7
VEREDUS FUNDS
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT, dated as of June 10, 1998 between the Veredus
Funds, an Ohio business trust (the "Trust"), and Unified Management Corporation,
an Indiana corporation (the "Distributor").
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS, the Trust is an open-end management investment company
registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940
Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust desires to retain the Distributor as the principal
underwriter of the Trust's shares of beneficial interest (the "Shares"); and
WHEREAS, the Distributor is willing to render such services.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual covenants
set forth herein, the parties hereto agree as follows:
Section 1. Delivery of Documents. The Trust has delivered to the
Distributor copies of the following documents and will deliver to the
Distributor all future amendments and supplements thereto, if any:
(a) The Trust's Declaration of Trust and all amendments thereto (as
currently in effect and as from time to time amended, hereinafter referred to as
the "Declaration");
(b) The Trust's By-Laws (as currently in effect and as from time to
time amended, hereinafter referred to as the "By-Laws");
(c) Resolutions of the Board of Trustees authorizing the execution and
delivery of this Agreement;
(d) The Trust's Registration Statement under the Securities Act of
1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), and the 1940 Act on Form N-1A most recently
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") and all
subsequent amendments or supplements thereto (the "Registration Statement");
(e) The Trust's Notification of Registration under the 1940 Act on Form
N-8A as filed with the Commission; and
(f) The Trust's current Prospectus and Statement of Additional
Information (as currently in effect and as from time to time
amended and supplemented, hereinafter collectively referred to as
the "Prospectus").
Section 2. Distribution.
2.1 Appointment of Distributor. The Trust hereby appoints the Distributor as
principal underwriter of the Shares of each portfolio of the Trust that is set
forth on Exhibit A to this Agreement (each a "Fund") and the Distributor hereby
accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services and duties set forth
in this Agreement.
2.2 Services and Duties.
(a) The Trust agrees to sell through the Distributor, as agent, from
time to time during the term of this Agreement, Shares of each Fund upon the
terms and at the current offering prices as described in the Prospectus. The
Distributor will act only in its own behalf as principal in making agreements
with selected dealers or others for the sale and redemption of Shares, and shall
sell Shares only at the offering prices as set forth in the Prospectus. The
Distributor shall devote its best efforts to effect the sale of shares, but
shall not be obligated to sell any certain number of Shares.
(b) In all matters relating to the sale and redemption of Shares, the
Distributor and its designated agent(s) will act in conformity with the Trust's
Declaration, By-laws and Prospectus and with the instructions and directions of
the Board of Trustees and will conform and comply with the requirements of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the 1933 Act, the 1940 Act, the
regulations of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. and all
other applicable federal or state laws or regulations. In connection with the
sale of Shares, the Distributor acknowledges and agrees that it is not
authorized to provide any information or make any representation other than as
contained in the Trust's Registration Statement or Prospectus and any sales
literature approved by the Trust.
(c) The Trust will not bear any costs and expenses incurred with
respect to distribution of shares except to the extent the Trust is permitted to
do so by applicable law. It is understood that the Adviser will bear the costs
and expenses incurred for (i) printing and mailing to prospective investors
copies of the Prospectus (including supplements thereto) and annual and interim
reports of the Trust which are used in connection with the offering of Trust's
Shares; (ii) preparing, printing and mailing any other literature used by the
Distributor in connection with the sale of the Shares and (iii) reimbursement
for NASD advertising compliance expenses advanced by the Distributor.
(d) All Trust Shares offered for sale by the Distributor shall be
offered for sale to the public at a price per Share (the "offering price") equal
to their net asset value (determined in the manner set forth in the Trust's
then-current Prospectus).
2.3 Sales and Redemptions.
(a) The Trust shall pay all costs and expenses in connection with the
registration of the Shares under the 1933 Act, and all expenses in connection
with maintaining facilities for the issue and transfer of the Shares and for
supplying information, prices and other data to be furnished by the Trust
hereunder, and all expenses in connection with preparing, printing and
distributing any Prospectus, except as set forth in Section 2.2(c) hereof.
(b) The Trust shall execute all documents, furnish all information and
otherwise take all actions which may be reasonably necessary in the discretion
of the Trust's officers in connection with the qualification of the Shares for
sale in such states as the Distributor may designate to the Trust and the Trust
may approve, and the Trust shall pay all fees which may be incurred in
connection with such qualification. The Distributor shall pay all expenses
connected with its qualification as a dealer under state or federal laws and,
except as otherwise specifically provided in this Agreement, all other expenses
incurred by the Distributor in connection with the sale of the Shares as
contemplated in this Agreement. It is understood that certain advertising,
marketing, shareholder servicing, administration and/or distribution expenses to
be incurred in connection with the Shares may be paid as provided in any plan
which may be adopted by the Trust in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the 1940
Act.
(c) The Trust shall have the right to suspend the sale of Shares at any
time in response to conditions in the securities markets or otherwise, and to
suspend the redemption of Shares at any time permitted by the 1940 Act or the
rules of the Commission
(d) The Trust reserves the right to reject any order for Shares.
(e) No Shares shall be offered by either the Trust or the Distributor
under any provisions of this Agreement and no orders for the purchase or sale of
Shares hereunder shall be accepted by the Trust if and so long as the
effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be suspended under any of the
provisions of the 1933 Act, or if and so long as a Prospectus as required by
Section 10 of the 1933 Act is not on file with the Commission; provided,
however, that nothing contained in this subsection shall in any way restrict or
have any application to or bearing upon the Trust's obligation to repurchase any
Shares from any shareholder in accordance with the provisions of the Prospectus.
Section 3. Limitation of Liability. The Distributor shall not be liable
for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the
Trust in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates, except a
loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on the
Distributor's part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard
by it of its obligations and duties under this Agreement. Any person, even
though also an officer, director, partner, employee or agent of the Distributor,
who may be or become an officer, 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 the Distributors
duties as distributor hereunder), to be rendering such services to or acting
solely for the Trust and not as an officer, director, partner, employee or agent
of, or one under the control or direction of, the Distributor even though paid
by the Distributor.
Section 4. Indemnification.
4.1. Trust Representations. The Trust represents and warrants to the
Distributor that at all times the Registration Statement and Prospectus will in
all material respects conform to the applicable requirements of the 1933 Act and
the rules and regulations thereunder and will not include any untrue statement
of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated
therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the
circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, except that no
representation or warranty is made herein with respect to any statements in the
Registration Statement or Prospectus made in reliance upon and in conformity
with written information furnished to the Trust by, or on behalf of' and with
respect to, the Distributor specifically for use in the Registration Statement
or Prospectus.
4.2. Distributor's Representations. The Distributor represents and
warrants to the Trust that it is duly organized and validly existing as an
Indiana corporation and is and at all times will remain duly authorized and
licensed to carry out its services as contemplated herein.
4.3. Trust Indemnification. The Trust will indemnify, defend and hold
harmless the Distributor, its several officers and directors, and any person who
controls the Distributor within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act, from
and against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to
which any of them may become subject under the 1933 Act or otherwise, insofar as
such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions or proceedings in
respect thereof) arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or
alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration
Statement, the Prospectus or in any application or other document executed by or
on behalf of the Trust, or arise out of, or are based upon, information
furnished by or on behalf of the Trust filed in any state in order to qualify
the Shares under the securities or blue sky laws thereof ("Blue Sky
Application"), or arise out of, or are based upon, the omission or alleged
omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse the
Distributor, its several officers and directors, and any person who controls the
Distributor within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act, for any legal or
other expenses reasonably incurred by any of them in investigating, defending or
preparing to defend any such action, proceeding or claim; provided, however,
that the Trust shall not be liable in any case to the extent that such loss,
claim, damage or liability arises out of, or is based upon, any untrue
statement, alleged untrue statement, or omission or alleged omission made in the
Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Blue Sky Application or any
application or other document executed by or on behalf of the Trust in reliance
upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Trust by, or on
behalf of, and with respect to, the Distributor specifically for inclusion
therein.
The Trust shall not indemnify any person pursuant to this Section 4.3
unless the court or other body before which the proceeding was brought has
rendered a final decision on the merits that such person was not liable by
reason of his willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the
performance of his duties, or his reckless disregard of obligations and duties,
under this Agreement ("disabling conduct") or, in the absence of such a
decision, a reasonable determination (based upon a review of the facts) that
such person was not liable by reason of disabling conduct has been made by the
vote of a majority of Trustees who are neither "interested persons" of the Trust
(as defined in the 0000 Xxx) nor parties to the proceeding, or by an independent
legal counsel in a written opinion.
The Trust shall advance attorneys' fees and other expenses incurred by
any person in defending any claim, demand, action or suit which is the subject
of a claim for indemnification pursuant to this Section 4.3, so long as such
person shall: (i) undertake to repay all such advances unless it is ultimately
determined that he is entitled to indemnification hereunder; and (ii) provide
security for such undertaking, or the Trust shall be insured against losses
arising by reason of any lawful advances, or a majority of a quorum of
disinterested non-party Trustees of the Trust (or an independent legal counsel
in a written opinion) shall determine based on a review of readily available
facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that there is reason to believe
that such person ultimately will be found entitled to indemnification hereunder.
4.4. Distributor's Indemnification. The Distributor will indemnify,
defend and hold harmless the Trust, the Trust's several officers and Trustees
and any person who controls the Trust within the meaning of Section 15 of the
1933 Act, from and against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or
several, to which any of them may become subject under the 1933 Act or
otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages, liabilities (or actions or
proceedings in respect hereof) arise out of, or are based upon, any breach of
its representations and warranties in Section 4.2 hereof, or which arise out of,
or are based upon, any true statement or alleged untrue statement of a material
fact contained in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, any Blue Sky
Application or any application or other document executed by or on behalf of the
Trust, or the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact
required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not
misleading, which statement or omission was made in reliance upon and in
conformity with written information furnished to the Trust or any of its several
officers and Trustees by, or on behalf of, and with respect to, the Distributor
specifically for inclusion therein, and will reimburse the Trust, the Trust's
several officers and Trustees, and any person who controls the Trust within the
meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act, for any legal or other expenses
reasonably incurred by any of them in investigating, defending or preparing to
defend any such action, proceeding or claim.
4.5. General Indemnity Provisions. No indemnifying party shall be
liable under its indemnity agreement contained in Section 4.3 or 4.4 hereof with
respect to any claim made against such indemnifying party unless the indemnified
party shall have notified the indemnifying party in writing within a reasonable
time after the summons or other first legal process giving information of the
nature of the claim shall have been served upon the indemnified party (or after
the indemnified party shall have received notice of such service on any
designated agent), but failure to notify the indemnifying party of any such
claim shall not relieve it from any liability which it may otherwise have to the
indemnified party. The indemnifying party will 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 such liability, and if the indemnifying party elects
to assume the defense, such defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by it
and reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party. In the event the
indemnifying party elects to assume the defense of any such suit and retain such
counsel, the indemnified party shall bear the fees and expenses of any
additional counsel retained by the indemnified party.
Section 5. Duration and Termination. The term of this Agreement shall
begin on the date of this Agreement for each Fund that has executed an Exhibit
hereto on the date of this Agreement and shall continue in effect with respect
to each such Fund (and any subsequent Funds added pursuant to an Exhibit
executed during the initial term of this Agreement) for two years thereafter,
and shall continue in effect from year to year thereafter, subject to
termination as hereinafter provided, if such continuance is approved at least
annually by (a) a majority of the outstanding voting securities (as defined in
the 0000 Xxx) of such Fund or by vote of the Trust's Board of Trustees, cast in
person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval, and (b)
by vote of a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not parties to this
Agreement or "interested persons" (as defined in the 0000 Xxx) of any party to
this Agreement, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on
such approval. If a Fund is added pursuant to an Exhibit executed after the date
of this Agreement as described above, this Agreement shall become effective with
respect to that Fund upon execution of the applicable Exhibit and shall continue
in effect until the next annual continuance of this Agreement and from year to
year thereafter, subject to approval as described above. This Agreement may be
terminated by the Trust with respect to any Fund at any time, without the
payment of any penalty, by the Board of Trustees or by vote of a majority of the
outstanding voting securities (as defined in the 0000 Xxx) of such Fund, on 60
days' written notice to the Distributor, or by the Distributor at any time,
without the payment of any penalty, on 90 days' written notice to the Trust.
This Agreement will automatically and immediately terminate in the event of its
assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).
Section 6. Miscellaneous.
6.1. Amendments. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived,
discharged or terminated except by an instrument in writing signed by the party
against which an enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is
sought.
6.2. Construction. 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 any
provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision,
statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be
affected thereby. Subject to the provisions of Section 5 hereof, this Agreement
shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and
their respective successors.
6.3. Notices. Any notice or other instrument in writing, authorized or
required by this Agreement to be given to the Trust shall be sufficiently given
if addressed to the Trust and mailed or delivered to it at its principal office
set forth in the Registration Statement, or at such other place as the Trust may
from time to time designate in writing. Any notice or other instrument in
writing, authorized or required by this Agreement to be given to the Distributor
shall be sufficiently given if addressed to the Distributor and mailed or
delivered to it at 000 Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxx 00000,
Attention: President, or at such other place as the Distributor may from time to
time designate in writing.
6.4. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed
in accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
executed by their officers designated below as of the date and year first above
written.
Veredus Funds
By /s/ B. Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
--------------------
B. Xxxxxxx Xxxxx, President
UNIFIED MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
By /s/ Xxxx X. Xxxx
----------------
Title President
Date: 6/19/98
By /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx, Xx.
-----------------------------
Title Sr. Vice President & COO
Date: 6/19/98
EXHIBIT A
to
Distribution Agreement
List of Portfolios
Veredus Growth Fund
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Exhibit to be
executed by their officers designated below as of the date and year first above
written.
VEREDUS FUNDS
By /s/ B. Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
--------------------
B. Xxxxxxx Xxxxx, President
UNIFIED MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
By /s/ Xxxx X. Xxxx
----------------
Title President
Date: 6/19/98
By /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxx, Xx.
-----------------------------
Title Sr. Vice President & COO
Date: 6/19/98
