SHAREHOLDER SERVICES AGREEMENT
THIS SHAREHOLDER SERVICES AGREEMENT is made and entered into as of
November ___, 2001 by and between The American Life Insurance Company of New
York (the "Company"), and X.X. Xxxxxxx, Inc. ("Distributor").
WHEREAS, the Company offers to the public certain group and individual
variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts (the "Contracts"); and
WHEREAS, the Company wishes to make available as investment options under
the Contracts shares of Third Avenue Value Portfolio and/or such other shares as
the Issuer may register for issuance (the "Funds"), a series of mutual fund
shares registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and
issued by Third Avenue Variable Series Trust (the "Issuer"); and
WHEREAS, on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth, Distributor
desires to make shares of the Funds available as investment options under the
Contracts and to retain the Company to perform certain administrative services
on behalf of the Funds, and the Company is willing and able to furnish such
services;
NOW, THEREFORE, the Company and Distributor agree as follows:
1. TRANSACTIONS IN THE FUNDS. Subject to the terms and conditions of
this Agreement, Distributor will cause the Issuer to make shares of the Funds
available to be purchased, exchanged, or redeemed, by or on behalf of the
Accounts (defined in SECTION 7(A) below) through a single account per Fund at
the net asset value applicable to each order. The Funds' shares shall be
purchased and redeemed on a net basis in such quantity and at such time as
determined by the Company to satisfy the requirements of the Contracts for which
the Funds serve as underlying investment media. Dividends and capital gains
distributions will be automatically reinvested in full and fractional shares of
the Funds.
2. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES. The Company agrees to provide all
administrative services for the Contract owners, including but not limited to
those services specified in EXHIBIT A (the "Administrative Services"). Neither
Distributor nor the Issuer shall be required to provide Administrative Services
for the benefit of Contract owners. The Company agrees that it will maintain and
preserve all records as required by law to be maintained and preserved in
connection with providing the Administrative Services, and will otherwise comply
with all laws, rules and regulations applicable to the marketing of the
Contracts and the provision of the Administrative Services. Upon request, the
Company will provide Distributor or its representatives reasonable information
regarding the quality of the Administrative Services being provided and its
compliance with the terms of this Agreement.
1
3. TIMING OF TRANSACTIONS. Distributor hereby appoints the Company as
agent for the Funds for the limited purpose of accepting purchase and redemption
orders for Fund shares from the Contract owners. On each day the New York Stock
Exchange (the "Exchange") is open for business (each, a "Business Day"), the
Company may receive instructions from the Contract owners for the purchase or
redemption of shares of the Funds ("Orders"). Orders received and accepted by
the Company prior to the close of regular trading on the Exchange (the "Close of
Trading") on any given Business Day (currently, 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) and
transmitted to the Funds' transfer agent by 10:00 p.m. Eastern time on such
Business Day will be executed at the net asset value determined as of the Close
of Trading on such Business Day. Any Orders received by the Company on such day
but after the Close of Trading, and all Orders that are transmitted to the
Funds' transfer agent after 10:00 p.m. Eastern time on such Business Day, will
be executed at the net asset value determined as of the Close of Trading on the
next Business Day following the day of receipt of such Order. The day as of
which an Order is executed by the Funds' transfer agent pursuant to the
provisions set forth above is referred to herein as the "Trade Date". All orders
are subject to acceptance or rejection by Distributor or the Funds in the sole
discretion of either of them.
4. PROCESSING OF TRANSACTIONS.
(a) If transactions in Fund shares are to be settled directly with the
Funds' transfer agent, the following provisions shall apply:
(1) By 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on each Business Day, Distributor
(or one of its affiliates) will provide to the Company via electronic
transmission acceptable to the Company the Funds' net asset value, dividend and
capital gain information and, in the case of income funds, the daily accrual for
interest rate factor (mil rate), determined at the Close of Trading.
(2) By 10:00 p.m. Eastern time on each Business Day, the Company
will provide to Distributor via electronic transmission acceptable to
Distributor a report stating whether the instructions received by the Company
from Contract owners by the Close of Trading on such Business Day resulted in
the Accounts being a net purchaser or net seller of shares of the Funds. As used
in this Agreement, the phrase "other electronic transmission acceptable to
Distributor" includes the use of remote computer terminals located at the
premises of the Company, its agents or affiliates, which terminals may be linked
electronically to the computer system of Distributor, its agents or affiliates
(hereinafter, "Remote Computer Terminals").
(3) Upon the timely receipt from the Company of the report
described in (2) above, the Funds' transfer agent will execute the purchase or
redemption transactions (as the case may be) at the net asset value computed as
of the Close of Trading on the Trade Date. Payment for net purchase transactions
shall be made by wire transfer to the applicable Fund custodial account
designated by the Funds on the Business Day next following the Trade Date. Such
wire transfers
2
shall be initiated by the Company's bank prior to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time and
received by the Funds prior to 6:00 p.m. Eastern time on the Business Day next
following the Trade Date ("T+1"). If payment for a purchase Order is not timely
received, such Order will be, at Distributor's option, either (i) executed at
the net asset value determined on the Trade Date, and the Company shall be
responsible for all costs to Distributor or the Funds resulting from such delay,
or (ii) executed at the net asset value next computed following receipt of
payment. Payments for net redemption transactions shall be made by wire transfer
by the Issuer to the account(s) designated by the Company on T+1; PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, the Issuer reserves the right to settle redemption transactions within
the time period set forth in the applicable Fund's then-current prospectus. On
any Business Day when the Federal Reserve Wire Transfer System is closed, all
communication and processing rules will be suspended for the settlement of
Orders. Orders will be settled on the next Business Day on which the Federal
Reserve Wire Transfer System is open and the original Trade Date will apply.
5. PROSPECTUS AND PROXY MATERIALS.
(a) Distributor shall electronically provide in .pdf format the Company
with copies of the Issuer's proxy materials, periodic fund reports to
shareholders and other materials that are required by law to be sent to the
Issuer's shareholders. In addition, to the extent applicable, Distributor shall
provide the Company with a sufficient quantity of prospectuses of the Funds to
be used in conjunction with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement,
together with such additional copies of the Issuer's prospectuses as may be
reasonably requested by Company. If the Company provides for pass-through voting
by the Contract owners, or if the Company determines that pass-through voting is
required by law, Distributor will provide the Company with a sufficient quantity
of proxy materials for each, as directed by the Company.
(b) The cost of preparing, printing and shipping of the prospectuses,
periodic fund reports and other materials of the Issuer to the Company shall be
paid by Distributor or its agents or affiliates; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that if at
any time Distributor or its agent reasonably deems the usage by the Company of
such items to be excessive, it may, prior to the delivery of any quantity of
materials in excess of what is deemed reasonable, request that the Company
demonstrate the reasonableness of such usage. If Distributor believes the
reasonableness of such usage has not been adequately demonstrated, it may
request that the party responsible for such excess usage pay the cost of
printing (including press time) and delivery of any excess copies of such
materials. Unless the Company agrees to make such payments, Distributor may
refuse to supply such additional materials and Distributor shall be deemed in
compliance with this SECTION 5 if it delivers to the Company at least the number
of prospectuses and other materials as may be required by the Issuer under
applicable law.
(c) The cost of any distribution of prospectuses, proxy materials,
periodic fund reports and other materials of the Issuer to the Contract owners
shall be paid by the Company and shall not be the responsibility of Distributor
or the Issuer.
3
6. COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES.
(a) The Accounts shall be the sole shareholder of Fund shares purchased
for the Contract owners pursuant to this Agreement (the "Record Owner"). The
Record Owner shall properly complete any applications or other forms required by
Distributor or the Issuer from time to time.
(b) Distributor acknowledges that it will derive a substantial savings
in administrative expenses, such as a reduction in expenses related to postage,
shareholder communications and recordkeeping, by virtue of the electronic nature
of the offering and having a single shareholder account per Fund for the
Accounts rather than having each Contract owner as a shareholder. In
consideration of the Administrative Services and performance of all other
obligations under this Agreement by the Company, Distributor will pay the
Company a fee (the "Administrative Services Fee") equal to __ basis points
(____%) per annum of the average aggregate amount invested by the Company in
shares of the Funds under this Agreement. The payments received by the Company
under this SECTION 6(b) are for administrative and shareholder services only and
do not constitute payment in any manner for investment advisory services or for
costs of distribution.
(c) Reserved.
(d) For the purposes of computing the payments to the Company
contemplated by this SECTION 6, the average aggregate amount invested by the
Company on behalf of the Accounts in the Funds over a one month period shall be
computed by totaling the Company's aggregate investment (share net asset value
multiplied by total number of shares of the Funds held by the Company) on each
Business Day during the month and dividing by the total number of Business Days
during such month.
(e) Distributor will calculate the amount of the payments to be made
pursuant to this SECTION 6 at the end of each calendar quarter and will make
such payment to the Company within 30 days thereafter. The check for such
payments will be accompanied by a statement showing the calculation of the
amounts being paid by Distributor for the relevant months and such other
supporting data as may be reasonably requested by the Company and shall be
mailed to:
The American Life Insurance Company of New York
000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 000
Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000
Attention: Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxxxxx
Phone No.: 000-000-0000
Fax No.: 000-000-0000
4
7. REPRESENTATIONS.
(a) The Company represents and warrants that (i) this Agreement has been
duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and, when executed and
delivered, shall constitute the legal, valid and binding obligation of the
Company, enforceable in accordance with its terms; (ii) it has established The
American Separate Account 5 (the "Account"), which is a duly authorized and
established separate account under New York Insurance law, and has registered
the Account as a unit investment trust under the Investment Company Act of 1940
(the "1940 Act") to serve as an investment vehicle for the Contracts; (iii) each
Contract provides for the allocation of net amounts received by the Company to
an Account for investment in the shares of one or more specified investment
companies selected among those companies available through the Account to act as
underlying investment media; (iv) selection of a particular investment company
is made by the Contract owner under a particular Contract, who may change such
selection from time to time in accordance with the terms of the applicable
Contract; and (v) the activities of the Company contemplated by this Agreement
comply in all material respects with all provisions of federal and state
securities laws applicable to such activities.
(b) Distributor represents that (i) this Agreement has been duly
authorized by all necessary corporate action and, when executed and delivered,
shall constitute the legal, valid and binding obligation of Distributor,
enforceable in accordance with its terms; (ii) the prospectus of each Fund
complies in all material respects with federal and state securities laws, and
(iii) shares of the Issuer are registered and authorized for sale in accordance
with all federal and state securities laws.
8. ADDITIONAL COVENANTS AND AGREEMENTS.
(a) Each party shall comply with all provisions of federal and state
laws applicable to its respective activities under this Agreement. All
obligations of each party under this Agreement are subject to compliance with
applicable federal and state laws.
(b) Each party shall promptly notify the other party in the event that
it is, for any reason, unable to perform any of its obligations under this
Agreement.
(c) The Company covenants and agrees that all Orders accepted and
transmitted by it hereunder with respect to each Account on any Business Day
will be based upon instructions that it received from the Contract owners, in
proper form prior to the Close of Trading of the Exchange on that Business Day.
The Company shall time stamp all Orders or otherwise maintain records that will
enable the Company to demonstrate compliance with SECTION 8(c) hereof.
(d) The Company covenants and agrees that all Orders transmitted to the
Issuer, whether by telephone, telecopy, or other electronic transmission
acceptable to Distributor, shall be
5
sent by or under the authority and direction of a person designated by the
Company as being duly authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the Accounts.
Distributor shall be entitled to rely on the existence of such authority and to
assume that any person transmitting Orders for the purchase, redemption or
transfer of Fund shares on behalf of the Company is "an appropriate person" as
used in Sections 8-107 and 8-401 of the Uniform Commercial Code with respect to
the transmission of instructions regarding Fund shares on behalf of the owner of
such Fund shares. The Company shall maintain the confidentiality of all
passwords and security procedures issued, installed or otherwise put in place
with respect to the use of Remote Computer Terminals and assumes full
responsibility for the security therefor. The Company further agrees to be
responsible for the accuracy, propriety and consequences of all data transmitted
to Distributor by the Company by telephone, telecopy or other electronic
transmission acceptable to Distributor.
(e) The Company agrees that, to the extent it is able to do so, it will
use its best efforts to give equal emphasis and promotion to shares of the Funds
as is given to other underlying investments of the Accounts, subject to
applicable Securities and Exchange Commission rules. In addition, the Company
shall not impose any fee, condition, or requirement for the use of the Funds as
investment options for the Contracts that operates to the specific prejudice of
the Funds VIS-A-VIS the other investment media made available for the Contracts
by the Company.
(f) The Company shall not, without the written consent of Distributor,
make representations concerning the Issuer or the shares of the Funds except
those contained in the then-current prospectus and in current printed sales
literature approved by Distributor or the Issuer.
(g) Advertising and sales literature with respect to the Issuer or the
Funds prepared by the Company or its agents, if any, for use in marketing shares
of the Funds as underlying investment media to Contract owners shall be
submitted to Distributor for review and approval before such material is used.
9. USE OF NAMES. Except as otherwise expressly provided for in this
Agreement, neither Distributor nor any of its affiliates nor the Funds shall use
any trademark, trade name, service xxxx or logo of the Company, or any variation
of any such trademark, trade name, service xxxx or logo, without the Company's
prior written consent, the granting of which shall be at the Company's sole
option. Except as otherwise expressly provided for in this Agreement, the
Company shall not use any trademark, trade name, service xxxx or logo of the
Issuer, Distributor or any variation of any such trademarks, trade names,
service marks, or logos, without the prior written consent of either the Issuer
or Distributor, as appropriate, the granting of which shall be at the sole
option of Distributor and/or the Issuer.
6
10. PROXY VOTING.
(a) The Company shall provide pass-through voting privileges to all
Contract owners so long as the SEC continues to interpret the 1940 Act as
requiring such privileges. It shall be the responsibility of the Company to
assure that it and the separate accounts of the other Participating Companies
(as defined in SECTION 12(a) below) participating in any Fund calculate voting
privileges in a consistent manner.
(b) The Company will electronically or otherwise distribute to Contract
owners all proxy material furnished by Distributor and will vote shares in
accordance with instructions received from such Contract owners. The Company
shall vote Fund shares for which no voting instructions are received in the same
proportion as shares for which such instructions have been received. The Company
and its agents shall not oppose or interfere with the solicitation of proxies
for Fund shares held for such Contract owners.
11. INDEMNITY.
(a) Distributor agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and
its officers, directors, employees, agents, affiliates and each person, if any,
who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933
(collectively, the "Indemnified Parties" for purposes of this SECTION 11(a))
against any losses, claims, expenses, damages or liabilities (including amounts
paid in settlement thereof) or litigation expenses (including legal and other
expenses) (collectively, "Losses"), to which the Indemnified Parties may become
subject, insofar as such Losses result from a breach by Distributor of a
material provision of this Agreement. Distributor will reimburse any legal or
other expenses reasonably incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with
investigating or defending any such Losses. Distributor shall not be liable for
indemnification hereunder if such Losses are attributable to the negligence or
misconduct of the Company in performing its obligations under this Agreement.
(b) The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Distributor and
the Issuer, and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents,
affiliates and each person, if any, who controls Issuer or Distributor within
the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 (collectively, the "Indemnified
Parties" for purposes of this SECTION 11(b)) against any Losses to which the
Indemnified Parties may become subject, insofar as such Losses result from a
breach by the Company of a material provision of this Agreement or the use by
any person of the Remote Computer Terminals. The Company will reimburse any
legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Indemnified Parties in
connection with investigating or defending any such Losses. The Company shall
not be liable for indemnification hereunder if such Losses are attributable to
the negligence or misconduct of Distributor or the Issuer in performing their
obligations under this Agreement.
7
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party hereunder of notice
of the commencement of action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in
respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party hereunder, notify
the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof; but the omission so to
notify the indemnifying party will not relieve it from any liability which it
may have to any indemnified party otherwise than under this SECTION 11. In case
any such action is brought against any indemnified party, and it notifies the
indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party will be
entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it may wish to, assume
the defense thereof, with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party, and
after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its
election to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party will not be
liable to such indemnified party under this SECTION 11 for any legal or other
expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the
defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation.
(d) If the indemnifying party assumes the defense of any such action,
the indemnifying party shall not, without the prior written consent of the
indemnified parties in such action, settle or compromise the liability of the
indemnified parties in such action, or permit a default or consent to the entry
of any judgment in respect thereof, unless in connection with such settlement,
compromise or consent, each indemnified party receives from such claimant an
unconditional release from all liability in respect of such claim.
12. TERMINATION; WITHDRAWAL OF OFFERING. This Agreement may be
terminated by either party upon 180 days' prior written notice to the other
party. Notwithstanding the above, the Issuer reserves the right, without prior
notice, to suspend sales of shares of any Fund, in whole or in part, or to make
a limited offering of shares of any of the Funds in the event that (A) any
regulatory body commences formal proceedings against the Company, Distributor,
affiliates of Distributor, or the Issuer, which proceedings Distributor
reasonably believes may have a material adverse impact on the ability of
Distributor, the Issuer or the Company to perform its obligations under this
Agreement or (B) in the judgment of Distributor, declining to accept any
additional instructions for the purchase or sale of shares of any such Fund is
warranted by market, economic or political conditions. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, this Agreement may be terminated immediately (i) by any party as a
result of any other breach of this Agreement by another party, which breach is
not cured within 30 days after receipt of notice from the other party, or (ii)
by any party upon a determination that continuing to perform under this
Agreement would, in the reasonable opinion of the terminating party's counsel,
violate any applicable federal or state law, rule, regulation or judicial order.
Termination of this Agreement shall not affect the obligations of the parties to
make payments under SECTION 4 for Orders received by the Company prior to such
termination and shall not affect the Issuer's obligation to maintain the
Accounts as set forth by this Agreement. Following termination, Distributor
shall not have any Administrative Services payment obligation to the Company
(except for payment obligations accrued but not yet paid as of the termination
date).
8
13. NON-EXCLUSIVITY. Both parties acknowledge and agree that this
Agreement and the arrangement described herein are intended to be non-exclusive
and that each party is free to enter into similar agreements and arrangements
with other entities.
14. SURVIVAL. The provisions of SECTION 9 (Use of Names) and SECTION 11
(Indemnity) of this Agreement shall survive termination of this Agreement.
15. AMENDMENT. Neither this Agreement, nor any provision hereof, may be
amended, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in
writing signed by all of the parties hereto.
16. NOTICES. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be
given or made in writing and shall be delivered personally, or sent by telex,
telecopier, express delivery or registered or certified mail, postage prepaid,
return receipt requested, to the party or parties to whom they are directed at
the following addresses, or at such other addresses as may be designated by
notice from such party to all other parties.
To the Company:
The American Life Insurance Company of New York
000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxx 000
Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000
(000) 000-0000 (office number)
(000) 000-0000 (fax number)
Attention: General Counsel
To the Issuer or Distributor:
X.X. Xxxxxxx, Inc.
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Attn: General Counsel
Any notice, demand or other communication given in a manner prescribed in this
SECTION 17 shall be deemed to have been delivered on receipt.
17. SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS. This Agreement may not be assigned without
the written consent of both parties to the Agreement at the time of such
assignment. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit both
parties hereto and their respective permitted successors and assigns.
9
18. COUNTERPARTS. This Agreement may be executed in any number of
counterparts, all of which taken together shall constitute one agreement, and
any party hereto may execute this Agreement by signing any such counterpart.
19. SEVERABILITY. In case any one or more of the provisions contained in
this Agreement should be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the
validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions contained
herein shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.
20. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement, including the attachments hereto,
constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the matters
dealt with herein, and supersedes all previous agreements, written or oral, with
respect to such matters.
If the foregoing correctly sets forth our understanding, please indicate
your agreement to and acceptance thereof by signing below, whereupon this
Agreement shall become a binding agreement between us as of the latest date
indicated.
X.X. XXXXXXX, INC.
By:
------------------------------
Name:
----------------------------
Title:
---------------------------
Date:
----------------------------
We agree to and accept the terms of the foregoing Agreement.
THE AMERICAN LIFE INSURANCE
COMPANY OF NEW YORK
By:
------------------------------
Name:
----------------------------
Title:
---------------------------
Date:
----------------------------
10
EXHIBIT A
ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES
Pursuant to the Agreement to which this is attached, the Company shall perform
all administrative and shareholder services required or requested under the
Contracts with respect to the Contract owners, including, but not limited to,
the following:
1. Maintain separate records for each Contract owner, which records
shall reflect the shares purchased and redeemed and share balances of such
Contract owners. The Company will maintain a single master account with each
Fund on behalf of the Contract owners and such account shall be in the name of
the Company (or its nominee) as the record owner of shares owned by the Contract
owners.
2. Disburse or credit to the Contract owners all proceeds of
redemptions of shares of the Funds and all dividends and other distributions not
reinvested in shares of the Funds.
3. Prepare and transmit to the Contract owners, as required by law or
the Contracts, periodic statements showing the total number of shares owned by
the Contract owners as of the statement closing date, purchases and redemptions
of Fund shares by the Contract owners during the period covered by the statement
and the dividends and other distributions paid during the statement period
(whether paid in cash or reinvested in Fund shares), and such other information
as may be required, from time to time, by the Contracts.
4. Transmit purchase and redemption orders to the Funds on behalf of
the Contract owners in accordance with the procedures set forth in SECTION 4 to
the Agreement.
5. Distribute to the Contract owners copies of the Funds' prospectus,
proxy materials, periodic fund reports to shareholders and other materials that
the Funds are required by law or otherwise to provide to their shareholders or
prospective shareholders.
6. Maintain and preserve all records as required by law to be
maintained and preserved in connection with providing the Administrative
Services for the Contracts.
B-1
