VALUE EQUITY TRUST
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September 7, 1998
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Investor Services, Inc.
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▇▇▇▇▇▇, ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇
Underwriting Agreement
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen:
Equity Value Trust (hereinafter called the "Trust") is a business trust
organized under the laws of Massachusetts and is engaged in the business of an
investment company. The authorized capital of the Trust consists of shares of
beneficial interest, with par value of $0.01 per share ("Shares"), currently
divided into two portfolios ("Portfolio"); however, shares may be divided into
additional Portfolios of the Trust and the Portfolios may be terminated from
time to time. The Trust has selected you to act as principal underwriter (as
such term is defined in Section 2(a)(29) of the Investment Company Act of 1940,
as amended (the "1940 Act")) of the Shares and you are willing to act as such
principal underwriter and to perform the duties and functions of underwriter in
the manner and on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth. Accordingly,
the Trust hereby agrees with you as follows:
1. Delivery of Documents. The Trust has furnished you with copies properly
certified or authenticated of each of the following:
(a) Declaration of Trust of the Trust, dated March 17, 1988, as amended to
date.
(b) By-Laws of the Trust as in effect on the date hereof.
(c) Resolutions of the Board of Trustees of the Trust selecting you as
principal underwriter and approving this form of Agreement.
The Trust will furnish you from time to time with copies, properly
certified or authenticated, of all amendments of or supplements to the
foregoing, if any.
The Trust will furnish you promptly with properly certified or
authenticated copies of any registration statement filed by it with the
Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
(the "1933 Act") or the 1940 Act, together with any financial statements and
exhibits included therein, and all amendments or supplements thereto hereafter
filed.
2. Registration and Sale of Additional Shares. The Trust will from time to
time use its best efforts to register under the 1933 Act such number of Shares
not already so registered as you may reasonably be expected to sell on behalf of
the Trust. You and the Trust will cooperate in taking such action as may be
necessary from time to time to comply with requirements applicable to the sale
of Shares by you or the Trust in any states mutually agreeable to you and the
Trust, and to maintain such compliance. This Agreement relates to the issue and
sale of Shares that are duly authorized and registered under the 1933 Act and
available for sale by the Trust, including redeemed or repurchased Shares if and
to the extent that they may be legally sold and if, but only if, the Trust sees
fit to sell them.
3. Sale of Shares. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 5 and 7 hereof
and to such minimum purchase requirements as may from time to time be currently
indicated in the Trust's prospectus or statement of additional information, you
are authorized to sell as agent on behalf of the Trust Shares authorized for
issue and registered under the 1933 Act. You may also purchase as principal
Shares for resale to the public. Such sales will be made by you on behalf of the
Trust by accepting unconditional orders to purchase Shares placed with you by
investors and such purchases will be made by you only after acceptance by you of
such orders. The sales price to the public of Shares shall be the public
offering price as defined in paragraph 6 hereof.
4. Solicitation of Orders. You will use your best efforts (but only in
states in which you may lawfully do so) to obtain from investors unconditional
orders for Shares authorized for issue by the Trust and registered under the
1933 Act, provided that you may in your discretion refuse to accept orders for
Shares from any particular applicant.
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5. Sale of Shares by the Trust. Unless you are otherwise notified by the
Trust, any right granted to you to accept orders for Shares or to make sales on
behalf of the Trust or to purchase Shares for resale will not apply to (i)
Shares issued in connection with the merger or consolidation of any other
investment company with the Trust or its acquisition, by purchase or otherwise,
of all or substantially all of the assets of any investment company or
substantially all the outstanding shares of any such company, and (ii) to Shares
that may be offered by the Trust to shareholders of the Trust by virtue of their
being such shareholders.
6. Public Offering Price. All Shares sold to investors by you will be sold
at the public offering price. The public offering price for all accepted
subscriptions will be the net asset value per Share, determined, in the manner
provided in the Trust's registration statements as from time to time in effect
under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, next after the order is accepted by you.
7. Suspension of Sales. If and whenever the determination of net asset
value is suspended and until such suspension is terminated, no further orders
for Shares shall be accepted by you except unconditional orders placed with you
before you had knowledge of the suspension. In addition, the Trust reserves the
right to suspend sales and your authority to accept orders for Shares on behalf
of the Trust if, in the judgment of a majority of the Board of Trustees or a
majority of the Executive Committee of such Board, if such body exists, it is in
the best interests of the Trust to do so, such suspension to continue for such
period as may be determined by such majority; and in that event, no Shares will
be sold by you on behalf of the Trust while such suspension remains in effect
except for Shares necessary to cover unconditional orders accepted by you before
you had knowledge of the suspension.
8. Portfolio Securities. Portfolio securities of any Portfolio of the Trust
may be bought or sold by or through you and you may participate directly or
indirectly in brokerage commissions or "spread" in respect to transactions in
portfolio securities of any Portfolio of the Trust; provided, however, that all
sums of money received by you as a result of such purchases and sales or as a
result of such participation must, after reimbursement of your actual expenses
in connection with such activity, be paid over by you to or for the benefit of
the Trust.
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9. Expenses. (a) The Trust will pay (or will enter into arrangements
providing that others than you will pay) all fees and expenses:
(1) in connection with the preparation, setting in type and filing of any
registration statement (including a prospectus and statement of
additional information) under the 1933 Act or the 1940 Act, or both,
and any amendments or supplements thereto that may be made from time
to time;
(2) in connection with the registration and qualification of Shares for
sale, or compliance with other conditions applicable to the sale of
Shares in the various jurisdictions in which the Trust shall determine
it advisable to sell such Shares (including registering the Trust as a
broker or dealer or any officer of the Trust or other person as agent
or salesman of the Trust in any such jurisdictions);
(3) of preparing, setting in type, printing and mailing any notice, proxy
statement, report, prospectus or other communication to shareholders
of the Trust in their capacity as such;
(4) of preparing, setting in type, printing and mailing prospectuses
annually, and any supplements thereto, to existing shareholders;
(5) in connection with the issue and transfer of Shares resulting from the
acceptance by you of orders to purchase Shares placed with you by
investors, including the expenses of printing and mailing
confirmations of such purchase orders and the expenses of printing and
mailing a prospectus included with the confirmation of such orders;
(6) of any issue taxes or any initial transfer taxes;
(7) of WATS (or equivalent) telephone lines other than the portion
allocated to you in this paragraph 9;
(8) of wiring funds in payment of Share purchases or in satisfaction of
redemption or repurchase requests, unless such expenses are paid for
by the investor or shareholder who initiates the transaction;
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(9) of the cost of printing and postage of business reply envelopes sent
to Trust shareholders;
(10) of one or more CRT terminals connected with the computer facilities of
the transfer agent other than the portion allocated to you in this
paragraph 9;
(11) permitted to be paid or assumed by the Trust pursuant to a plan
("12b-1 Plan"), if any, adopted by the Trust in conformity with the
requirements of Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act ("Rule 12b-1") or any
successor rule, notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary
herein;
(12) of the expense of setting in type, printing and postage of the
periodic newsletter to shareholders other than the portion allocated
to you in this paragraph 9; and
(13) of the salaries and overhead of persons employed by you as shareholder
representatives other than the portion allocated to you in this
paragraph 9.
b) You shall pay or arrange for the payment of all fees and expenses:
(1) of printing and distributing any prospectuses or reports prepared for
your use in connection with the offering of Shares to the public;
(2) of preparing, setting in type, printing and mailing any other
literature used by you in connection with the offering of Shares to
the public;
(3) of advertising in connection with the offering of Shares to the
public;
(4) incurred in connection with your registration as a broker or dealer or
the registration or qualification of your officers, trustees, agents
or representatives under Federal and state laws;
(5) of that portion of WATS (or equivalent) telephone lines, allocated to
you on the basis of use by investors (but not shareholders) who
request information or prospectuses;
(6) of that portion of the expenses of setting in type, printing and
postage of the periodic newsletter to shareholders attributable to
promotional material included in such newsletter at your request
concerning investment companies other than the Trust or concerning the
Trust to the extent you are required to assume the expense thereof
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pursuant to paragraph 9(b)(8), except such material which is limited
to information, such as listings of other investment companies and
their investment objectives, given in connection with the exchange
privilege as from time to time described in the Trust's prospectus;
(7) of that portion of the salaries and overhead of persons employed by
you as shareholder representatives attributable to the time spent by
such persons in responding to requests from prospective investors and
shareholders for information about the Trust;
(8) of any activity which is primarily intended to result in the sale of
Shares, unless a 12b-1 Plan shall be in effect which provides that the
Trust shall bear some or all of such expenses, in which case the Trust
shall bear such expenses in accordance with such Plan; and
(9) of that portion of one or more CRT terminals connected with the
computer facilities of the transfer agent attributable to your use of
such terminal(s) to gain access to such of the transfer agent's
records as also serve as your records.
Expenses which are to be allocated between you and the Trust shall be
allocated pursuant to reasonable procedures or formulae mutually agreed upon
from time to time, which procedures or formulae shall to the extent practicable
reflect studies of relevant empirical data.
10. Conformity with Law. You agree that in selling Shares you will duly
conform in all respects with the laws of the United States and any state in
which Shares may be offered for sale by you pursuant to this Agreement and to
the rules and regulations of the National Association of Securities Dealers,
Inc., of which you are a member.
11. Independent Contractor. You shall be an independent contractor and
neither you nor any of your officers or employees is or shall be an employee of
the Trust in the performance of your duties hereunder. You shall be responsible
for your own conduct and the employment, control and conduct of your agents and
employees and for injury to such agents or employees or to others through your
agents or employees. You assume full responsibility for your agents and
employees under applicable statutes and agree to pay all employee taxes
thereunder.
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12. Indemnification. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Trust and
each of its trustees and officers and each person, if any, who controls the
Trust within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act, against any and all
losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including legal and other
expenses) to which the Trust or such trustees, officers, or controlling person
may become subject under such Act, under any other statute, at common law or
otherwise, arising out of the acquisition of any Shares by any person which (i)
may be based upon any wrongful act by you or any of your employees or
representatives, or (ii) may be based upon any untrue statement or alleged
untrue statement of a material fact contained in a registration statement
(including a prospectus or statement of additional information) covering Shares
or any amendment thereof or supplement thereto or the omission or alleged
omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or
necessary to make the statement therein not misleading if such statement or
omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Trust by you, or
(iii) may be incurred or arise by reason of your acting as the Trust's agent
instead of purchasing and reselling Shares as principal in distributing the
Shares to the public, provided, however, that in no case (i) is your indemnity
in favor of a trustee or officer or any other person deemed to protect such
trustee or officer or other person against any liability to which any such
person would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith,
or gross negligence in the performance of his duties or by reason of his
reckless disregard of obligations and duties under this Agreement or (ii) are
you to be liable under your indemnity agreement contained in this paragraph with
respect to any claim made against the Trust or any person indemnified unless the
Trust or such person, as the case may be, shall have notified you in writing
within a reasonable time after the summons or other first legal process giving
information of the nature of the claims shall have been served upon the Trust or
upon such person (or after the Trust or such person shall have received notice
of such service on any designated agent), but failure to notify you of any such
claim shall not relieve you from any liability which you may have to the Trust
or any person against whom such action is brought otherwise than on account of
your indemnity agreement contained in this paragraph. You shall be entitled to
participate, at your own expense, in the defense, or, if you so elect, to assume
the defense of any suit brought to enforce any such liability, but if you
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elect to assume the defense, such defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen
by you and satisfactory to the Trust, to its officers and trustees, or to any
controlling person or persons, defendant or defendants in the suit. In the event
that you elect to assume the defense of any such suit and retain such counsel,
the Trust, such officers and trustees or controlling person or persons,
defendant or defendants in the suit shall bear the fees and expenses of any
additional counsel retained by them, but, in case you do not elect to assume the
defense of any such suit, you will reimburse the Trust, such officers and
trustees or controlling person or persons, defendant or defendants in such suit
for the reasonable fees and expenses of any counsel retained by them. You agree
promptly to notify the Trust of the commencement of any litigation or
proceedings against it in connection with the issue and sale of any Shares.
The Trust agrees to indemnify and hold harmless you and each of your
trustees and officers and each person, if any, who controls you within the
meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act, against any and all losses, claims,
damages, liabilities or litigation (including legal and other expenses) to which
you or such trustees, officers or controlling person may become subject under
such Act, under any other statute, at common law or otherwise, arising out of
the acquisition of any Shares by any person which (i) may be based upon any
wrongful act by the Trust or any of its employees or representatives, or (ii)
may be based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material
fact contained in a registration statement (including a prospectus or statement
of additional information) covering Shares or any amendment thereof or
supplement thereto or the omission or alleged omission to state therein a
material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements
therein not misleading if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon
information furnished to you by the Trust; provided, however, that in no case
(i) is the Trust's indemnity in favor of you, a trustee or officer or any other
person deemed to protect you, such trustee or officer or other person against
any liability to which any such person would otherwise be subject by reason of
willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of his
duties or by reason of his reckless disregard of obligations and duties under
this Agreement or (ii) is the Trust to be liable under its indemnity agreement
contained in this paragraph with respect to any claims made
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against you or any such trustee, officer or controlling person unless you or
such trustee, officer or controlling person, as the case may be, shall have
notified the Trust in writing within a reasonable time after the summons or
other first legal process giving information of the nature of the claim shall
have been served upon you or upon such trustee, officer or controlling person
(or after you or such trustee, officer or controlling person shall have received
notice of such service on any designated agent), but failure to notify the Trust
of any such claim shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have to
the person against whom such action is brought otherwise than on account of its
indemnity agreement contained in this paragraph. The Trust will be entitled to
participate at its own expense in the defense, or, if it so elects, to assume
the defense of any suit brought to enforce any such liability, but if the Trust
elects to assume the defense, such defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen
by it and satisfactory to you, your trustees, officers, or controlling person or
persons, defendant or defendants in the suit. In the event that the Trust elects
to assume the defense of any such suit and retain such counsel, you, your
trustees, officers or controlling person or persons, defendant or defendants in
the suit, shall bear the fees and expenses of any additional counsel retained by
them, but, in case the Trust does not elect to assume the defense of any such
suit, it will reimburse you or such trustees, officers or controlling person or
persons, defendant or defendants in the suit, for the reasonable fees and
expenses of any counsel retained by them. The Trust agrees promptly to notify
you of the commencement of any litigation or proceedings against it or any of
its officers or trustees in connection with the issuance or sale of any Shares.
13. Authorized Representations. The Trust is not authorized to give any
information or to make any representations on behalf of you other than the
information and representations contained in a registration statement (including
a prospectus or statement of additional information) covering Shares, as such
registration statement and prospectus may be amended or supplemented from time
to time.
You are not authorized to give any information or to make any
representations on behalf of the Trust or in connection with the sale of Shares
other than the information and representations contained in a registration
statement (including a prospectus or statement of additional information)
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covering Shares, as such registration statement may be amended or supplemented
from time to time. No person other than you is authorized to act as principal
underwriter (as such term is defined in the ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇) for the Trust.
14. Duration and Termination of this Agreement. This Agreement shall become
effective upon the date first written above and will remain in effect until
September 30, 1999 and from year to year thereafter, but only so long as such
continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the vote of a majority
of the trustees who are not interested persons of you or of the Trust, cast in
person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval, and by
vote of the Board of Trustees or of a majority of the outstanding voting
securities of the Trust. This Agreement may, on 60 days' written notice, be
terminated at any time without the payment of any penalty, by the Board of
Trustees of the Trust, by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting
securities of the Trust, or by you. This Agreement will automatically terminate
in the event of its assignment. In interpreting the provisions of this paragraph
14, the definitions contained in Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act (particularly the
definitions of "interested person", "assignment" and "majority of the
outstanding voting securities"), as modified by any applicable order of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, shall be applied.
15. Amendment of this Agreement. No provisions of this Agreement may be
changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in
writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver,
discharge or termination is sought. If the Trust should at any time deem it
necessary or advisable in the best interests of the Trust that any amendment of
this Agreement be made in order to comply with the recommendations or
requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission or other governmental
authority or to obtain any advantage under state or federal tax laws and should
notify you of the form of such amendment, and the reasons therefor, and if you
should decline to assent to such amendment, the Trust may terminate this
Agreement forthwith. If you should at any time request that a change be made in
the Trust's Declaration of Trust or By-laws or in its methods of doing business,
in order to comply with any requirements of federal law or regulations of the
Securities and Exchange Commission or of a
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national securities association of which you are or may be a member relating to
the sale of shares of the Trust, and the Trust should not make such necessary
change within a reasonable time, you may terminate this Agreement forthwith.
16. Miscellaneous. 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. This
Agreement may be executed simultaneously in two or more counterparts, each of
which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute
one and the same instrument.
If you are in agreement with the foregoing, please sign the form of
acceptance on the accompanying counterpart of this letter and return such
counterpart to the Trust, whereupon this letter shall become a binding contract.
Very truly yours,
EQUITY VALUE TRUST
By: /s/▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
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▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
Vice President
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The foregoing agreement is hereby accepted as of the foregoing date
thereof.
▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ INVESTOR SERVICES, INC.
By: /s/▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
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▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇
Vice President
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