AMENDED AND RESTATED MASTER TRANSFER AGENCY AND SERVICE AGREEMENT
AMENDED AND RESTATED
MASTER TRANSFER AGENCY AND SERVICE AGREEMENT
THIS MASTER TRANSFER AGENCY AGREEMENT is dated and effective as of July 31, 2017, by and between STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY, Massachusetts trust company having its principal office and place of business at Xxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000 (“State Street” or the “Transfer Agent”), and each management investment company listed on Schedule A hereto and each management investment company made subject to this Agreement in accordance with Section 12 of this Agreement (each, a “Trust” and collectively, the “Trusts”). This Agreement amends and restates the Master Transfer Agency and Service Agreement between the Trusts and the Custodian dated as of June 26, 2017.
WHEREAS, each Trust is authorized to issue shares of beneficial interest (“Shares”) in separate series, with each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities and other assets;
WHEREAS, each Trust intends to initially offer Shares in one or more series, each as named in the attached Schedule A, which may be amended by the parties from time to time (such series, together with all other series subsequently established by the Trust and made subject to this Agreement in accordance with Section 12 of this Agreement, being herein referred to as a “Portfolio,” and collectively as the “Portfolios”);
WHEREAS, each Portfolio will issue and redeem Shares only in aggregations of Shares known as “Creation Units” as described in the currently effective prospectus and statement of additional information of the Trust (collectively, the “Prospectus”);
WHEREAS, only those entities (“Authorized Participants”) that have entered into an Authorized Participant Agreement with the distributor of the Trust, currently Foreside Fund Services, LLC (the “Distributor”), are eligible to place orders for Creation Units with the Distributor;
WHEREAS, the Depository Trust Company, a limited purpose trust company organized under the laws of the State of New York (“DTC”) or its nominee will be the record or registered owner of all outstanding Shares;
WHEREAS, each Trust desires to appoint Transfer Agent to act as its transfer agent, dividend disbursing agent and agent in connection with certain other activities; and Transfer Agent is willing to accept such appointment.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, the parties hereto, agree as follows:
| 1. | TERMS OF APPOINTMENT |
| 1.1 | Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, each Trust and Portfolio hereby employs and appoints the Transfer Agent to act as, and the Transfer Agent agrees to act as, transfer agent for the Creation Units and dividend disbursing agent of each Trust and Portfolio. |
| 1.2 | Transfer Agency Services. In accordance with procedures established from time to time by agreement between each Trust and Portfolio, as applicable, and the Transfer Agent, the Transfer Agent shall: |
| (i) | establish each Authorized Participant’s account in the applicable Portfolio on the Transfer Agent’s recordkeeping system and maintain such account for the benefit of such Authorized Participant; |
| (ii) | receive and process orders for the purchase of Creation Units from the Distributor or the Trust, and promptly deliver payment and appropriate documentation thereof to the custodian of the applicable Portfolio as identified by the Trust (the “Custodian”); |
| (iii) | generate or cause to be generated and transmitted confirmation of receipt of such purchase orders to the Authorized Participants and, if applicable, transmit appropriate trade instruction to the National Securities Clearance Corporation (“NSCC”); |
| (iv) | receive and process redemption requests and redemption directions from the Distributor or the Trust and deliver the appropriate documentation thereof to the Custodian; |
| (v) | with respect to items (i) through (iv) above, the Transfer Agent may execute transactions directly with Authorized Participants; |
| (vi) | at the appropriate time as and when it receives monies paid to it by the Custodian with respect to any redemption, pay over or cause to be paid over in the appropriate manner such monies, if any, to the redeeming Authorized Participant as instructed by the Distributor or the Trust; |
| (vii) | prepare and transmit by means of DTC’s book-entry system payments for any dividends and distributions declared by the Trust on behalf of the applicable Portfolio; |
| (viii) | record the issuance of Shares of the applicable Portfolio and maintain a record of the total number of Shares of each Portfolio which are issued and outstanding; and provide the Trust on a regular basis with the total number of Shares of each Portfolio which are issued and outstanding but Transfer Agent shall have no obligation, when recording the issuance of Shares, to monitor the issuance of such Shares to determine if there are authorized Shares available for issuance or to take cognizance of any laws relating to, or corporate actions required for, the issue or sale of such Shares, which functions shall be the sole responsibility of the Trust and each Portfolio; and, excluding DTC or its nominee as the record or registered owner, the Transfer Agent shall have no obligations or responsibilities to account for, keep records of, or otherwise related to, the beneficial owners of the Shares; |
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| (ix) | maintain and manage, as agent for the Trust and each Portfolio, such bank accounts as the Transfer Agent shall deem necessary for the performance of its duties under this Agreement, including but not limited to, the processing of Creation Unit purchases and redemptions and the payment of a Portfolio’s dividends and distributions. The Transfer Agent may maintain such accounts at the bank or banks deemed appropriate by the Transfer Agent in accordance with applicable law; |
| (x) | process any request from an Authorized Participant to change its account registration; and |
| (xi) | except as otherwise instructed by the Trust, the Transfer Agent shall process all transactions in each Portfolio in accordance with the procedures mutually agreed upon by the Trust and the Transfer Agent with respect to the proper net asset value to be applied to purchase orders received in good order by the Transfer Agent or by the Trust or any other person or firm on behalf of such Portfolio or from an Authorized Participant before cut-offs established by the Trust. The Transfer Agent shall report to the Trust any known exceptions to the foregoing. |
| 1.3 | Additional Services. In addition to, and neither in lieu of nor in contravention of the services set forth in Section 1.2 above, the Transfer Agent shall perform the following services: |
| (i) | The Transfer Agent shall perform such other services for the Trust that are mutually agreed to by the parties from time to time, for which the Trust will pay such fees as may be mutually agreed upon, including the Transfer Agent’s reasonable out-of-pocket expenses. The provision of such services shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. |
| (ii) | DTC and NSCC. The Transfer Agent shall: (a) accept and effectuate the registration and maintenance of accounts, and the purchase and redemption of Creation Units in such accounts, in accordance with instructions transmitted to and received by the Transfer Agent by transmission from DTC or NSCC on behalf of Authorized Participants; and (b) issue instructions to a Portfolio’s banks for the settlement of transactions between the Portfolio and DTC or NSCC (acting on behalf of the applicable Authorized Participant). |
| 1.4 | Authorized Persons. Each Trust and Portfolio hereby agrees and acknowledges that the Transfer Agent may rely on the current list of authorized persons, including the Distributor, as provided or agreed to by the Trust and as may be amended from time to time, in receiving instructions to issue or redeem Creation Units. Each Trust and Portfolio agrees and covenants for itself and each such authorized person that any order or sale of or transaction in Creation Units received by it after the order cut-off time as set forth in the Prospectus or such earlier time as designated by such Portfolio (the “Order Cut-Off Time”), shall be |
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| effectuated at the net asset value determined on the next business day or as otherwise required pursuant to the applicable Portfolio’s then-effective Prospectus, and the Trust or such authorized person shall so instruct the Transfer Agent of the proper effective date of the transaction. |
| 1.5 | Anti-Money Laundering and Client Screening. With respect to any Trust’s or Portfolio’s offering and sale of Creation Units at any time, and for all subsequent transfers of such interests, the Trust or its delegate shall, to the extent applicable, directly or indirectly and to the extent required by law: (i) conduct know your customer/client identity due diligence with respect to potential investors and transferees in the Shares and Creation Units and shall obtain and retain due diligence records for each investor and transferee; (ii) use its best efforts to ensure that each investor’s and any transferee’s funds used to purchase Creation Units or Shares shall not be derived from, nor the product of, any criminal activity; (iii) if requested, provide periodic written verifications that such investors/transferees have been checked against the United States Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control database for any non-compliance or exceptions; and (iv) perform its obligations under this Section in accordance with all applicable anti-money laundering laws and regulations. In the event that the Transfer Agent has received advice from counsel that access to underlying due diligence records pertaining to the investors/transferees is necessary to ensure compliance by the Transfer Agent with relevant anti-money laundering (or other applicable) laws or regulations, the Trust shall, upon receipt of written request from the Transfer Agent, provide the Transfer Agent copies of such due diligence records. |
| 1.6 | State Transaction (“Blue Sky”) Reporting. If applicable, the Trust shall be solely responsible for its “blue sky” compliance and state registration requirements. |
| 1.7 | Tax Law. The Transfer Agent shall have no responsibility or liability for any obligations now or hereafter imposed on any Trust, a Portfolio, any Creation Units, any Shares, a beneficial owner thereof, an Authorized Participant or the Transfer Agent in connection with the services provided by the Transfer Agent hereunder by the tax laws of any country or of any state or political subdivision thereof. It shall be the responsibility of each Trust to notify the Transfer Agent of the obligations imposed on the Trust, a Portfolio, the Creation Units, the Shares, or the Transfer Agent in connection with the services provided by the Transfer Agent hereunder by the tax law of countries, states and political subdivisions thereof, including responsibility for withholding and other taxes, assessments or other governmental charges, certifications and governmental reporting. |
| 1.8 | The Transfer Agent shall provide the office facilities and the personnel determined by it to perform the services contemplated herein. |
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| 2. | FEES AND EXPENSES |
| 2.1 | Fee Schedule. For the performance by the Transfer Agent of services provided pursuant to this Agreement, the Transfer Agent shall be entitled to receive the fees and expenses set forth in a written fee schedule. |
| 2.2 | REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE TRANSFER AGENT |
The Transfer Agent represents and warrants to each Trust that:
| 3.1 | It is a trust company duly organized and existing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. |
| 3.2 | It is duly registered as a transfer agent under Section 17A(c)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), it will remain so registered for the duration of this Agreement, and it will promptly notify the Trust in the event of any material change in its status as a registered transfer agent. |
| 3.3 | It is duly qualified to carry on its business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. |
| 3.4 | It is empowered under applicable laws and by its organizational documents to enter into and perform the services contemplated in this Agreement. |
| 3.5 | All requisite organizational proceedings have been taken to authorize it to enter into and perform this Agreement. |
| 3. | REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF EACH TRUST AND THE PORTFOLIOS |
Each Trust and Portfolio represents and warrants to the Transfer Agent that:
| 4.1 | The Trust is a statutory trust duly organized, existing and in good standing under the laws of the state of its formation. |
| 4.2 | The Trust is empowered under applicable laws and by its organizational documents to enter into and perform this Agreement. |
| 4.3 | All requisite proceedings have been taken to authorize the Trust to enter into, perform and receive services pursuant to this Agreement. |
| 4.4 | The Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company. |
| 4.5 | A registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), will be effective and will remain effective, and all appropriate state securities law filings will have been made and will continue to be made, with respect to all Shares of the Trust being offered for sale. |
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| 4.6 | To the extent applicable, where information provided by a Trust or a Trust’s investors includes information about an identifiable individual (“Personal Information”), the Trust represents and warrants that it has obtained all consents and approvals, as required by all applicable laws, regulations, by-laws and ordinances that regulate the collection, processing, use or disclosure of Personal Information, necessary to disclose such Personal Information to the Transfer Agent, and as required for the Transfer Agent to use and disclose such Personal Information in connection with the performance of the services hereunder. Each Trust acknowledges that the Transfer Agent may perform any of the services, and may use and disclose Personal Information outside of the jurisdiction in which it was initially collected by the Trust, including the United States and that information relating to the Trust, including Personal Information of investors may be accessed by national security authorities, law enforcement and courts. The Transfer Agent shall be kept indemnified by and be without liability to the Trust for any action taken or omitted by it in reliance upon this representation and warranty, including without limitation, any liability or costs in connection with claims or complaints for failure to comply with any applicable law that regulates the collection, processing, use or disclosure of Personal Information. |
| 4. | DATA ACCESS AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION |
| 5.1 | Each Trust acknowledges that the databases, computer programs, screen formats, report formats, interactive design techniques, and documentation manuals furnished to the Trust by the Transfer Agent as part of the Trust’s ability to access certain Trust-related data maintained by the Transfer Agent or another third party on databases under the control and ownership of the Transfer Agent (“Data Access Services”) constitute copyrighted, trade secret, or other proprietary information (collectively, “Proprietary Information”) of substantial value to the Transfer Agent or another third party. In no event shall Proprietary Information be deemed Authorized Participant information or the confidential information of the Trust. Each Trust and Portfolio agrees to treat all Proprietary Information as proprietary to the Transfer Agent and further agrees that it shall not divulge any Proprietary Information to any person or organization except as may be provided hereunder. Without limiting the foregoing, each Trust agrees for itself and its officers and trustees and their agents, to: |
| (i) | use such programs and databases solely on the Trust’s, or such agents’ computers, or solely from equipment at the location(s) agreed to between the Trust and the Transfer Agent, and solely in accordance with the Transfer Agent’s applicable user documentation; |
| (ii) | refrain from copying or duplicating in any way the Proprietary Information; |
| (iii) | refrain from obtaining unauthorized access to any portion of the Proprietary Information, and if such access is inadvertently obtained, to inform the Transfer Agent in a timely manner of such fact and dispose of such information in accordance with the Transfer Agent’s instructions; |
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| (iv) | refrain from causing or allowing Proprietary Information transmitted from the Transfer Agent’s computers to the Trust’s, or such agents’ computer to be retransmitted to any other computer facility or other location, except with the prior written consent of the Transfer Agent; |
| (v) | allow the Trust or such agents to have access only to those authorized transactions agreed upon by the Trust and the Transfer Agent; |
| (vi) | honor all reasonable written requests made by the Transfer Agent to protect at the Transfer Agent’s expense the rights of the Transfer Agent in Proprietary Information at common law, under federal copyright law and under other federal or state law. |
| 5.2 | Proprietary Information shall not include all or any portion of any of the foregoing items that are or become publicly available without breach of this Agreement; that are released for general disclosure by a written release by the Transfer Agent; or that are already in the possession of the receiving party at the time of receipt without obligation of confidentiality or breach of this Agreement. |
| 5.3 | If a Trust notifies the Transfer Agent that any of the Data Access Services do not operate in material compliance with the most recently issued user documentation for such services, the Transfer Agent shall endeavor in a timely manner to correct such failure. Organizations from which the Transfer Agent may obtain certain data included in the Data Access Services are solely responsible for the contents of such data, and each Trust agrees to make no claim against the Transfer Agent arising out of the contents of such third-party data, including, but not limited to, the accuracy thereof. DATA ACCESS SERVICES AND ALL COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND SOFTWARE SPECIFICATIONS USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS, AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. THE TRANSFER AGENT EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES EXCEPT THOSE EXPRESSLY STATED HEREIN INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. |
| 5.4 | If the transactions available to each Trust include the ability to originate electronic instructions to the Transfer Agent in order to effect the transfer or movement of cash or Creation Units or transmit Authorized Participant information or other information, then in such event the Transfer Agent shall be entitled to rely on the validity and authenticity of such instruction without undertaking any further inquiry as long as such instruction is undertaken in conformity with security procedures established by the Transfer Agent from time to time. |
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| 5.5 | Each party shall take reasonable efforts to advise its employees of their obligations pursuant to this Section. The obligations of this Section shall survive any earlier termination of this Agreement. |
| 6. | RESERVED |
| 7. | STANDARD OF CARE / LIMITATION OF LIABILITY |
| 7.1 | The Transfer Agent shall at all times act in good faith and with reasonable care and without negligence in its performance of all services performed under this Agreement (the “Standard of Care”), but assumes no responsibility and shall not be liable for loss or damage due to errors, including encoding and payment processing errors, unless said errors are caused by its negligence, bad faith, or willful misconduct or that of its employees or agents. The parties agree that any encoding or payment processing errors shall be governed by this standard of care, and that Section 4-209 of the Uniform Commercial Code is superseded by this Section. |
| 7.2 | In any event, except as otherwise agreed to in writing by the parties hereto, the Transfer Agent’s cumulative liability for each calendar year (a “Liability Period”) with respect to the services provided pursuant to this Agreement regardless of the form of action or legal theory shall be limited to its total annual compensation earned and fees payable hereunder during the preceding Compensation Period, as defined herein, for any liability or loss suffered by the Trust or the Portfolios including, but not limited to, any liability relating to qualification of any Trust or Portfolio as a regulated investment company or any liability relating to any Trust’s or Portfolio’s compliance with any federal or state tax or securities statute, regulation or ruling during such Liability Period. “Compensation Period” shall mean the calendar year ending immediately prior to each Liability Period in which the event(s) giving rise to the Transfer Agent’s liability for that period have occurred. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Compensation Period for purposes of calculating the annual cumulative liability of the Transfer Agent for the Liability Period commencing on the date of this Agreement and terminating on December 31, 2017 shall be the date of this Agreement through December 31, 2017, calculated on an annualized basis, and the Compensation Period for the Liability Period commencing January 1, 2018 and terminating on December 31, 2018 shall be the date of this Agreement through December 31, 2017, calculated on an annualized basis. In no event shall the Transfer Agent be liable for any special, incidental, indirect, punitive or consequential damages, regardless of the form of action and even if the same were foreseeable. |
| 8. | INDEMNIFICATION |
| 8.1 | The Transfer Agent shall not be responsible for, and each Trust and Portfolio shall indemnify and hold the Transfer Agent harmless from and against, any and all losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees (including the defense of any lawsuit in which the Transfer Agent or affiliate is a named party), payments, expenses and liability arising out of or attributable to: |
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| (i) | all actions of the Transfer Agent or its agents or subcontractors required to be taken pursuant to this Agreement, provided that such actions are taken in good faith and without negligence or willful misconduct; |
| (ii) | the Trust’s breach of any representation, warranty or covenant of the Trust hereunder; |
| (iii) | the Trust’s lack of good faith, negligence or willful misconduct; |
| (iv) | reasonable reliance upon, and any subsequent reasonable use of or action taken or omitted, by the Transfer Agent, or its agents or subcontractors on: (a) any information, records, documents, data, stock certificates or services, which are received by the Transfer Agent or its agents or subcontractors by machine readable input, facsimile, electronic data entry, electronic instructions or other similar means authorized by the Trust, and which have been prepared, maintained or performed by the Trust or any other person or firm on behalf of the Trust, including but not limited to any broker-dealer, third party administrator or previous transfer agent; (b) any instructions or requests of the Trust or its officers or the Trust’s agents or subcontractors or their officers or employees; (c) any instructions or opinions of legal counsel to the Trust or any Portfolio with respect to any matter arising in connection with the services to be performed by the Transfer Agent under this Agreement which are provided to the Transfer Agent after consultation with such legal counsel; or (d) any paper or document, reasonably believed to be genuine, authentic, or signed by the proper person or persons; |
| (v) | the offer or sale of Creation Units in violation of any requirement under federal or state securities laws or regulations requiring that such Creation Units be registered, or in violation of any stop order or other determination or ruling by any federal or state agency with respect to the offer or sale of such Creation Units; |
| (vi) | the negotiation and processing of any checks, wires and ACH transmissions, including without limitation, for deposit into, or credit to, the Trust’s demand deposit accounts maintained by the Transfer Agent; |
| (vii) | all actions relating to the transmission of Trust, Creation Unit or Authorized Participant data through the NSCC clearing systems, if applicable; and |
| (viii) | any tax obligations under the tax laws of any country or of any state or political subdivision thereof, including taxes, withholding and reporting requirements, claims for exemption and refund, additions for late payment, |
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| interest, penalties and other expenses (including legal expenses) that may be assessed, imposed or charged against the Transfer Agent as transfer agent hereunder. |
| 8.2 | At any time the Transfer Agent may apply to any officer of a Trust for instructions, and may consult with legal counsel (which may be Trust counsel) with respect to any matter arising in connection with the services to be performed by the Transfer Agent under this Agreement, and the Transfer Agent and its agents or subcontractors shall not be liable and shall be indemnified by the Trust and the applicable Portfolio for any action taken or omitted by it in reliance upon such instructions or upon the opinion of such counsel. The Transfer Agent, its agents and subcontractors shall be protected and indemnified in acting upon any paper or document furnished by or on behalf of any Trust or the applicable Portfolio, reasonably believed to be genuine and to have been signed by the proper person or persons, or upon any instruction, information, data, records or documents provided the Transfer Agent or its agents or subcontractors by machine readable input, electronic data entry or other similar means authorized by the Trust and the Portfolios, and shall not be held to have notice of any change of authority of any person, until receipt of written notice thereof from the Trust. |
| 8A. | CONDUCT OF CLAIMS |
In connection with any indemnification provided hereunder, the indemnified party may make claims for indemnification by giving written notice thereof to the indemnifying party after it receives notice of a claim, but the failure to do so shall not relieve the indemnifying party from any liability except to the extent that it is materially prejudiced by the failure or delay in giving such notice. Such notice shall summarize the bases for the claim for indemnification and any claim or liability being asserted.
Within thirty (30) days after receiving any such notice, the indemnifying party shall give written notice to the indemnified party stating whether it disputes the claim for indemnification and whether it will defend against any claim at its own cost and expense. If the indemnifying party fails to give notice that it disputes an indemnification claim within thirty (30) days after the receipt of notice thereof, it shall be deemed to have accepted and agreed to indemnify the claim.
The indemnifying party shall be entitled to direct the defense against a claim with counsel selected by it (subject to the consent of the indemnified party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld) as long as the indemnifying party is conducting a good faith and diligent defense. The indemnified party shall at all times have the right to fully participate in the defense of a claim at its own expense directly or through counsel; provided, however, that if the named parties to the action or proceeding include both the indemnifying party and the indemnified party, and the indemnified party is advised that representation of both parties by the same counsel would be inappropriate under applicable standards of professional conduct, the indemnified party may engage separate counsel at the expense of the indemnifying party. If no such notice of intent to dispute and defend a claim is given by the indemnifying party, or if such good faith and diligent defense is not being or ceases to be conducted by the indemnifying party,
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the indemnified party shall have the right, at the expense of the indemnifying party, to undertake the defense of such claim (with counsel selected by the indemnified party), and to compromise or settle it, exercising reasonable business judgment. If the claim is one that by its nature cannot be defended solely by the indemnifying party, then the indemnified party shall make available such information and assistance as the indemnifying party may reasonably request and shall cooperate with the indemnifying party in such defense, at the expense of the indemnifying party. The indemnifying party shall have the right to settle any third-party claim without the consent of the indemnified party provided that such settlement (i) fully releases the indemnified party from any liability and provides no admission of wrongdoing, and (ii) does not subject the indemnified party to any additional obligation, whether financial or otherwise. In the event that any such settlement does not meet the requirements of (i) and (ii) above, then the indemnified party must consent to such settlement in writing, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.
| 9. | ADDITIONAL COVENANTS OF THE TRUST AND THE TRANSFER AGENT |
| 9.1 | Delivery of Documents. The Trust shall promptly furnish to the Transfer Agent the following: |
| (i) | A copy of the resolution of the Board of Trustees of the Trust certified by the Trust’s Secretary authorizing the appointment of the Transfer Agent and the execution and delivery of this Agreement. |
| (ii) | A copy of the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws of the Trust and all amendments thereto. |
| 9.2 | Certificates, Checks, Facsimile Signature Devices. The Transfer Agent hereby agrees to establish and maintain facilities and procedures for safekeeping of any stock certificates, check forms and facsimile signature imprinting devices; and for the preparation or use, and for keeping account of, such certificates, forms and devices. |
| 9.3 | Records. The Transfer Agent shall keep records relating to the services to be performed hereunder, in the form and manner as it may deem advisable. To the extent required by Section 31 of the 1940 Act and the Rules thereunder, the Transfer Agent agrees that all such records prepared or maintained by the Transfer Agent relating to the services to be performed by the Transfer Agent hereunder are the property of the Trust and will be preserved, maintained and made available in accordance with such Section and Rules, and will be surrendered promptly to the Trust on and in accordance with its request. Records may be surrendered in either written or machine-readable form, at the option of the Transfer Agent. In the event that the Transfer Agent is requested or authorized by a Trust, or required by subpoena, administrative order, court order or other legal process, applicable law or regulation, or required in connection with any investigation, examination or inspection of the Trust by state or federal regulatory agencies, to produce the records of the Trust or the Transfer Agent’s personnel as witnesses or deponents, the Trust agrees to pay the Transfer Agent for the Transfer Agent’s time and reasonable expenses, as well as the reasonable fees and |
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| expenses of the Transfer Agent’s counsel, incurred in such production, such amounts to be agreed upon by the parties prior to the Sub-Administrator responding to such request, order or requirement, to the extent time permits and/or to the extent permitted by applicable law. |
| 10. | CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVACY |
| 10.1 | All information provided under this Agreement by a party (the “Disclosing Party”) to the other party (the “Receiving Party”) regarding the Disclosing Party’s business and operations shall be treated as confidential. All confidential information provided under this Agreement by Disclosing Party shall be used, including disclosure to third parties, by the Receiving Party, or its agents or service providers, solely for the purpose of performing or receiving the services and discharging the Receiving Party’s other obligations under the Agreement or managing the business of the Receiving Party and its affiliates, including financial and operational management and reporting, risk management, legal and regulatory compliance and client service management. The foregoing shall not be applicable to any information (a) that is publicly available when provided or thereafter becomes publicly available, other than through a breach of this Agreement, (b) that is independently derived by the Receiving Party without the use of any information provided by the Disclosing Party in connection with this Agreement, (c) that is disclosed to comply with any legal or regulatory proceeding, investigation, audit, examination, subpoena, civil investigative demand or other similar process, (d) that is disclosed as required by operation of law or regulation or as required to comply with the requirements of any market infrastructure that the Disclosing Party or its agents direct the Transfer Agent or its affiliates to employ (or which is required in connection with the holding or settlement of instruments included in the assets subject to this Agreement), or (e) where the party seeking to disclose has received the prior written consent of the party providing the information, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.. |
| 10.2 | The Transfer Agent affirms that it has, and will continue to have throughout the term of this Agreement, procedures in place that are reasonably designed to protect the privacy of non-public personal consumer/customer financial information to the extent required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. |
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| 11. | EFFECTIVE PERIOD AND TERMINATION |
| 11.1 | This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect for an initial term ending five (5) years from the date hereof (the “Initial Term”). After the expiration of the Initial Term, this Agreement shall automatically renew for successive one-year terms (each, a “Renewal Term”) unless a written notice of non-renewal is delivered by the non-renewing party no later than ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of the Initial Term or any Renewal Term, as the case may be. |
| 11.2 | During the Initial Term and thereafter, this Agreement may be terminated only by provision of a notice of nonrenewal as set forth above or by mutual written agreement of the parties. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, either party may terminate this Agreement by providing one hundred and twenty (120) days written notice to the other party in any of the following circumstances: (a) a material breach (including non-payment of fees or expenses by any Trust) of this Agreement by the party to be terminated that has not been remedied for thirty (30) days following written notice of such breach from the non-breaching party; (b) a final, unappealable judicial, regulatory or administrative ruling or order in which the party to be terminated has been found guilty of criminal or unethical behavior in the conduct of its business; (c) financial difficulties on the part of the party to be terminated which are evidenced by the authorization or commencement of, or involvement by way of pleading, answer, consent or acquiescence in, a voluntary or involuntary case under Title 11 of the United States Code, as from time to time is in effect, or any applicable law, other than said Title 11, of any jurisdiction relating to the liquidation or reorganization of debtors or to the modification or alteration of the rights of creditors (and in the event of any involuntary case, such case is not discharged within ninety (90) days); or (d) solely with respect to the Transfer Agent, that it shall be indicted for a crime, or shall suffer any other material adverse change in its conditions, operations or professional reputation that is determined by the Trust in its reasonable discretion to threaten the continuing performance of services hereunder or the reputation of the Trust. In addition, either party hereto may terminate this Agreement by notice to the other party, effective at any time specified therein, in the event that (a) the other party ceases to carry on its business or (b) a receiver, conservator or similar officer is appointed for the other party and such conservatorship or receivership is not discharged within ninety (90) days. In addition, this Agreement may be terminated by any Trust immediately in the event of the appointment of a conservator or receiver for the Transfer Agent by the Comptroller of the Currency or upon the happening of a like event at the direction of an appropriate regulatory agency or court of competent jurisdiction. |
| 11.3 | In the event of termination or non-renewal of this Agreement, the applicable Trust will promptly pay the Transfer Agent its compensation due through the date of such termination and shall reimburse the Transfer Agent for its costs, expenses and disbursements through the date of such termination. In the event of: (i) any Trust’s termination of this Agreement with respect to such Trust or its Portfolio(s) for any reason other than as set forth in Section 11.2 or (ii) a transaction not in the |
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| ordinary course of business pursuant to which the Transfer Agent is not retained to continue providing services hereunder to a Trust or Portfolio (or its respective successor), the applicable Trust shall pay the Transfer Agent its compensation due through the end of the then-current term (based upon the average monthly compensation previously earned by Transfer Agent with respect to such Trust or Portfolio) and shall reimburse the Transfer Agent for its costs, expenses and disbursements. For the avoidance of doubt, provided that the Trust has provided one hundred and twenty (120) days prior written notice of termination to the Transfer Agent, no payment will be required pursuant to clause (ii) of this Section 11.3 in the event of any transaction such as (a) the liquidation or dissolution of a Trust or Portfolio and the distribution of such Trust’s or Portfolio’s assets as a result of the Board’s determination in its reasonable business judgment that the Trust or Portfolio is no longer viable, (b) a merger of a Trust or Portfolio into, or the consolidation of a Trust or Portfolio with, another entity, or (c) the sale by a Trust or Portfolio of all, or substantially all, of its assets to another entity. |
| 11.4 | Termination of this Agreement with respect to any one particular Portfolio shall in no way affect the rights and duties under this Agreement with respect to the Trust or any other Portfolio. |
| 12. | ADDITIONAL TRUSTS AND PORTFOLIOS |
| 12.1 | In the event that the any management investment company in addition to those listed on the attached Schedule A desires to have the Transfer Agent render services as transfer agent under the terms hereof, it shall so notify the Transfer Agent in writing, and if the Transfer Agent agrees in writing to provide such services, such investment company shall become a Trust hereunder and be bound by all terms and conditions and provisions hereof. |
| 12.2 | In the event that the Trust establishes one or more series of Shares in addition to the Portfolios listed on the attached Schedule A, with respect to which the Trust desires to have the Transfer Agent render services as transfer agent under the terms hereof, it shall so notify the Transfer Agent in writing, and if the Transfer Agent agrees in writing to provide such services, such series of Shares shall become a Portfolio hereunder and be bound by all terms and conditions and provisions hereof. |
| 13. | ASSIGNMENT |
| 13.1 | Except as provided in Section 14 and Section 15.12 below, neither this Agreement nor any rights or obligations hereunder may be assigned by either party without the written consent of the other party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. |
| 13.2 | Except as explicitly stated elsewhere in this Agreement, nothing under this Agreement shall be construed to give any rights or benefits in this Agreement to |
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| anyone other than the Transfer Agent and the Trusts and the Portfolios, and the duties and responsibilities undertaken pursuant to this Agreement shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Transfer Agent and the Trusts and the Portfolios. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of, and be binding upon, the parties and their respective permitted successors and assigns. |
| 13.3 | This Agreement does not constitute an agreement for a partnership or joint venture between the Transfer Agent and the Trusts. Other than as provided in Section 14 and Section 15.14, neither party shall make any commitments with third parties that are binding on the other party without the other party’s prior written consent. |
| 14. | SUBCONTRACTORS |
The Transfer Agent may, without further consent on the part of any Trust, subcontract for the performance hereof with a transfer agent which is duly registered pursuant to Section 17A(c)(2) of the 1934 Act, including, but not limited to, another affiliated or unaffiliated third party duly registered as a transfer agent; provided, however, that the Transfer Agent shall remain liable to the Trust for the acts and omissions of any subcontractor under this Section as it is for its own acts and omissions under this Agreement.
| 15. | MISCELLANEOUS |
| 15.1 | Amendment. This Agreement may be amended by a written agreement executed by both parties. |
| 15.2 | Massachusetts Law to Apply. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts without giving effect to any conflicts of law rules thereof. |
| 15.3 | Force Majeure. The Transfer Agent shall not be responsible or liable for any failure or delay in performance of its obligations under this Agreement arising out of or caused, directly or indirectly, by circumstances beyond its control, including without limitation, work stoppage, power or other mechanical failure, natural disaster, governmental action or communication disruption. |
| 15.4 | Data Protection. The Transfer Agent will implement and maintain a comprehensive written information security program that contains appropriate security measures to safeguard the personal information of the Trust’s shareholders, employees, directors and/or officers that the Transfer Agent receives, stores, maintains, processes or otherwise accesses in connection with the provision of services hereunder. For these purposes, “personal information” shall mean (i) an individual’s name (first initial and last name or first name and last name), address or telephone number plus (a) social security number, (b) driver’s license number, (c) state identification card number, (d) debit or credit card number, (e) financial account number or (f) personal identification number or password that would |
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| permit access to a person’s account or (ii) any combination of the foregoing that would allow a person to log onto or access an individual’s account. Notwithstanding the foregoing “personal information” shall not include information that is lawfully obtained from publicly available information, or from federal, state or local government records lawfully made available to the general public. If the Transfer Agent discovers that unauthorized disclosure of personal information in the possession of the Transfer Agent or its agents has occurred which requires notification to the Trust and the affected individuals under applicable law, then the Transfer Agent will, as soon as practicable, (i) notify the Trust and the affected individuals of such unauthorized disclosure to the extent required by applicable law, (ii) investigate and address the unauthorized disclosure, and (iii) advise the Trust as to the steps being taken that are reasonably designed to prevent future similar unauthorized disclosures. This provision will survive termination or expiration of the Agreement for so long as the Transfer Agent continues to possess or have access to personal information related to the Trust. |
| 15.5 | Survival. All provisions regarding indemnification, warranty, liability, and limits thereon, and confidentiality and/or protections of proprietary rights and trade secrets shall survive the termination of this Agreement. |
| 15.6 | Severability. If any provision or provisions of this Agreement shall be held invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable, the validity, legality, and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired. |
| 15.7 | Priorities Clause. In the event of any conflict, discrepancy or ambiguity between the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement and any schedules or attachments hereto, the terms and conditions contained in this Agreement shall take precedence. |
| 15.8 | Waiver. The failure of a party to insist upon strict adherence to any term of this Agreement on any occasion shall not be considered a waiver nor shall it deprive such party of the right thereafter to insist upon strict adherence to that term or any term of this Agreement or the failure of a party hereto to exercise or any delay in exercising any right or remedy under this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of any such term, right or remedy or a waiver of any other rights or remedies, and no single or partial exercise of any right or remedy under this Agreement shall prevent any further exercise of the right or remedy or the exercise of any other right or remedy. Any waiver must be in writing signed by the waiving party. |
| 15.9 | Entire Agreement. This Agreement and any schedules, exhibits, attachments or amendments hereto constitute the entire agreement between the parties hereto and supersedes any prior agreement with respect to the subject matter hereof whether oral or written. |
| 15.10 | Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in several counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts taken together |
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| shall constitute one and the same Agreement. Counterparts may be executed in either original or electronically transmitted form (e.g., faxes or emailed portable document format (PDF) form), and the parties hereby adopt as original any signatures received via electronically transmitted form. |
| 15.11 | Reproduction of Documents. This Agreement and all schedules, exhibits, attachments and amendments hereto may be reproduced by any photographic, photostatic, microfilm, micro-card, miniature photographic or other similar process. The parties hereto all/each agree that any such reproduction shall be admissible in evidence as the original itself in any judicial or administrative proceeding, whether or not the original is in existence and whether or not such reproduction was made by a party in the regular course of business, and that any enlargement, facsimile or further reproduction of such reproduction shall likewise be admissible in evidence. |
| 15.12 | Notices. Any notice instruction or other instrument required to be given hereunder will be in writing and may be sent by hand, or by facsimile transmission, or overnight delivery by any recognized delivery service, to the parties at the following address or such other address as may be notified by any party from time to time: |
| (a) | If to Transfer Agent, to: |
State Street Bank and Trust
Transfer Agency
Attention: Compliance
Xxx Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx Xxxxxxxx
0 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx
Mail Stop OHD0100
North Xxxxxx XX 00000
With a copy to:
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
Legal Division – Global Services Americas
Xxx Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxxxxx, XX 00000
Attention: Senior Vice President and Senior Managing Counsel
| (b) | If to the Trust, to: |
0000 Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 0000
Attn: Secretary
Telephone: 000-000-0000
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| 15.13 | Interpretive and Other Provisions. In connection with the operation of this Agreement, the Transfer Agent and each Trust on behalf of the Portfolios, may from time to time agree on such provisions interpretive of or in addition to the provisions of this Agreement as may in their joint opinion be consistent with the general tenor of this Agreement. Any such interpretive or additional provisions shall be in a writing signed by all parties, provided that no such interpretive or additional provisions shall contravene any applicable laws or regulations or any provision of the Trust’s governing documents. No interpretive or additional provisions made as provided in the preceding sentence shall be deemed to be an amendment of this Agreement. |
| 15.14 | Employment of Others. The Transfer Agent may employ, engage, associate or contract with such person or persons, including, without limitation, affiliates and subsidiaries of the Transfer Agent, as the Transfer Agent may deem desirable to assist it in performing its duties under this Agreement without the consent of the Trust; provided, however, that the compensation of such person or persons shall be paid by the Transfer Agent and that the Transfer Agent shall be as fully responsible to the Trust for the acts and omissions of any such person or persons as it is for its own acts and omissions under this Agreement. |
| 15.13 | Service Level Documents. The Trust and the Transfer Agent may from time to time, in good faith, agree on certain performance measures by which the Transfer Agent is expected to provide the services contemplated by this Agreement (“Service Level Documents”). The Service Level Documents are designed to provide metrics and other information which may be utilized by the parties to help measure performance. The parties agree Service Level Documents reflect performance measures as opposed to specific contractual obligations. |
| 15.14 | Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery. In the event of equipment failure, work stoppage, governmental action, communication disruption or other impossibility of performance beyond the Transfer Agent’s control, the Transfer Agent shall take reasonable steps to minimize service interruptions. The Transfer Agent shall enter into and shall maintain in effect at all times during the term of this Agreement with appropriate parties one or more agreements making reasonable provision for (i) periodic back-up of the computer files and data with respect to the Trusts; and (ii) emergency use of electronic data processing equipment to provide services under this Agreement. Upon reasonable request, the Transfer Agent shall discuss with senior management of the Trusts any business continuity/disaster recovery plan of the Transfer Agent and/or provide a high-level presentation summarizing such plan. |
| 15.15 | Limitation of Liability of Trustees and Shareholders. This Agreement is executed by each Trust with respect to each of its Portfolios and the obligations hereunder are not binding upon any of the trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Agreement to the contrary, each and every obligation, liability or undertaking of a particular |
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| Portfolio under this Agreement shall constitute solely an obligation, liability or undertaking of, and be binding upon, the Trust and shall be payable solely from the available assets of such particular Portfolio and shall not be binding upon or affect any assets of any other Portfolio. |
[Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank]
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed in their names and on their behalf by and through their duly authorized officers, as of the day and year first above written.
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
| By: | /s/ Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx | |||
| Name: | Xxxxxx Xxxxxxxx | |||
| Title: | Executive Vice President | |||
EACH OF THE MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES
AND PORTFOLIOS SET FORTH ON SCHEDULE A HERETO
| By: | /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx | |||
| Name: | Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxx | |||
| Title: | Vice President, Fund Administration and Treasurer | |||
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Schedule A
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES REGISTERED WITH THE SEC AND PORTFOLIOS THEREOF, IF ANY
DeltaShares S&P 500 Managed Risk ETF (DMRL)
DeltaShares S&P 400 Managed Risk ETF (DMRM)
DeltaShares S&P 600 Managed Risk ETF (DMRS)
DeltaShares S&P International Managed Risk ETF (DMRI)
DeltaShares S&P Emerging Plus & Managed Risk ETF (DMRE)
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