distributed to
shareholders of the Series or as all or part of any optional or
alternative dividend that may be distributed to shareholders of the
Series, and (c) to sell Series shares in accordance with the current
applicable prospectus of the Trust relating to the Series shares.
5. Redemption or Repurchase. The Distributor shall act as agent for the
Trust in connection with the redemption or repurchase of Series shares
by the Trust to the extent and upon the terms and conditions set forth
in the current applicable prospectus of the Trust relating to the Series
shares, and Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, and not the Trust or the Series, agrees to
reimburse the Distributor, from time to time upon demand, for any
reasonable expenses incurred in connection with such redemptions or
repurchases.
6. Undertaking Regarding Sales. The Distributor shall use reasonable
efforts to sell Series shares but does not agree hereby to sell any
specific number of Series shares and shall be free to act as distributor
of the shares of other investment companies. Series shares will be sold
by the Distributor only against orders therefor. The Distributor shall
not purchase Series shares from anyone except in accordance with
Sections 2 and 5 and shall not take "long" or "short" positions in
Series shares contrary to the agreement and declaration of trust or
by-laws of the Trust.
7. Compliance. The Distributor shall conform to the Conduct Rules of the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. ("NASD") and the sale
of securities laws of any jurisdiction in which it sells, directly or
indirectly, any Series shares. The Distributor agrees to make timely
filings, with the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C.
(the "SEC"), the NASD and such other regulatory authorities as may be
required, of any sales literature relating to the Series and intended
for distribution to prospective investors. The Distributor also agrees
to furnish to the Trust sufficient copies of any agreements or plans it
intends to use in connection with any sales of Series shares in adequate
time for the Trust to file and clear them with the proper authorities
before they are put in use (which the Trust agrees to use its best
efforts to do as expeditiously as reasonably possible), and not to use
them until so filed and cleared.
8. Registration and Qualification of Series Shares. The Trust agrees to
execute such papers and to do such acts and things as shall from time to
time be reasonably requested by the Distributor for the purpose of
qualifying and maintaining qualification of the Series shares for sale
under the so-called Blue Sky Laws of any state or for maintaining the
registration of the Trust and of the Series shares under the federal
Securities Act of 1933 and the federal Investment Company Act of 1940
(the "1940 Act"), to the end that there will be available for sale from
time to time such number of Series shares as the
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Distributor may reasonably be expected to sell. The Trust shall advise
the Distributor promptly of (a) any action of the SEC or any authorities
of any state or territory, of which it may be advised, affecting
registration or qualification of the Trust or the Series shares, or
rights to offer Series shares for sale, and (b) the happening of any
event which makes untrue any statement or which requires the making of
any change in the Trust's registration statement or its prospectus
relating to the Series shares in order to make the statements therein
not misleading.
9. Distributor Independent Contractor. The Distributor shall be an
independent contractor and neither the Distributor nor any of its
officers or employees as such is or shall be an employee of the Trust.
The Distributor is responsible for its own conduct and the employment,
control and conduct of its agents and employees and for injury to such
agents or employees or to others through its agents or employees. The
Distributor assumes full responsibility for its agents and employees
under applicable statutes and agrees to pay all employer taxes
thereunder.
10. Expenses Paid by Distributor. While the Distributor continues to act as
agent of the Trust to obtain subscriptions for and to sell Series
shares, the Distributor shall pay the following:
(a) all expenses of printing (exclusive of typesetting) and
distributing any prospectus for use in offering Series shares
for sale, and all other copies of any such prospectus used by
the Distributor, and
(b) all other expenses of advertising and of preparing, printing
and distributing all other literature or material for use in
connection with offering Series shares for sale.
11. Interests in and of Distributor. It is understood that any of the
shareholders, trustees, officers, employees and agents of the Trust may
be a shareholder, director, officer, employee or agent of, or be
otherwise interested in, the Distributor, any affiliated person of the
Distributor, any organization in which the Distributor may have an
interest or any organization which may have an interest in the
Distributor; that the Distributor, any such affiliated person or any
such organization may have an interest in the Trust; and that the
existence of any such dual interest shall not affect the validity hereof
or of any transaction hereunder except as otherwise provided in the
agreement and declaration of trust or by-laws of the Trust, in the
limited partnership agreement of the Distributor or by specific
provision of applicable law.
12. Effective Date and Termination. This Agreement shall become effective as
of the date of its execution, and
(a) Unless otherwise terminated, this Agreement shall continue
in effect with respect to the shares of the Series so long as
such continuation is specifically approved at least annually (i)
by the Board of Trustees of the Trust or by the vote of a
majority of the votes which may be cast by shareholders of the
Series and (ii) by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees
of the Trust who are not
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interested persons of the Distributor or the Trust, cast in
person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such
approval.
(b) This Agreement may at any time be terminated on sixty days'
notice to the Distributor either by vote of a majority of the
Trust's Board of Trustees then in office or by the vote of a
majority of the votes which may be cast by shareholders of the
Series.
(c) This Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of
its assignment.
(d) This Agreement may be terminated by the Distributor on
ninety days' written notice to the Trust.
Termination of this Agreement pursuant to this section shall be without payment
of any penalty.
13. Definitions. For purposes of this Agreement, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) The "vote of a majority of the votes which may be cast by
shareholders of the Series" means (1) 67% or more of the votes
of the Series present (in person or by proxy) and entitled to
vote at such meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the
outstanding shares of the Series entitled to vote at such
meeting are present; or (2) the vote of the holders of more than
50% of the outstanding shares of the Series entitled to vote at
such meeting, whichever is less.
(b) The terms "affiliated person," "interested person" and
"assignment" shall have their respective meanings as defined in
the 1940 Act subject, however, to such exemptions as may be
granted by the SEC under the 1940 Act.
14. Amendment. This Agreement may be amended at any time by mutual consent
of the parties, provided that such consent on the part of the Series
shall be approved (i) by the Board of Trustees of the Trust or by vote
of a majority of the votes which may be cast by shareholders of the
Series and (ii) by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees of the
Trust who are not interested persons of the Distributor or the Trust
cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such
approval.
15. Applicable Law and Liabilities. This Agreement shall be governed by and
construed in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. All sales hereunder are to be made, and title to the
Series shares shall pass, in Boston, Massachusetts.
16. Limited Recourse. The Distributor hereby acknowledges that the Trust's
obligations hereunder with respect to the shares of the Series are
binding only on the assets and property belonging to the Series.
17. Privacy. In accordance with Regulation S-P, if non-public personal
information regarding either party's customers or consumers is disclosed
to the other party in connection with this Agreement, the party
receiving such information will not disclose or use that information
other than as necessary to carry out the purposes of this Agreement.
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18. Anti-Money Laundering. Each party to this agreement hereby agrees to
abide by and comply with all relevant anti-money laundering laws and
regulations, including without limitation the Bank Secrecy Act, as
amended, and the USA Patriot Act of 2001. Each party represents that it
has established an Anti-Money Laundering Program that complies with all
material aspects of the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and other applicable
anti-money laundering laws and regulations. Each party also hereby
agrees to comply with any new or additional anti-money laundering laws
or regulations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement on the day
and year first above written.
XXXXXX XXXXXX FUNDS I,
on behalf of its Xxxxxx Xxxxxx High Income Opportunities Fund
By:
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Name:
Title:
CDC IXIS ASSET MANAGEMENT DISTRIBUTORS, L.P.
By: CDC IXIS Asset Management Distribution Corporation, its general partner
By:
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Name:
Title:
XXXXXX, XXXXXX & COMPANY, L.P.
By: Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx & Company, Inc., its general partner
By:
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Name:
Title:
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NOTICE
A copy of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust establishing the Trust is on
file with the Secretary of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and notice is
hereby given that this Agreement is executed with respect to the Series on
behalf of the Trust by officers of the Trust as officers and not individually
and that the obligations of or arising out of this Agreement are not binding
upon any of the trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually but
are binding only upon the assets and property of the Series.
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