Exhibit 23(d)
MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT
TO: Xxxxx York Capital Management Group, LLC
0000 Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 000
Xxxxx, XX 00000
Dear Sirs:
WY Funds (the "Trust") herewith confirms our agreement with you.
The Trust has been organized to engage in the business of an investment
company. The Trust currently offers one series of shares to investors, which is
The Core Fund (the "Fund").
You have been selected to act as the sole investment adviser of the Fund
and to provide certain other services, as more fully set forth below, and you
are willing to act as such investment adviser and to perform such services under
the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth. Accordingly, the Trust agrees
with you as follows effective upon the date of the execution of this Agreement.
1. ADVISORY SERVICES
You will regularly provide the Fund with such investment advice as you in
your discretion deem advisable and will furnish a continuous investment program
for the Fund consistent with the Fund's investment objective and policies. You
will determine the securities to be purchased for the Fund, the portfolio
securities to be held or sold by the Fund and the portion of the Fund's assets
to be held uninvested, subject always to the Fund's investment objective,
policies and restrictions, as each of the same shall be from time to time in
effect, and subject further to such policies and instructions as the Board may
from time to time establish. You will advise and assist the officers of the
Trust in taking such steps as are necessary or appropriate to carry out the
decisions of the Board and the appropriate committees of the Board regarding the
conduct of the business of the Fund.
2. ALLOCATION OF CHARGES AND EXPENSES
You will pay all operating expenses of the Fund, including the
compensation and expenses of any employees of the Fund and of any other persons
rendering any services to the Fund; clerical and shareholder service staff
salaries; office space and other office expenses; fees and expenses incurred by
the Fund in connection with membership in investment company organizations;
legal, auditing and accounting expenses; expenses of registering shares under
federal and state securities laws, including expenses incurred by the Fund in
connection with the organization and initial registration of shares of the Fund;
insurance expenses; fees and expenses of the custodian, transfer agent, dividend
disbursing agent, shareholder service agent, plan agent, administrator,
accounting and pricing services agent and underwriter of the Fund; expenses,
including clerical expenses, of issue, sale, redemption or repurchase of shares
of the Fund; the cost of preparing and distributing reports and notices to
shareholders, the cost of printing or preparing prospectuses and statements of
additional information for delivery to shareholders; the cost of printing or
preparing stock certificates or any other documents, statements or reports to
shareholders; expenses of shareholders' meetings and proxy solicitations;
advertising, promotion and other expenses incurred directly or indirectly in
connection with the sale or distribution of the Fund's shares, excluding
expenses which the Fund is authorized to pay pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the
Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"); and all other
operating expenses not specifically assumed by the Fund.
The Fund will pay all brokerage fees and commissions, taxes, borrowing
costs (such as (a) interest and (b) dividend expense on securities sold short),
fees and expenses of the non-interested person Trustees and such extraordinary
or non-recurring expenses as may arise, including litigation to which the Fund
may be a party and indemnification of the Trust's Trustees and officers with
respect thereto. The Fund will also pay expenses which it is authorized to pay
pursuant to Rule 12b-l under the 1940 Act. You may obtain reimbursement from the
Fund, at such time or times as you may determine in your sole discretion, for
any of the expenses advanced by you, which the Fund is obligated to pay, and
such reimbursement shall not be considered to be part of your compensation
pursuant to this Agreement.
3. COMPENSATION OF THE ADVISER
For all of the services to be rendered and payments to be made as provided
in this Agreement, as of the last business day of each month, the Fund will pay
you a fee at the annual rate of 1.00% of the average value of its daily net
assets.
The average value of the daily net assets of the Fund shall be determined
pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Declaration of Trust of the Trust
or a resolution of the Board, if required. If, pursuant to such provisions, the
determination of net asset value of the Fund is suspended for any particular
business day, then for the purposes of this paragraph, the value of the net
assets of the Fund as last determined shall be deemed to be the value of the net
assets as of the close of the business day, or as of such other time as the
value of the Fund's net assets may lawfully be determined, on that day. If the
determination of the net asset value of the Fund has been suspended for a period
including such month, your compensation payable at the end of such month shall
be computed on the basis of the value of the net assets of the Fund as last
determined (whether during or prior to such month).
4. EXECUTION OF PURCHASE AND SALE ORDERS
In connection with purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the
account of the Fund, it is understood that you will arrange for the placing of
all orders for the purchase and sales of portfolio securities for the account
with brokers or dealers selected by you, subject to review of this selection by
the Board from time to time. You will be responsible for the negotiation and the
allocation of principal business and portfolio brokerage. In the selection of
such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, you are directed at all
times to seek for the Fund the best qualitative execution, taking into account
such factors as price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer
spread), the execution capability, financial responsibility and responsiveness
of the broker or dealer and the brokerage and research services provided by the
broker or dealer.
You should generally seek favorable prices and commission rates that are
reasonable in relation to the benefits received. In seeking best qualitative
execution, you are authorized to select brokers or dealers who also provide
brokerage and research services to the Fund and/or the other accounts over which
you exercise investment discretion. You are authorized to pay a broker or dealer
who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a
Fund portfolio transaction which is in excess of the amount of commission
another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if
you determine in good faith that the amount of the commission is reasonable in
relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by the
executing broker or dealer. The determination may be viewed in terms of either a
particular transaction or your overall responsibilities with respect to the Fund
and to acknowledge that, although the information may be useful to the Fund and
you, it is not possible to place a dollar value on such information. The Board
shall periodically review the commissions paid by the Fund to determine if the
commissions paid over representative periods of time were reasonable in relation
to the benefits to the Fund.
You may not give consideration to sales of shares of the Fund as a factor
in the selection of brokers and dealers to execute Fund portfolio transactions.
However, you may place portfolio transactions with brokers or dealers that
promote or sell the Fund's shares so long as such placements are made pursuant
to policies approved by the Fund's Board of Trustees that are designed to ensure
that the selection is based on the quality of the broker's execution and not on
its sales efforts.
Subject to the provisions of the 1940 Act, and other applicable law, you,
any of your affiliates or any affiliates of your affiliates may retain
compensation in connection with effecting the Fund's portfolio transactions,
including transactions effected through others. If any occasion should arise in
which you give any advice to clients of yours concerning the shares of the Fund,
you will act solely as investment counsel for such client and not in any way on
behalf of the Fund. Your services to the Fund pursuant to this Agreement are not
to be deemed to be exclusive and it is understood that you may render investment
advice, management and other services to others, including other registered
investment companies.
5. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY OF ADVISER
You may rely on information reasonably believed by you to be accurate and
reliable. Except as may otherwise by required by the 1940 Act or the rules
thereunder, neither you nor your shareholders, members, officers, directors,
employees, agents, control persons and affiliates of any thereof shall be
subject to any liability for, or any damages, expenses or losses incurred by the
Trust in connection with, any error of judgment, mistake of law, any act or
omission connected with or arising out of any services rendered under, or
payments made pursuant to, this Agreement or any other matter to which this
Agreement relates, except by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross
negligence on the part of any such persons in the performance of your duties
under this Agreement, or by reason of reckless disregard by any of such persons
of your obligations and duties under this Agreement.
Any person, even though also a director, officer, employee, member,
shareholder or agent of you, who may be or become an officer, director, trustee,
employee or agent of the Trust, shall be deemed, when rendering services to the
Trust or acting on any business of the Trust (other than services or business in
connection with your duties hereunder), to be rendering such services to or
acting solely for the Trust and not as a director, officer, employee, member,
shareholder or agent of you, or one under your control or direction, even though
paid by you.
6. DURATION AND TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT
This Agreement shall take effect upon February 4, 2005, and shall remain
in force for a period of two (2) years from the date of its execution, and from
year to year hereafter, subject to annual approval by (i) the Board or (ii) a
vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided
that in either event continuance is also approved by a majority of the Trustees
who are not interested persons of you or the Trust, by a vote cast in person at
a meeting called for the purpose of voting such approval.
If the shareholders of the Fund fail to approve the Agreement in the
manner set forth above, upon request of the Board, you will continue to serve or
act in such capacity for the Fund for a period of time pending required approval
of the Agreement, of a new agreement with you or a difference adviser or other
definitive action; provided that the compensation to be paid by the Fund to you
for your services to and payments on behalf of the Fund will be equal to the
lesser of your actual costs incurred in furnishing such services and payments or
the amount you would have received under this Agreement for furnishing such
services and payments.
This Agreement may, on sixty (60) days written notice, be terminated with
respect to the Fund, at any time without the payment of any penalty, by the
Board, by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund,
or by you. This Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of its
assignment.
7. AMENDMENT OF THIS AGREEMENT
No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or
terminated orally, and no amendment of this Agreement shall be effective until
approved by the Board, including a majority of the Trustees who are not
interested persons of you or of the Trust, cast in person at a meeting called
for the purpose of voting on such approval, and (if required under
interpretations of the 1940 Act by the Securities and Exchange Commission or its
staff) by vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities
of the series of which the amendment relates.
8. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY TO TRUST PROPERTY
The term "WY Funds" means and refers to the Trustees from time to time
serving under the Trust's Declaration of Trust as the same may subsequently
thereto have been, or subsequently hereto be, amended. It is expressly agreed
that the obligations of the Trust hereunder shall not be binding upon any of the
Trustees, shareholders, nominees, officers, agents or employees of the Trust
personally, but bind only the property of the Trust, as provided in the
Declaration of Trust. The execution and delivery of this Agreement have been
authorized by the Trustees and shareholders of the Trust and signed by officers
of the Trust, acting as such, and neither such authorization by such Trustees
and shareholders nor such execution and delivery by such officers shall be
deemed to have been made by any of them individually or to impose any liability
on any of them personally, but shall bind only the property of the Trust as
provided in its Declaration of Trust. A copy of the Agreement and Declaration of
Trust is on file with the Secretary of the State of Ohio.
9. SEVERABILITY
In the event any provision of this Agreement is determined to be void or
unenforceable, such determination shall not affect the remainder of this
Agreement, which shall continue to be in force.
10. QUESTIONS OF INTERPRETATION
(a) This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Ohio.
(b) For the purpose of this Agreement, the terms "majority of the
outstanding voting securities," "control" and "interested person" shall have
their respective meanings as defined in the 1940 Act and rules and regulations
thereunder, subject, however, to such exemptions as may be granted by the
Securities and Exchange Commission under the 1940 Act; and the term "brokerage
and research services" shall have the meaning given in the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934.
(c) 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 1940 Act shall be resolved by reference to such term or provision of the
1940 Act and to interpretation thereof, if any, by the United States courts or
in the absence of any controlling decision of any such court, by the Securities
and Exchange commission or its staff. In addition, where the effect of a
requirement of the 1940 Act, reflected in any provision of this Agreement, is
revised by rule, regulation, order or interpretation of the Securities and
Exchange Commission or its staff, such provision shall be deemed to incorporate
the effect of such rule, regulation, order or interpretation.
11. NOTICES
Any notices under this Agreement shall be in writing, addressed and
delivered or mailed postage paid to the other party at such address as such
other party may designate for the receipt of such notice. Until further notice
to the other party, it is agreed that the address of the Trust is 0000 Xxxxxxx
Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 000, Xxxxx, XX 00000 and your address for this purpose shall be
the same.
12. COUNTERPARTS
This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which
shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and
the same instrument.
13. BINDING EFFECT
Each of the undersigned expressly warrants and represents that he has the
full power and authority to sign this Agreement on behalf of the party
indicated, and that his signature will operate to bind the party indicated to
the foregoing terms.
14. CAPTIONS
The captions in this Agreement are included for convenience of reference
only and in no way define or delimit any of the provisions hereof or otherwise
affect their construction or effect.
If you are in agreement with the foregoing, please sign the form of
acceptance on the accompanying counterpart of this letter and return such
counterpart to the Trust, whereupon this letter shall become a binding contract
upon the date thereof.
Yours very truly,
WY Funds
By: /s/ Xxxxxxxx York
----------------------------------------------
Name: Xxxxxxxx York
----------------------------------------------
Title: President, WY Funds
----------------------------------------------
Date: January 26, 2005
----------------------------------------------
ACCEPTANCE
The foregoing Agreement is hereby accepted.
Xxxxx York Capital Management Group, LLC
By: /s/ M. Xxxxx Xxxxx
----------------------------------------------
Name: M. Xxxxx Xxxxx
----------------------------------------------
Title: President, Xxxxx York Capital Management Group_
----------------------------------------------
Date: January 26, 2005
----------------------------------------------
