EXPENSE LIMITATION AGREEMENT
EXPENSE LIMITATION AGREEMENT, effective as of April 1, 2014 by and between
Cardinal Capital Management, L.L.C. (the "Adviser") and The Advisors' Inner
Circle Fund II (the "Trust") (the "Agreement"), on behalf of the series of the
Trust set forth in Schedule A attached hereto (the "Fund").
WHEREAS, the Trust is a Massachusetts voluntary association (commonly known as
a business trust) organized under an Agreement and Declaration of Trust, dated
July 24, 1992, as amended and restated as of February 18, 2004 (the
"Declaration of Trust"), and is registered under the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), as an open-end management company of the
series type, and the Fund is a series of the Trust;
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser have entered into an Investment Advisory
Agreement dated July 3, 2013 (the "Advisory Agreement"), pursuant to which the
Adviser provides investment advisory services to the Fund for compensation
based on the value of the average daily net assets of the Fund;
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser have determined that it is appropriate and
in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders to maintain the expenses
of the Fund at a level below the level to which the Fund would normally be
subject in order to maintain the Fund's expense ratio at the Maximum Annual
Operating Expense Limit (as hereinafter defined) specified for the Fund in
Schedule A hereto;
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. EXPENSE LIMITATION.
1.1. APPLICABLE EXPENSE LIMIT. To the extent that the aggregate expenses of
every character incurred by the Fund in any fiscal year, including but not
limited to investment advisory fees of the Adviser (but excluding interest,
taxes, brokerage commissions, acquired fund fees and expenses, other
expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles, other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary
course of the Fund's business) ("Fund Operating Expenses"), exceed the Maximum
Annual Operating Expense Limit, as defined in Section 1.2 below, such excess
amount (the "Excess Amount") shall be the liability of the Adviser.
1.2. MAXIMUM ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSE LIMIT. The Maximum Annual Operating
Expense Limit with respect to the Fund shall be the amount specified in
Schedule A based on a percentage of the average daily net assets of the Fund.
1.3. METHOD OF COMPUTATION. To determine the Adviser's liability with respect
to the Excess Amount, each month the Fund Operating Expenses for the Fund shall
be annualized as of the last day of the month. If the annualized Fund Operating
Expenses for any month of the Fund exceed the Maximum Annual Operating Expense
Limit of the Fund, the Adviser shall first waive
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or reduce its investment advisory fee for such month by an amount sufficient to
reduce the annualized Fund Operating Expenses to an amount no higher than the
Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit. If the amount of the waived or reduced
investment advisory fee for any such month is insufficient to pay the Excess
Amount, the Adviser may also remit to the Fund an amount that, together with
the waived or reduced investment advisory fee, is sufficient to pay such Excess
Amount.
1.4. YEAR-END ADJUSTMENT. If necessary, on or before the last day of the first
month of each fiscal year, an adjustment payment shall be made by the
appropriate party in order that the amount of the investment advisory fees
waived or reduced and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund with
respect to the previous fiscal year shall equal the Excess Amount.
2. REIMBURSEMENT OF FEE WAIVERS AND EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS.
2.1. REIMBURSEMENT. If in any year in which the Advisory Agreement is still in
effect and the estimated aggregate Fund Operating Expenses of the Fund for the
fiscal year are less than the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit for that
year, the Adviser shall be entitled to reimbursement by the Fund, in whole or in
part as provided below, of the investment advisory fees waived or reduced and
other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund pursuant to Section 1 hereof.
The total amount of reimbursement to which the Adviser may be entitled
("Reimbursement Amount") shall equal, at any time, the sum of all investment
advisory fees previously waived or reduced by the Adviser and all other payments
remitted by the Adviser to the Fund, pursuant to Section 1 hereof, during any of
the previous three (3) fiscal years, less any reimbursement previously paid by
the Fund to the Adviser, pursuant to this Section 2, with respect to such
waivers, reductions, and payments. The Reimbursement Amount shall not include
any additional charges or fees whatsoever, including, e.g., interest accruable
on the Reimbursement Amount.
2.2. BOARD NOTIFICATION. The Board shall be provided a quarterly report of any
reimbursements paid to the Adviser pursuant to this agreement.
2.3. METHOD OF COMPUTATION. To determine the Fund's accrual, if any, to
reimburse the Adviser for the Reimbursement Amount, each month the Fund
Operating Expenses of the Fund shall be annualized as of the last day of the
month. If the annualized Fund Operating Expenses of the Fund for any month are
less than the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit of the Fund, the Fund
shall accrue into its net asset value an amount payable to the Adviser
sufficient to increase the annualized Fund Operating Expenses of the Fund to an
amount no greater than the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit of the Fund,
provided that such amount paid to the Adviser will in no event exceed the total
Reimbursement Amount. For accounting purposes, amounts accrued pursuant to this
Section 2 shall be a liability of the Fund for purposes of determining the
Fund's net asset value.
2.4. PAYMENT AND YEAR-END ADJUSTMENT. Amounts accrued pursuant to this
Agreement shall be payable to the Adviser as of the last day of each month. If
necessary, on or before the last day of the first month of each fiscal year, an
adjustment payment shall be made by the appropriate party in order that the
actual Fund Operating Expenses of the Fund for the prior
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fiscal year (including any reimbursement payments hereunder with respect to
such fiscal year) do not exceed the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit.
3. TERM AND TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT.
This Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund until the date
indicated on Schedule A ("Initial Term End Date") and shall thereafter continue
in effect from year to year for successive one-year periods, provided that this
Agreement may be terminated, without payment of any penalty, with respect to
the Fund:
(i) by the Trust, for any reason and at any time; and
(ii) by the Adviser, for any reason, upon ninety (90) days' prior written notice
to the Trust at its principal place of business, such termination to be
effective as of the close of business on the last day of the then-current
one-year period; or at such earlier time provided that such termination is
approved by majority vote of the Trustees and the Independent Trustees voting
separately.
4. MISCELLANEOUS.
4.1. CAPTIONS. The captions in this Agreement are included for convenience of
reference only and in no other way define or delineate any of the provisions
hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect.
4.2. INTERPRETATION. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the
Trust or the Fund to take any action contrary to the Trust's Declaration of
Trust or By-Laws, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement to
which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the
Trust's Board of Trustees of its responsibility for and control of the conduct
of the affairs of the Trust or the Fund. The parties to this Agreement
acknowledge and agree that all litigation arising hereunder, whether direct or
indirect, and of any and every nature whatsoever shall be satisfied solely out
of the assets of the Fund and that no Trustee, officer or holder of shares of
beneficial interest of the Fund shall be personally liable for any of the
foregoing liabilities. The Trust's Declaration of Trust, as amended from time
to time, is on file in the Office of the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts. Such Declaration of Trust describes in detail the respective
responsibilities and limitations on liability of the Trustees, officers, and
holders of shares of beneficial interest.
4.3. DEFINITIONS. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of
this Agreement, including but not limited to the investment advisory fee, the
computations of net asset values, and the allocation of expenses, having a
counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the
Advisory Agreement or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be
resolved by reference to such Advisory Agreement or the 0000 Xxx.
4.4. ENFORCEABILITY. Any term or provision of this Agreement which is invalid
or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction be
ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability without
rendering invalid or unenforceable the remaining terms or
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provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of any
of the terms or provisions of this Agreement in any other jurisdiction.
4.5. PRIOR AGREEMENTS. This Agreement supersedes all prior agreements between
the Trust and the Adviser in relation to the subject matter hereof with respect
to the Fund listed in Schedule A, attached hereto.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by
their respective officers thereunto duly authorized, as of the day and year
first above written.
THE ADVISORS INNER CIRCLE FUND II,
on behalf of the series of the Trust set forth in Schedule A
/s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxxx
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Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxxx
Title: Vice President and Secretary
CARDINAL CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, L.L.C.
/s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxxxx
-----------------------------------
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxxxx
Title: Managing Partner
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SCHEDULE A
MAXIMUM ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSE LIMITS
This Agreement relates to the following Fund of the Trust:
NAME OF FUND MAXIMUM ANNUAL OPERATING INITIAL TERM END
EXPENSE LIMIT DATE
Cardinal Small Cap Value Fund 1.00% May 31, 2015
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