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PLACEMENT AGENT AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT dated May 13, 1996 between Tax-Free Income Trust, a
Massachusetts business trust (the "Trust"), on behalf of its
underlying portfolio and American Express Financial Advisors Inc.,
a Delaware corporation, the placement agent (the "Placement Agent")
of units in the Trust ("Trust Units").
Part One: SERVICES AS PLACEMENT AGENT
(1) Placement Agent will act as placement agent of the Trust
Units covered by the Trust's registration statement then in effect
under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act"). Under
this Agreement, neither the Placement Agent nor its employees or
any of its agents will make any offer or sale of Trust Units in a
manner which would require the Trust Units to be registered under
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act").
(2) The Placement Agent will act as
placement agent for each class of units issued and to be issued by
the Trust during the period of this agreement and agrees to offer
for sale those units as long as those units remain available for
sale, unless the Placement Agent is unable or unwilling to make
such offer for sale or sales or solicitations therefor legally
because of any federal, state, provincial or governmental law, rule
or agency or for any financial reason.
(3) Nothing in this Agreement requires the Trust to accept any
offer to purchase any Trust units; all offers are subject to
approval by the Board of Trustees (the "Board").
(4) The Trust represents to the Placement Agent that all
registration statements filed by the Trust with the Commission
under the Investment Company Act of 1940 with respect to Trust
units have been and will be prepared in conformity with the
requirements of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the rules
and regulations of the Commission.
(5) The Trust agrees to make prompt and
reasonable effort to do any and all things necessary, in the
opinion of the Placement Agent, to have and to keep the Trust and
the units properly registered or qualified in all appropriate
jurisdictions.
(6) The Trust agrees that it will
furnish the Placement Agent with information with respect to the
affairs and accounts of the Trust, and in such form, as the
Placement Agent may from time to time reasonably require and
further agrees that the Placement Agent, at all reasonable times,
shall be permitted to inspect the books and records of the Trust.
(7) The Placement Agent and the Trust
agree to use their best efforts to conform with all applicable
state and federal laws and regulations relating to any rights or
obligations under the terms of this agreement.
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Part Two: ALLOCATION OF EXPENSES
Except as provided by any other agreements between the parties, the
Placement Agent covenants and agrees that during the period of this
agreement it will pay or cause or be paid all expenses incurred by
the Placement Agent or any of its affiliates, in the offering for
sale or sale of each class of the Trust's units.
Part Three: MISCELLANEOUS
(1) The Placement Agent shall be deemed to be an independent
contractor and, except as expressly provided or authorized in this
agreement, shall have no authority to act for or represent the
Trust.
(2) The Placement Agent shall be free to render to others services
similar to those rendered under this agreement.
(3) Neither this agreement nor any transaction pursuant hereto
shall be invalidated or in any way affected by the fact that
trustees, officers, agents and/or unitholders of the Trust are or
may be interested in the Placement Agent as trustees, officers,
unitholders or otherwise; that directors, officers, shareholders or
agents of the Placement Agent are or may be interested in the Trust
as trustees, officers, or otherwise; or that the Placement Agent is
or may be interested in the Trust as unitholder or otherwise;
provided, however, that neither the Placement Agent nor any officer
or director of the Placement Agent or any officers or trustees of
the Trust shall sell to or buy from the Trust any property or
security other than a security issued by the Trust, except in
accordance with a rule, regulation or order of the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
(4) Any notice under this agreement shall be given in writing,
addressed and delivered, or mailed postpaid, to the parties to this
agreement at each company's principal place of business in
Minneapolis, Minnesota, or to such other address as either party
may designate in writing mailed to the other.
(5) The Placement Agent agrees that no officer, director or
employee of the Placement Agent will deal for or on behalf of the
Trust with himself or herself as principal or agent, or with any
corporation or partnership in which he or she may have a financial
interest, except that this shall not prohibit:
(a) Officers, directors and employees of the Placement Agent
from having a financial interest in the Trust or in the Placement
Agent.
(b) The purchase of securities for the Trust, or the sale of
securities owned by the Trust, through a security broker or dealer,
one or more of whose partners, officers, directors or employees is
an officer, director or employee of the Placement Agent provided
such transactions are handled in the capacity of broker only and
provided commissions charged do not exceed customary brokerage
charges for such services.
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(c) Transactions with the Trust by a broker-dealer affiliate
of the Placement Agent if allowed by rule or order of the
Securities and Exchange Commission and if made pursuant to
procedures adopted by the Trust's Board of Trustees (the "Board").
(6) The Placement Agent agrees that, except as otherwise provided
in this agreement, or as may be permitted consistent with the use
of a broker-dealer affiliate of the Placement Agent under
applicable provisions of the federal securities laws, neither it
nor any of its officers, directors or employees shall at any time
during the period of this agreement make, accept or receive,
directly or indirectly, any fees, profits or emoluments of any
character in connection with the purchase or sale of securities
(except securities issued by the Trust) or other assets by or for
the Trust.
(7) A copy of the Declaration of Trust, dated October 2, 1995,
together with all amendments, is on file in the office of the
Secretary of State of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The
execution and delivery of this Agreement have been authorized by
the Trustees and the Agreement has been signed by an authorized
officer of the Trust. It is expressly agreed that the obligations
of the Trust under this Agreement shall not be binding upon any of
the Trustees, unitholders, nominees, officers, agents or employees
of the Trust, personally, but bind only the assets and property of
the Trust, as provided in the Declaration of Trust.
Part Five: TERMINATION
(1) This agreement shall continue from year to year unless and
until terminated by the Placement Agent or the Trust, except that
such continuance shall be specifically approved at least annually
by a vote of a majority of the Board of Trustees who are not
parties to this agreement or interested persons of any such party,
cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on
such approval, and by a majority of the Board of Trustees or by
vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the
Trust. As used in this paragraph, the terms "interested person"
and "vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities" shall
have the meaning as set forth in the Investment Company Act of
1940, as amended.
(2) This agreement may be terminated by either party at any time
by giving the other party sixty (60) days written notice of such
intention to terminate.
(3) This agreement shall terminate in the event of its assignment,
the term "assignment" for this purpose having the same meaning as
set forth in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, The parties hereto have executed the foregoing
agreement on the date and year first above written.
TAX-FREE INCOME TRUST
Tax-Free High Yield Portfolio
By /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxx
Xxxxxx X. Xxx
Vice President
AMERICAN EXPRESS FINANCIAL ADVISORS INC.
By /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx
Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx
Senior Vice President
