INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT

INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT

 

INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT, made this 12th day of December, 2008, by and between XXXXXXX ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY, INC., a Delaware corporation (the "Adviser"), and SUMMIT MUTUAL FUNDS, INC., a Maryland corporation (the "Fund").

WHEREAS, the Fund presently is engaged in business as an open-end management investment company and has registered as such under the federal Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "Act");

WHEREAS, the Fund is authorized to issue shares ("Shares") in certain series the Fund, as indicated in Schedule A (the "Portfolios"), and any other series designated by the Fund in the future;

WHEREAS, the Adviser is engaged principally in the business of rendering brokerage services, also renders investment supervisory services, and is registered as an investment adviser under the federal Investment Advisors Act of 1940, as amended; and

WHEREAS, the Fund desires the Adviser to render investment supervisory services to the Portfolios in the manner and on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement;

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises set forth in this Agreement, the parties hereto agree as follows:

1. Duties and Responsibilities of Adviser.

(a) Investment Advisory Services. The Adviser will act as investment adviser and will supervise and direct the investments of the Portfolios in accordance with their investment objectives, program and restrictions as provided in the prospectus, on behalf of the Fund, as amended from time to time, and such other limitations as the Fund may impose by notice in writing to the Adviser. The Adviser will obtain and evaluate such information relating to the economy, industries, businesses, securities markets and securities as it may deem necessary or useful in the discharge of its obligations hereunder and will formulate and implement a continuing program for the management of the assets and resources of the Fund in a manner consistent with its investment objectives. In furtherance of this duty, the Adviser, as agent and attorney-in-fact with respect to the Fund, is authorized, in its discretion and without prior consultation with the Fund, to:

    1. buy, sell, exchange, convert, lend, and otherwise trade in any stocks, bonds, and other securities or assets; and

    2. directly or through the trading desks of the Adviser and its affiliates place orders and negotiate the commissions (if any) for the execution of transactions in securities with or through such brokers, dealers, underwriters or issuers as the Adviser may select.

The Adviser may at its own cost and expense, with the approval of the Fund's Board of Directors, retain one or more investment subadvisors for the Portfolio. The Adviser shall be responsible for the oversight of such investment subadvisors in fulfilling its obligations hereunder.

    1. Financial, Accounting, and Administrative Services. The Adviser will assist the Fund's Administrator in maintaining the existence and records of the Portfolios; maintaining the registrations and qualifications of Portfolio Shares under federal and state law; monitoring the financial, accounting, and administrative functions of the Portfolios; maintaining liaison with the various agents employed for the benefit of the Fund by the Fund (including the Fund's transfer agent, custodian, independent accountants and legal counsel) and in the coordination of their activities on behalf of the Fund.

    1. Reports to Fund. The Adviser will furnish to or place at the disposal of the Fund such information, reports, evaluations, analyses and opinions regarding the Portfolios as the Fund may, at any time or from time to time, reasonably request or as the Adviser may deem helpful.

    1. Reports and Other Communications to Contractholders. The Adviser will assist in developing all general contractholder communications regarding the Portfolios, including regular shareholder reports.

    1. Fund Personnel. The Adviser agrees to permit individuals who are officers or employees of the Adviser, or any of its affiliates, to serve (if duly elected or appointed) as officers, directors, members of any committee of directors, members of any advisory board, or members of any other committee of the Fund, without remuneration or other costs to the Fund.

    1. Personnel, Office Space, and Facilities of Adviser. The Adviser at its own expense will furnish or provide and pay the cost of such office space, office equipment, office personnel, and office services as the Adviser requires in the performance of its investment advisory and other obligations under this Agreement.

    1. Allocation of Expenses.

    1. Expenses Paid by Adviser.

(i) Salaries and Fees of Officers. The Adviser will pay all salaries, expenses, and fees of the officers and directors of the Fund who are affiliated with the Adviser.

(ii) Assumption of Expenses by Adviser. The payment or assumption by the Adviser of any expense of the Fund that the Adviser is not required by this Agreement to pay or assume will not obligate the Adviser to pay or assume the same or any similar expense on any subsequent occasion.

    1. Expenses Paid by Fund. The Fund will bear all expenses of its organization, operations, and business not specifically assumed or agreed to be paid by the Adviser as provided in this Agreement. In particular, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Fund will pay:

    1. Custody and Accounting Services. All expenses of the transfer, receipt, safekeeping, servicing and accounting for the cash, securities, and other property of the Fund, for the benefit of the Fund, including all charges of depositories, custodians, and other agents, if any;

    2. Shareholder Servicing. All expenses of maintaining and servicing shareholder accounts, including all charges for transfer, shareholder recordkeeping, dividend disbursing, redemption, and other agents for the benefit of the Fund, if any;

    3. Contractholder Communications. All expenses of preparing; setting in type, printing, and distributing reports and other communications to contractholders;

    4. Contractholder Meetings. All expenses incidental to holding meetings of contractholders, including the printing of notices and proxy material, and proxy solicitation therefor;

    5. Prospectuses. All expenses of preparing, setting in type, and printing of annual or more frequent revisions of the prospectus and of mailing them to contractholders;

    6. Pricing. All expenses of computing the Fund's net asset value per share, including the cost of any equipment or services used for obtaining price quotations;

    7. Communication Equipment. All charges for equipment or services used for communication between the Adviser or the Fund or Fund and the custodian, transfer agent or any other agent selected by the Fund;

    8. Legal and Accounting Fees and Expenses. All charges for services and expenses of the Fund's legal counsel, including counsel to the disinterested Directors of the Fund, and independent auditors for the benefit of the Fund;

    9. Board of Director's Fees and Expenses. All compensation of the Board of Directors, other than those affiliated with the Adviser, and all expenses incurred in connection with their service;

    10. Federal Registration Fees. All fees and expenses of registering and maintaining the registration of the Portfolios under the Act and the Registration of the Portfolios' Fund Shares under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "33 Act"), including all fees and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation, setting in type, printing, and filing, of any registration statement and prospectus under the 33 Act or the Act, and any amendments or supplements that may be made from time to time;

    11. State Registration Fees. All fees and expenses of qualifying and maintaining qualification of the Fund and of Fund Shares for sale under securities laws of various states or jurisdictions, if any, and of registration and qualification of the Fund under all other laws applicable to the Fund or its business activities (including registering the Fund as a broker-dealer, or any officer of the Fund or any person as agent or salesman of the Fund in any state);

    12. Issue and Redemption of Shares. All expenses incurred in connection with the issue, redemption, and transfer of portfolio Shares, including the expense of confirming all portfolio Share transactions, and of preparing and transmitting the portfolio's stock certificates;

    1. Bonding and Insurance. All expenses of bond, liability, and other insurance coverage required by law or deemed advisable by the Board of Directors;

    1. Brokerage Commissions. All brokers' commissions and other charges incident to the purchase, sale, or lending of a portfolio's securities;

    1. Taxes. All taxes or governmental fees payable by or with respect of the Fund to federal, state, or other governmental agencies, domestic or foreign, including stamp or other transfer taxes;

    1. Trade Association Fees. All fees, dues, and other expenses incurred in connection with the Fund's membership in any trade association or other investment organization; and

    1. Nonrecurring and Extraordinary Expenses. Such nonrecurring expenses as may arise, including the costs of actions, suits, or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the expenses the Fund may incur as a result of its legal obligation to provide indemnification to its officers, directors, and agents.

3. Advisory Fees. For its services pursuant to this Agreement, the Fund will pay the Adviser an annual fee, based on the value of the average daily net assets of the applicable Portfolio. The fee is set forth in Schedule B. The Schedule may be amended from time to time; with the exception to the fee waiver and reimbursement provisions set forth under Schedule B upon execution of this Agreement. Any change in the Schedule relating to any new or existing Portfolios will not require the approval of shareholders of any other Portfolio.

    1. Method of Computation. The fee will be accrued for each calendar day and the sum of the daily fee accruals will be paid monthly to the Adviser on the first business day of the next succeeding calendar month. The daily fee accruals will be computed by multiplying the fraction of one over the number of calendar days in the year by the applicable annual rate described above in this Paragraph 3, and multiplying this product by the net assets of the Portfolios as determined in accordance with the prospectus as of the close of business on the previous business day on which the Fund was open for business.

    2. Proration of Fee. If this Agreement becomes effective or terminates before the end of any month, the fee for the period from the effective date to the end of such month or from the beginning of such month to the date of termination, as the case may be, will be prorated according to the proportion which such period bears to the full month in which such effectiveness or termination occurs.

4. Brokerage. Subject to the approval of the Fund's Board of Directors, the Adviser, in carrying out its duties under Paragraph 1A, may cause the Fund, with respect to the Fund or any of its Portfolios, to pay a broker-dealer which furnishes brokerage or research services, as such services are defined under Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "34 Act") or formal/informal staff opinions a higher commission than that which might be charged by another broker-dealer which does not furnish brokerage or research services or which furnishes brokerage or research services deemed to be of lesser value, if such commission is deemed reasonable in relation to the brokerage and research services provided by the broker-dealer, viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities of the Adviser with respect to the accounts as to which it exercises investment discretion (as such term is defined under Section 3(a)(35) of the '34 Act or rules).

5. Adviser's Use of the Services of Others. The Adviser may (at its cost except as contemplated by Paragraph 4 of this Agreement) employ, retain or otherwise avail itself of the services or facilities of other persons or organizations, for the purpose of performing its obligations hereunder, with the approval of the Fund's Board of Directors. The Adviser shall be responsible for the oversight of such persons in fulfilling its obligations hereunder.

6. Ownership of Records. All records required to be maintained and preserved by the Fund pursuant to the provisions of rules or regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission under Section 31(a) of the Act and maintained and preserved by the Adviser on behalf of the Fund are the property of the Fund, and will be surrendered by the Adviser promptly on request by the Fund.

7. Reports to Adviser. The Fund will furnish or otherwise make available to the Adviser such prospectuses, financial statements, proxy statements, reports, and other information relating to the business and affairs of the Fund as the Adviser may, at any time or from time to time, reasonably require in order to discharge its obligations under this Agreement.

8. Limitation of Liability of Adviser. Neither the Adviser nor any of its officers, directors, employees, or controlling persons, with respect to this Agreement, will be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the Fund in connection with matters to which this Agreement relates, except for loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its or his or her duties on behalf of the Fund or from reckless disregard by the Adviser of the duties of the Adviser under this Agreement.

In no event will the Adviser be liable for indirect, special, or consequential damages (even if the Adviser has been advised of the possibility of such damages) arising from the obligations assumed hereunder and the services provided for by this Agreement, including but not limited to lost profits, loss of use of accounting systems, cost of capital, cost of substitute facilities, programs or services, downtime costs, or claims of the Fund's shareholders for such damage.

9. Use of Adviser's Name. The Fund may use the name "Xxxxxxx Asset Management Company" or "CAMCO" only with the approval of the Adviser and only for so long as this Agreement or any extension, renewal or amendment hereof remains in effect, including any similar agreement with any organization which will have succeeded to the business of the Adviser as investment advisor.

10. Term of Agreement. The term of this Agreement will begin on the date first above written, and unless sooner terminated as hereinafter provided, will remain in effect until January 1, 2010. Thereafter, this Agreement will continue in effect from year to year, with respect to the Fund, subject to the termination provisions and all other terms and conditions hereof, so long as such continuation will be specifically approved at least annually (a) by either the Board of Directors of the Fund, or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the relevant Portfolio; (b) in either event by the vote, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval, of a majority of the directors of the Fund, with respect to the Fund, who are not parties to this Agreement or interested persons of any such party; and ( c) The Adviser will not have notified the Fund, in writing, at least 60 days prior to December 31, 2009 or prior to March 10 of any year thereafter, that it does not desire such continuation. The Adviser will furnish to the Fund, promptly upon its request, such information as may reasonably be necessary to evaluate the terms of the Agreement or any extension, renewal or amendment hereof.

11. Amendment and Assignment of Agreement. This Agreement may be amended by the parties subject to federal regulatory requirements. This Agreement may not be assigned without the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the relevant Portfolio(s). This Agreement will automatically and immediately terminate in the event of its assignment.

12. Termination of Agreement. This Agreement may be terminated by either party hereto, without the payment of any penalty, upon 60 days' prior notice in writing to the other party; provided, that in the cases of termination by the Fund, with respect to the Fund, such action will have been authorized by resolution of a majority of the directors who are not parties to this Agreement or interested persons of any such party, or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund.

13. Miscellaneous.

(a) Captions. The captions in this Agreement are included for convenience of reference only and in no way define or delineate any of the provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect.

(b) Interpretation. Nothing herein contained will be deemed to require the Fund to take any action contrary to its Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the board of directors of the Fund of its responsibility for and control of the conduct of the affairs of the Fund. This Agreement will be construed and enforced in accordance with and governed by the laws of the State of Maryland.

(c) Definitions. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from a term or provision of the Act will be resolved by reference to such term or provision of the Act and to interpretations thereof, if any, by the United States courts or, in the absence of any controlling decision of any such court, by rules, regulations or orders of the Securities and Exchange Commission validly issued pursuant to the Act. Specifically, the terms "vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities," "interested person," assignment," and "affiliated person" as used in Paragraphs 2, 8, 10, 11, and 12 hereof, will have the meanings assigned to them by Section 2(a) of the Act. In addition, where the effect of a requirement of the Act reflected in any provision of this Agreement is relaxed by a rule, regulation or order of the Securities and Exchange Commission, whether of special or of general application, such provision will be deemed to incorporate the effect of such rule, regulation or order.

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized and their respective corporate seals to be hereunto affixed, as of the day and year first above written.

 

XXXXXXX ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY, INC.

By: __________________________________________

Title: __________________________________________

 

SUMMIT MUTUAL FUNDS, INC.

By: __________________________________________

Title: __________________________________________

 

 

INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT
SCHEDULE A

 

 

SUMMIT APEX SERIES

Large Cap Growth Fund
High Yield Bond Fund
Short-term Government Fund

 

SUMMIT PINNACLE SERIES

Zenith Portfolio
S&P 500 Index Portfolio
S&P MidCap 400 Index Portfolio
Balanced Index Portfolio
Nasdaq-100 Index Portfolio
Xxxxxxx 2000 Small Cap Index Portfolio
EAFE International Index Portfolio
Xxxxxx Aggregate Bond Index Portfolio
Inflation Protected Plus Portfolio
Lifestyle ETF Market Strategy Target Portfolio
Lifestyle ETF Market Strategy Conservative Portfolio
Lifestyle ETF Market Strategy Aggressive Portfolio
Natural Resources Portfolio

 

INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT
SCHEDULE B

 

Listed below are the portfolios of Summit Mutual Funds, Inc. that are entitled to receive investment advisory services from Xxxxxxx Asset Management Company, Inc. (the "Adviser") under the Investment Advisory Agreement dated December 12, 2008, and which will pay fees calculated at the following annual rates* to the Adviser pursuant to Section 3 of the Agreement:

SUMMIT APEX SERIES

  

Large Cap Growth Fund

0.75%

High Yield Bond Fund

0.65%

Short-term Government Fund

0.45%
   

SUMMIT PINNACLE SERIES

  

Zenith Portfolio

0.64%

S&P 500 Index Portfolio

0.25%

S&P MidCap 400 Index Portfolio

0.30%

Balanced Index Portfolio

0.30%

Nasdaq-100 Index Portfolio

0.35%

Xxxxxxx 2000 Small Cap Index Portfolio

0.35%

EAFE International Index Portfolio

0.56%

Xxxxxx Aggregate Bond Index Portfolio

0.30%

Inflation Protected Plus Portfolio

0.50%

Lifestyle ETF Market Strategy Target Portfolio

0.55%

Lifestyle ETF Market Strategy Conservative Portfolio

0.55%

Lifestyle ETF Market Strategy Aggressive Portfolio

0.55%

Natural Resources Portfolio

0.55%

 

* Xxxxxxx has agreed to cap total net expenses for each Fund for two years at the current net expense rate of the respective Fund in effect as of November 30, 2008.

For its services under this Investment Advisory Agreement, Adviser is entitled to receive the fees indicated above based on average net assets.

AutoNDA by SimpleDocs

Document Metadata

Filed: January 30th, 2009
Draft better contracts in just 5 minutes Get the weekly Law Insider newsletter packed with expert videos, webinars, ebooks, and more!