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Exhibit (e)
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is made as of this 6th day of July, 1999 between The
Parkstone Advantage Fund ("the Trust"), a Massachusetts business trust and SEI
Investments Distribution Co. (the "Distributor"), a Pennsylvania corporation.
WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as an investment company with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") under the Investment Company Act
of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), and its shares are registered with the SEC
under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"); and
WHEREAS, the Distributor is registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants hereinafter
contained, the Trust and Distributor hereby agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1. SALE OF SHARES. The Trust grants to the Distributor the
exclusive right to sell units (the"Shares") of the portfolios (the "Portfolios")
of the Trust at the net asset value per Share, plus any applicable sales charges
in accordance with the current prospectus, as agent and on behalf of the Trust,
during the term of this Agreement and subject to the registration requirements
of the 1933 Act, the rules and regulations of the SEC and the laws governing the
sale of securities in the various states ("Blue Sky Laws").
ARTICLE 2. SOLICITATION OF SALES. In consideration of these rights granted
to the Distributor, the Distributor agrees to use all reasonable efforts,
consistent with its other business, in connection with the distribution of
Shares of the Trust; provided, however, that the Distributor shall not be
prevented from entering into like arrangements with other issuers. The
provisions of this paragraph do not obligate the Distributor to register as a
broker or dealer under the Blue Sky Laws of any jurisdiction when it determines
it would be uneconomical for it to do so or to maintain its registration in any
jurisdiction in which it is now registered nor obligate the Distributor to sell
any particular number of Shares.
ARTICLE 3. AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIONS. The Distributor is not authorized by
the Trust to give any information or to make any representations other than
those contained in the current registration statements and prospectuses of the
Trust filed with the SEC or contained in Shareholder reports or other material
that may be prepared by or on behalf of the Trust for the Distributor's use. The
Distributor may prepare and distribute sales literature and other material as it
may deem appropriate, provided that such literature and materials have been
approved by the Trust prior to their use.
ARTICLE 4. REGISTRATION OF SHARES. As applicable, the Trust agrees that it
will take all action necessary to register Shares under the federal and state
securities laws so that there will be available for sale the number of Shares
the Distributor may reasonably be
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expected to sell, to monitor sale of Trust shares for compliance with state
securities laws, and to file with the appropriate state securities authorities
the registration statements and reports for the Trust and the Trust's shares and
all amendments thereto, as may be necessary or convenient to register and keep
effective the Trust and the Trust's shares with state securities authorities to
enable the Trust to make a continuous offering of its shares and to pay all fees
associated with said registration. The Trust shall make available to the
Distributor such number of copies of its currently effective prospectus and
statement of additional information as the Distributor may reasonably request.
The Trust shall furnish to the Distributor copies of all information, financial
statements and other papers which the Distributor may reasonably request for use
in connection with the distribution of Shares of the Trust.
ARTICLE 5. COMPENSATION. No asset based compensation shall be paid for
sales of shares hereunder. Distributor shall, at its own expense, finance
appropriate activities which it deems reasonable, which are primarily intended
to result in the sale of Shares. Distributor shall be entitled to reimbursement
of its reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred on behalf of the Trust, and
which are the obligation of the Trust under this Agreement, and are incurred by
Distributor in connection with the implementation of this agreement.
ARTICLE 6. INDEMNIFICATION OF DISTRIBUTOR. The Trust agrees to indemnify
and hold harmless the Distributor and each of its directors and officers and
each person, if any, who controls the Distributor within the meaning of Section
15 of the 1933 Act against any loss, liability, claim, damages or expense
(including the reasonable cost of investigating or defending any alleged loss,
liability, claim, damages, or expense and reasonable counsel fees and
disbursements incurred in connection therewith), arising by reason of any person
acquiring any Shares, based upon the ground that the registration statement,
prospectus, Shareholder reports or other information filed or made public by the
Trust (as from time to time amended) included an untrue statement of a material
fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated or necessary in
order to make the statements made not misleading. However, the Trust does not
agree to indemnify the Distributor or hold it harmless to the extent that the
statements or omission was made in reliance upon, and in conformity with,
information furnished to the Trust by or on behalf of the Distributor.
In no case (i) is the indemnity of the Trust to be deemed to protect the
Distributor against any liability to the Trust or its Shareholders to which the
Distributor or such person otherwise would be subject by reason of willful
misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or
by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties under this
Agreement, or (ii) is the Trust to be liable to the Distributor under the
indemnity agreement contained in this paragraph with respect to any claim made
against the Distributor or any person indemnified unless the Distributor or
other person shall have notified the Trust in writing of the claim within a
reasonable time after the summons or other first written notification giving
information of the nature of the claim shall have been served upon the
Distributor or such other person (or after the Distributor or the person shall
have received notice of service on any designated agent). However, failure to
notify the Trust of any claim shall not relieve the Trust from any liability
which it may have to the
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Distributor or any person against whom such action is brought otherwise than on
account of its indemnity agreement contained in this paragraph.
The Trust shall be entitled to participate at its own expense in the
defense or, if it so elects, to assume the defense of any suit brought to
enforce any claims subject to this indemnity provision. If the Trust elects to
assume the defense of any such claim, the defense shall be conducted by counsel
chosen by the Trust and satisfactory to the indemnified defendants in the suit
whose approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. In the event that the Trust
elects to assume the defense of any suit and retain counsel, the indemnified
defendants shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel retained
by them. If the Trust does not elect to assume the defense of a suit, it will
reimburse the indemnified defendants for the reasonable fees and expenses of any
counsel retained by the indemnified defendants.
The Trust agrees to notify the Distributor promptly of the commencement of
any litigation or proceedings against it or any of its officers or Trustees in
connection with the issuance or sale of any of its Shares.
ARTICLE 7. INDEMNIFICATION OF TRUST. The Distributor covenants and agrees
that it will indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and each of its Trustees and
officers and each person, if any, who controls the Trust within the meaning of
Section 15 of the Act, against any loss, liability, damages, claim or expense
(including the reasonable cost of investigating or defending any alleged loss,
liability, damages, claim or expense and reasonable counsel fees incurred in
connection therewith) based upon the 1933 Act or any other statute or common law
and arising by reason of any person acquiring any Shares, and alleging a
wrongful act of the Distributor or any of its employees or alleging that the
registration statement, prospectus, Shareholder reports or other information
filed or made public by the Trust (as from time to time amended) included an
untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required
to be stated or necessary in order to make the statements not misleading,
insofar as the statement or omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity
with information furnished to the Trust by or on behalf of the Distributor.
In no case (i) is the indemnity of the Distributor in favor of the Trust or
any other person indemnified to be deemed to protect the Trust or any other
person against any liability to which the Trust or such other person would
otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross
negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless
disregard of its obligations and duties under this Agreement, or (ii) is the
Distributor to be liable under its indemnity agreement contained in this
paragraph with respect to any claim made against the Trust or any person
indemnified unless the Trust or person, as the case may be, shall have notified
the Distributor in writing of the claim within a reasonable time after the
summons or other first written notification giving information of the nature of
the claim shall have been served upon the Trust or upon any person (or after the
Trust or such person shall have received notice of service on any designated
agent). However, failure to notify the Distributor of any claim shall not
relieve the Distributor from any liability which it may have to the Trust or any
person against whom the action is brought otherwise than on account of its
indemnity agreement contained in this paragraph.
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The Distributor shall be entitled to participate, at its own expense, in
the defense or, if it so elects, to assume the defense of any suit brought to
enforce the claim, but if the Distributor elects to assume the defense, the
defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by the Distributor and satisfactory
to the indemnified defendants whose approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
In the event that the Distributor elects to assume the defense of any suit and
retain counsel, the defendants in the suit shall bear the fees and expenses of
any additional counsel retained by them. If the Distributor does not elect to
assume the defense of any suit, it will reimburse the indemnified defendants in
the suit for the reasonable fees and expenses of any counsel retained by them.
The Distributor agrees to notify the Trust promptly of the commencement of
any litigation or proceedings against it in connection with the issue and sale
of any of the Trust's Shares.
ARTICLE 8. YEAR 2000 COMPLIANT. The Distributor warrants that all software
code owned by or under the Distributor's control, used in the performance of the
Distributor'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.
ARTICLE 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Agreement shall be effective upon its
execution, and unless terminated as provided, shall continue in force until May
1, 2001 and thereafter from year to year, provided that such annual continuance
is approved by (i) either the vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust,
or the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust, and
(ii) the vote of a majority of those Trustees of the Trust who are not parties
to this Agreement or the Trust's Distribution Plan or interested persons of any
such party ("Qualified Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called for the
purpose of voting on the approval. This Agreement shall automatically terminate
in the event of its assignment. As used in this paragraph the terms "vote of a
majority of the outstanding voting securities", "assignment" and "interested
person" shall have the respective meanings specified in the 1940 Act. In
addition, this Agreement may at any time be terminated without penalty by the
Distributor, by a vote of a majority of Qualified Trustees or by vote of a
majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Trust upon not less than
sixty days prior written notice to the other party.
ARTICLE 10. NOTICES. 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 0000 Xxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxx,
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Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxx 00000, and if to the Distributor, Xxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx Xxxxx,
Xxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxx 00000.
ARTICLE 11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. A copy of the Declaration of Trust of
the Trust is on file with the Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, and notice is hereby given that this Agreement is executed on
behalf of the Trustees of the Trust as Trustees and not individually and that
the obligations of this instrument are not binding upon any of the Trustees,
officers or shareholders of the Trust individually but binding only upon the
assets and property of the Trust.
ARTICLE 12. 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 13. 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.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Trust and Distributor have each duly executed this
Agreement, as of the day and year above written.
THE PARKSTONE ADVANTAGE FUND
By: /s/Xxxx Xxxxxxx
SEI INVESTMENTS DISTRIBUTION CO.
By: /s/Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
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