INVESTMENT ADVISER AGREEMENT
Agreement made as of this 4th day of January, 1999, by and between
Merrimac Master Portfolio, a New York Trust (the "Trust") and Investors Bank
and Trust Company (the "Adviser"), a Massachusetts banking corporation.
WHEREAS, the MERRIMAC TREASURY PLUS PORTFOLIO (the "Portfolio") is a
series of the Trust, which is an open-end diversified management investment
company registered as such with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"SEC") pursuant to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940
Act");
WHEREAS, the Merrimac Treasury Plus Series (the "Fund"), which is an
open-end diversified management investment company registered as such with the
SEC pursuant to the 1940 Act and the Securities Act of 1933, will invest all of
its investable assets in the Portfolio;
WHEREAS, the Trust, on behalf of the Portfolio, desires to appoint the
Adviser to render, or contract to obtain as hereinafter provided, investment
advisory services to the Portfolio and to administer the Portfolio's day to day
business affairs and the Adviser is willing to act in such capacity upon the
terms herein set forth;
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and of the mutual
covenants herein contained, the Trust, on behalf of the Portfolio, and the
Adviser, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as
follows:
1. Appointment
(a) The Trust, on behalf of the Portfolio, hereby appoints the Adviser as
the investment adviser of the Portfolio to administer its business affairs and
to perform for the Portfolio such other duties and functions as are hereinafter
set forth. The Adviser hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to give the
Portfolio and the Trust's Board of Trustees (the "Trustees"), the benefit of
the Adviser's best judgment, effort, advice and recommendations in respect of
its duties as defined in Section 2.
(b) The Trust hereby represents and warrants to the Adviser, which
representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing, that (i) it
has full power and authority to enter into this Agreement, and (ii) it has
taken all necessary and proper action to authorize the execution and delivery
of this Agreement.
(c) The Adviser hereby represents and warrants to the Trust, which
representations and warranties shall be deemed to be continuing, that (i) it
has full power and authority to enter into this Agreement, and (ii) it has
taken all necessary and proper action to authorize the execution and delivery
of this Agreement.
2. Adviser Duties
(a) The Adviser shall, subject to the direction and control of the
Trustees and in accordance with the objective and policies of the Portfolio and
the implementation thereof as set forth in the Fund's Prospectus and Statement
of Additional Information ("SAI"), the Portfolio's Registration Statement on
Form N-1A and any federal and state laws: (i) regularly provide investment
advice and recommendations to the Portfolio, with respect to the Portfolio's
investments, investment policies and the purchase and sale of securities; (ii)
supervise and monitor continuously the investment program of the Portfolio and
the composition of its portfolio and determine what securities shall be
purchased and sold by the Portfolio; (iii) arrange, subject to the provision of
Section 4 hereof, for the purchase of securities and other investments for the
Portfolio and the sale of securities and other investments of the Portfolio;
(iv) provide reports on the
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foregoing to the Trust in such detail as the Trust may reasonably deem to
be appropriate in order to permit the Trust to determine the adherence by the
Adviser to the investment policies and legal requirements of the Portfolio; and
(v) make its officers and employees available to the Trust's officers at
reasonable times to review the investment policies of the Portfolio and to
consult with the Trust's officers regarding the investment affairs of the
Portfolio.
(b) The Adviser is further authorized to enter into a sub-adviser
arrangement for the investment advisory services outlined in Section 2 (a) of
this Agreement in connection with the management of the Portfolio, provided
that no such arrangement shall be made until a sub-adviser agreement has been
approved by the Trustees. Should the Adviser enter into such a sub-adviser
agreement, the Adviser shall, nevertheless, retain supervisory responsibility
for all investment advisory services furnished pursuant to a ny such
sub-advisory arrangements and the Adviser's duties shall then include: (i)
supervise and monitor continuously the investment advisory services furnished
pursuant to any such sub-adviser arrangements; (ii) review the performance of
the sub-adviser, and make recommendations to the Trustees with respect to the
retention and renewal of such sub-adviser arrangements; (iii) provide reports
on the foregoing to the Trustees for each Board meeting; (iv) make its officers
and employees available to review the investment policies of the Portfolio and
to consult with the sub-adviser regarding the investment affairs of the
Portfolio; (v) supervise relationships with and monitor the performance of the
custodian, depositories, transfer agent, accountants, attorneys, insurers and
other persons in any capacity deemed to be necessary or desirable; and (vi)
make recommendations to the Trustees with respect to Portfolio policies and
carry out such policies as are adopted by the Trustees.
3. Compensation of the Adviser
The Portfolio will pay to the Adviser as compensation for the Adviser's
services rendered and for the expenses borne by the Adviser, including
personnel expenses, a fee, determined as described in Schedule A which is
attached hereto and made a part hereof.
4. Portfolio Transactions and Brokerage
The Adviser shall place all orders for the purchase and sale of portfolio
securities for the Portfolio's account with issuers, brokers or dealers
selected by the Adviser, which may include where permissible under the 1940
Act, brokers or dealers affiliated with the Adviser. In the selection of such
brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, the Adviser always shall
seek best execution, which is to place transactions where the Portfolio can
obtain the most favorable combination of price and execution services in
particular transactions or provided on a continuing basis by a broker or
dealer, and to deal directly with a principal market in connection with
over-the-counter transactions, except when it is believed that best execution
is obtainable elsewhere.
5. Interested Trustees or Parties
It is understood that Trustees, officers, and shareholders of the Trust
may be or become interested in the Adviser as directors, officers or employees
and that directors, officers and stockholders of the Adviser may be or become
similarly interested in the Trust, and that the Adviser may be or become
interested in the Trust as a shareholder or otherwise.
6. Services Not Exclusive
The services of the Adviser to the Portfolio are not to be deemed
exclusive, the Adviser being free to render services to others and engage in
other activities, provided, however, that such other services and activities do
not, during the term of this Agreement, interfere, in a material manner, with
the Adviser's ability to meet all of its obligations hereunder.
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7. Compliance; Books and Records
(a) The Adviser agrees to maintain adequate compliance procedures to
ensure its compliance with the applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and any
rules or regulations thereunder, the investment objective, policies and
restrictions of the Portfolio as set forth in the current Fund Prospectus and
SAI and any other applicable provisions of state or federal law.
(b) The Adviser shall furnish to the Portfolio, at the Portfolio's
expense, copies of all records prepared in connection with the performance of
this Agreement and the maintenance of compliance procedures pursuant to this
Section 7 as the Portfolio may reasonably request.
(c) The Adviser agrees to provide upon reasonable request of the
Portfolio, information regarding the Adviser, including but not limited to,
background information about the Adviser and its personnel, for use in
connection with efforts to promote the Fund and the sale of its shares.
(d) In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act,
the Adviser hereby agrees that all records which it maintains for the Trust are
the property of the Trust and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Trust
any of such records upon the Trust's request. The Adviser further agrees to
preserve for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act the
records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act. The Adviser
will treat confidentially and as proprietary information of the Trust all
records and other information relative to the Fund and prior, present or
potential shareholders, except as otherwise required by law.
8. Limitation of Liability of Adviser
In consideration of the Adviser's undertaking to render the services
described in this Agreement, the Trust, on behalf of the Portfolio, agrees that
the Adviser shall not be liable under this Agreement for any loss suffered by
the Trust in connection with the performance of this Agreement, provided that
nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to protect or purport to protect the
Adviser against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders to which the
Adviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith
or negligence in the performance of its duties under this Agreement.
9. Duration, Amendment and Termination
(a) Subject to prior termination as provided in sub-section (d) of this
Section 9, this Agreement shall continue in effect until two years from the
date hereof and for successive annual periods thereafter, but only so long as
the continuance after such initial two year period shall be specifically
approved at least annually by vote of the Trustees or by vote of a majority of
the outstanding voting securities of the Portfolio and the Fund.
(b) This Agreement may be modified by the written Agreement of the Adviser
and the Portfolio, such consent on the part of the Portfolio to be authorized
by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Portfolio and
the Fund if required by law. The execution of any such modification or
amendment by a party shall constitute a representation and warranty to the
other party that all necessary consents or approvals with respect to such
modification or amendment have been obtained.
(c) In addition to the requirements of sub-sections (a) and (b) of this
Section 9, the terms of any continuance or modification of the Agreement must
have been approved by the vote of a majority of those Trustees who are not
parties to such Agreement or interested persons of any such party, cast in
person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.
(d) Either the Adviser or the Portfolio may, at any time on sixty (60)
days' prior written notice to the other party, terminate this Agreement,
without payment of any penalty, and in the case of the Portfolio, by action of
its Trustees, or by vote of a majority of its outstanding voting securities.
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(e) This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its
assignment.
(f) Termination of this Agreement shall not relieve the Adviser nor the
Trust from any liability or obligation in respect of any matters, undertakings
or conditions which shall not have been done, observed or performed prior to
such termination. All records of the Portfolio in the possession of the Adviser
shall be returned to the Portfolio as soon as reasonably practicable after the
termination of this Agreement.
10. Disclaimer of Liability; Several Obligations
The Adviser understands that the obligations of the Trust under this
Agreement are not binding upon any Trustee or shareholder of the Trust
personally, but bind only the Trust and the Trust's property.
This Agreement is an agreement entered into between the Adviser and the
Trust on behalf of the Portfolio. With respect to any obligation of the Trust
on behalf of any other Portfolio arising out of this Agreement, the Adviser
shall look for payment or satisfaction of such obligation solely to the assets
of the Portfolio to which such obligation relates as though the Adviser had
separately contracted with the Trust by separate written instrument with
respect to each Portfolio.
11. Miscellaneous
(a) The terms "vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities,"
"assignment," and "interested persons," when used herein, shall have the
respective meanings specified in the 1940 Act as now in effect or as hereafter
amended.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
(d) This Agreement shall be binding upon and shall insure to the benefit
of the parties hereto and their respective successors.
(e) The Adviser's duties and responsibilities are solely those set forth
herein and no other covenant or obligation shall be implied against the Adviser
in connection with this Agreement.
(f) This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, which
taken together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
(g) Any notice under this Agreement shall be in writing, addressed and
delivered or mailed, postage prepaid, to the other party at such address as
such other party may designate for the receipt of such notice. No notice shall
be effective until received.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this instrument to be executed
by their respective officers designated below as of the day and year first
above written.
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Merrimac Master Portfolio ("TRUST") on behalf of
the Merrimac Treasury Plus Portfolio ("PORTFOLIO")
By: /s/ Xxxx X. Xxxxxxxx
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Title: President
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INVESTORS BANK & TRUST COMPANY
("ADVISER")
By: /s/ Xxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
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Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
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