EXPENSE LIMITATION AGREEMENT
SHP ETF TRUST 485BPOS
Exhibit (d)(7)
AGREEMENT effective as of August 16, 2022, by and between SHP ETF Trust (the “Trust”), on behalf of each series of the Trust set forth in Schedule A attached hereto (each a “Fund” and, collectively, the “Funds”) and the investment adviser set forth in Schedule A attached hereto (the “Adviser”).
WHEREAS, the Trust is a Delaware statutory trust organized under an Agreement and Declaration of Trust dated June 15, 2021 (the “Declaration of Trust”) and registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company;
WHEREAS, pursuant to an investment advisory agreement between the parties, the Adviser has been retained by the Trust to provide investment advisory services to each Fund for compensation based on the value of the average daily net assets of each such Fund;
WHEREAS, the Trust and the Adviser have determined that it is appropriate and in the best interests of each Fund and its shareholders to maintain the expenses of each Fund at a level below the level to which each such Fund would normally be subject in order to maintain each Fund’s expense ratios at the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit (as hereinafter defined) specified for such Fund in Schedule A hereto;
NOW THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Expense Limitation.
1.1. Applicable Expense Limit. To the extent that the aggregate expenses of every character incurred by a Fund in any fiscal year, including but not limited to acquired fund fees and expenses and investment advisory fees of the Adviser (but excluding interest expense, taxes, brokerage commissions, other expenditures which are capitalized in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of such Fund’s business, and amounts payable pursuant to any plan adopted in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the 0000 Xxx) and expenses for which payment has been made through the use of all or a portion of brokerage commissions (or markups or markdowns) generated by that Fund (“Fund Operating Expenses”), exceed the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit, as defined in Section 1.2 below, such excess amount (the “Excess Amount”) shall be the liability of the Adviser.
1.2. Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit. The Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit with respect to each Fund shall be the amount specified in Schedule A based on a percentage of the average daily net assets of each Fund. That Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit for each Fund contemplates that certain expenses for each Fund may be paid through the use of all or a portion of brokerage commissions (or markups or markdowns) generated by that Fund.
1.3. Method of Computation. To determine the Adviser’s liability with respect to the Excess Amount, each month the Fund Operating Expenses for each Fund shall be annualized as of the last day of the month. If a Fund’s annualized Fund Operating Expenses for any month exceed the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit of such Fund, the Adviser shall first waive or reduce its investment advisory fee for such month by an amount sufficient to reduce the annualized Fund Operating Expenses to an amount no higher than the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit. If the amount of the waived or reduced investment advisory fee for any such month is insufficient to pay the Excess Amount, the Adviser may also remit to the appropriate Fund or Funds an amount that, together with the waived or reduced investment advisory fee, is sufficient to pay such Excess Amount.
1.4. Year-End Adjustment. If necessary, on or before the last day of the first month of each fiscal year, an adjustment payment shall be made by the appropriate party in order that the amount of the investment advisory fees waived or reduced and other payments remitted by the Adviser to the Fund or Funds with respect to the previous fiscal year shall equal the Excess Amount.
2. Recoupment of Fee Waivers and Expense Reimbursements.
2.1. Recoupment. If (i) an investment advisory agreement between the parties is in effect and (ii) the estimated aggregate Fund Operating Expenses of a Fund for the fiscal year are less than the lower of the currently effective Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit or the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit that was in effect at the time of the specific fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement, subject to approval or ratification by the Trust’s Board of Trustees as provided in Section 2.2 below, the Adviser may recoup from such Fund, in whole or in part as provided below, the investment advisory fees waived and expenses reimbursed by the Adviser pursuant to Section 1 hereof. The total amount of recoupment to which the Adviser may be entitled (“Recoupment Amount”) shall equal, at any time, the sum of all investment advisory fees previously waived by the Adviser and all other expense reimbursements remitted by the Adviser to the Fund, pursuant to Section 1 hereof, during the immediately preceding three (3) year period, less any recoupment previously paid by such Fund to the Adviser, pursuant to this Section 2, with respect to such waivers and reimbursements. The Recoupment Amount shall not include any additional charges or fees whatsoever, including, for example, interest accruable on the Recoupment Amount.
2.2. Board Approval. With respect to any recoupment by the Adviser from a Fund pursuant to this Section 2, the Trust’s Board of Trustees shall either (i) determine in advance that the payment to the Adviser is in the best interests of such Fund and its shareholders or (ii) ratify such payment at the next regularly scheduled board meeting following the payment, provided that the amount recouped by the Adviser is held to be in the best interests of such Fund and its shareholders.
2.3. Method of Computation. To determine each Fund’s accrual, if any, of the Adviser’s Recoupment Amount, each month the Fund Operating Expenses of each Fund shall be annualized as of the last day of the month. If the annualized Fund Operating Expenses of a Fund for any month are less than the lower of the Fund’s currently effective Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit or the Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit of such Fund that was in effect at the time of the fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement, such Fund shall accrue into its net asset value an amount payable to the Adviser sufficient to increase the annualized Fund Operating Expenses of that Fund to an amount no greater than any applicable Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit of that Fund, provided that such amount paid to the Adviser will in no event exceed the total Recoupment Amount. For accounting purposes, amounts accrued pursuant to this Section 2 shall be a liability of the Fund for purposes of determining the Fund’s net asset value.
2.4. Payment and Year-End Adjustment. A Recoupment Amount accrued pursuant to this Agreement shall be payable to the Adviser as of the last day of each month. If necessary, on or before the last day of the first month of each fiscal year, an adjustment payment shall be made by the appropriate party in order that the actual Fund Operating Expenses of a Fund for the prior fiscal year (including any recoupment payments hereunder with respect to such fiscal year) do not exceed any applicable Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit.
3. Term and Termination of Agreement.
This Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to a Fund for at least twelve months after the effective date of such Fund’s registration statement until the date set forth in Schedule A, and shall thereafter continue in effect from year to year for successive one-year periods, provided that this Agreement may be terminated, without payment of any penalty, with respect to any Fund:
(i) by the Trust for any reason and at any time; and
(ii) by the Adviser for any reason upon ninety (90) days’ prior written notice to the Trust at its principal place of business, such termination to be effective as of the close of business on the last day of the then-effective term.
4. Miscellaneous.
4.1. Captions. The captions in this Agreement are included for convenience of reference only and in no other way define or delineate any of the provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect.
4.2. Interpretation. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to require the Trust or the Funds to take any action contrary to the Trust’s Declaration of Trust or By-Laws, or any applicable statutory or regulatory requirement to which it is subject or by which it is bound, or to relieve or deprive the Trust’s Board of Trustees of its responsibility for and control of the conduct of the affairs of the Trust or the Funds. The parties to this Agreement acknowledge and agree that all litigation arising hereunder, whether direct or indirect, and of any and every nature whatsoever shall be satisfied solely out of the assets of the affected Fund and that no Trustee, officer or holder of shares of beneficial interest of the Fund shall be personally liable for any of the foregoing liabilities. The Trust’s Declaration of Trust, as amended from time to time, is on file in the Office of the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. Such Declaration of Trust describes in detail the respective responsibilities and limitations on liability of the Trustees, officers, and holders of shares of beneficial interest.
4.3. Definitions. Any question of interpretation of any term or provision of this Agreement, including but not limited to the investment advisory fee, the computations of net asset values, and the allocation of expenses, having a counterpart in or otherwise derived from the terms and provisions of the currently effective investment advisory agreement between the parties or the 1940 Act, shall have the same meaning as and be resolved by reference to such investment advisory agreement or the 1940 Act.
4.4. Enforceability. Any term or provision of this Agreement which is invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability without rendering invalid or unenforceable the remaining terms or provisions of this Agreement or affecting the validity or enforceability of any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement in any other jurisdiction.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have caused this Agreement to be signed by their respective officers thereunto duly authorized as of the day and year first above written.
SHP ETF TRUST,
on behalf of each series of the Trust set forth in Schedule A
/s/ Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
Name: Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxxx
Title: President, Principal Executive Officer, and Trustee
NEOS Investment Management, LLC
/s/ Xxxx X. Xxxxx
Name: Xxxx X. Xxxxx
Title: Managing Partner
SCHEDULE A
to the
EXPENSE LIMITATION AGREEMENT
DATED AUGUST 16, 2022
between
SHP ETF TRUST
and
NEOS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, LLC
| Investment Adviser | Fund | Maximum Annual Operating Expense Limit | Duration |
| NEOS Investment Management, LLC | NEOS Enhanced Income Aggregate Bond ETF | 0.58% | March 29, 2024 |
