Exhibit (6b)
SELECTED DEALER AGREEMENT
Boston, Massachusetts
Effective Date: __________
Dealer Name: _______________________________________
Address: _______________________________________
_______________________________________
Attn: _______________________________________
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have been appointed to serve as an agent and principal underwriter
as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act") for the
purpose of selling and distributing shares (the "Shares") of each of the
portfolio series as specified from time to time, of certain investment
companies, including, but not limited to, the MetLife-State Street trusts, the
State Street trusts and MetLife Portfolios, Inc. Hereinafter the specified
portfolio series shall be denoted individually as a "Fund" and collectively as
the "Funds", and the investment companies shall be denoted individually as an
"Investment Company" and collectively as the "Investment Companies" for purposes
of this Agreement.
We are hereby inviting you, as a selected dealer and subject to the
terms and conditions set forth below, to make available to your customers Shares
of the Funds. By your acceptance hereof, you agree that you shall exercise your
best efforts to find purchasers for the Shares, shall purchase Shares only from
us or from your customers, and shall act only as agent for your customers or
dealer for your own account, with no authority to act as agent for the Funds,
for us or for any other dealer in any respect.
1. Acceptance of Orders. Orders received from you will be accepted only
at the public offering price (as defined below in Section 2) applicable to each
order. You agree to place orders for Xxxxxx immediately upon the receipt of, and
in the same amount as, orders from your customers. We will not accept a
conditional order from you on any basis. All orders are subject to our receipt
of Shares from the Investment Company and to acceptance and confirmation of such
orders by us and by the Investment Company. The procedures relating to the
handling of orders shall be subject to instructions which we shall provide from
time to time to you. We and the Investment Companies reserve the right in our
sole discretion to reject any order.
2. Public Offering Price and Sales Charge. The public offering price
shall be the net asset value per Share plus any sales charge payable upon the
purchase of Shares of such Fund or class thereof as described in the then
current prospectus applicable to such Shares, as amended and in effect from time
to time (the "Prospectus"). The public offering price may reflect scheduled
variations in, or the elimination of, the sales charge on sales of the Shares
either generally to the public or in connection with special purchase plans, as
described in the Prospectus and related Statement of Additional Information. You
agree that you will apply any scheduled variation in, or elimination of, the
sales charge uniformly to all offerees in the class specified in the Prospectus.
The sales charge applicable to any sale of Shares by you and the dealer
concession or commission applicable to any order from you for the purchase of
Shares accepted by us shall be as set forth in the applicable Prospectus and
related Statement of Additional Information. You agree that you will not combine
customer orders to reach breakpoints in commissions for any purpose unless
authorized by the Prospectus or by us in writing. All commissions and
concessions are subject to change without notice by us.
3. 12b-1 Plans.
(a) As consideration for your providing distribution and
marketing services in the promotion of the sale of Shares of certain Funds or
classes thereof which have adopted Distribution Plans pursuant to Rule 12b-1
under the 1940 Act, and for providing personal services to and/or the
maintenance of the accounts of, your customers who invest in and own such
Shares, we shall pay you such fee, if any, as is described in the applicable
Prospectus and otherwise established by us from time to time on Shares which are
owned of record by your firm as nominee for your customers or which are owned by
those customers of your firm whose records, as maintained by such Fund or its
agent, designate your firm as the customer's dealer of record. Any fee payable
hereunder shall be computed and accrued daily and for each month shall be based
on average daily net asset value of the relevant Shares which remain outstanding
during such month. No such fee will be paid to you with respect to Shares
redeemed or repurchased by such Fund within seven business days after the date
of our confirmation of such purchase. No such fee will be paid to you with
respect to any of your customers if the
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amount of such fee based upon the value of such customer's Shares will be less
than $1.00.
(b) The provisions of this Paragraph 3 may be terminated with
respect to any Fund or class thereof in accordance with the provisions of Rule
12b-1 under the 1940 Act or the rules of the National Association of Securities
Dealers, Inc. (the "NASD") and thereafter no such fee will be paid to you.
(c) Consistent with NASD policies as amended or interpreted
from time to time (i) you waive payment of amounts due from us which are funded
by fees we receive under such Distribution Plans until we are in receipt of the
fees on the relevant shares of a Fund, and (ii) our liability for amounts
payable to you is limited solely to the proceeds of the fees receivable to us on
the relevant shares.
4. Payment for Shares. Payment for Shares sold through you shall be
made on or before the settlement date specified in the applicable confirmation,
at the office of our clearing agent, and by your check payable to the order of
such Fund or, if applicable, by Federal Funds wire for credit to such Fund, in
any case in accordance with the procedures and conditions described in the
applicable Prospectus. Each Fund reserves the right to delay issuance or
transfer of Shares until such check has cleared. If such payment is not received
by us, we reserve the right, without notice, forthwith to cancel the sale.
Unless other instructions are received by us on or before the settlement date,
orders accepted by us may be placed in an Open Account in your name. If such
payment or instruments are not timely received by us, we may hold you
responsible for any expense or loss, including loss of profit, suffered by us or
by such Fund resulting from your failure to make payment as aforesaid.
5. Redemption and Repurchase of Shares. If any of the Shares sold
through you hereunder are redeemed by such Fund or repurchased by us as agent
for such Fund within seven business days after confirmation of the original
purchase, it is agreed that you shall forfeit your right to the entire dealer
concession and related commission, if any, received by you on such Shares. We
will notify you of any such repurchase or redemption within ten business days
from the date thereof and you shall forthwith refund to us the entire concession
and commission, if any, received by you on such sale. We agree, in the event of
any such repurchase or redemption, to refund to such Fund our share of the sales
charge retained by us, if any, and upon receipt from you of the refund of the
concession allowed to you, to pay such refund forthwith to such Fund.
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If you purchase Shares from any customer in connection with repurchase
arrangements offered by an Investment Company, you agree to pay such customer
not less than the applicable repurchase price as established by the Prospectus.
If you act as agent for your customer in selling Shares to us or a Fund, you
agree not to charge your customer more than a fair commission for handling the
transaction. Any order placed by you for the repurchase of Shares of a Fund is
subject to the timely receipt by the Fund's transfer agent of all required
documents in good order. If such documents are not received within a reasonable
time after the order is placed, the order is subject to cancellation, in which
case you agree to be responsible for any loss resulting to the Fund or to us
from such cancellation.
6. Manner of Offering.
(a) No person is authorized to make any representations
concerning Shares except those contained in the applicable Prospectus, in the
related Statement of Additional Information and in any then current sales
literature or other material issued by us supplemental to such Prospectus, which
sales literature or other material is used in conformity with applicable rules
or conditions. All offerings of Shares by you shall be subject to the conditions
set forth in the applicable Prospectus (including the condition relating to
minimum purchases) and to the terms and conditions herein set forth. We will
furnish additional copies of the Prospectuses and such sales literature and
other material issued by us in reasonable quantities upon request. You will
provide all customers with the applicable Prospectus prior to or at the time
such customer purchases Shares and will forward promptly to us any customer
request for a copy of the applicable Statement of Additional Information. Sales
and exchanges of Shares may only be made in those states and jurisdictions where
the Shares are registered or qualified for sale to the public. We agree to
advise you currently of the identity of those states and jurisdictions in which
the Shares are registered or qualified for sale, and you agree to indemnify us
and/or the Funds for any claim, liability, expense or loss in any way arising
out of a sale of Shares in any state or jurisdiction in which such Shares are
not so registered or qualified.
(b) You agree to conform to any compliance or offering
standards that we may establish from time to time, including without limitation
standards as to when classes of Shares may appropriately be sold to particular
investors.
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7. NASD Matters. This Agreement is conditioned upon your representation
and warranty that you are a member of the NASD or, in the alternative, that you
are a foreign dealer not eligible for membership in the NASD. You and we agree
to abide by the Rules and Regulations of the NASD, including Rule 26 of its
Rules of Fair Practice, and all applicable federal, state, and foreign laws,
rules and regulations.
8. Rejection of Orders. We shall have the right to accept or reject
orders for the purchase of Shares of any Fund. It is understood that for the
purposes hereof no Share shall be considered to have been sold by you and no
compensation will be payable to you with respect to any subscription for Shares
which is rejected by us or an Investment Company. Any consideration which you
may receive in connection with a rejected purchase order will be returned
promptly. Confirmations of all accepted purchase orders will be transmitted by
the Transfer Agent for the applicable Fund or class thereof to the investor or
to you, if authorized.
9. Status of Soliciting Dealer. Nothing herein shall make you a partner
with us or render our relationship an association. You are responsible for your
own conduct, for the employment, control and conduct of your employees and
agents and for injury to such employees or agents or to others through such
employees or agents. You assume full responsibility for your employees and
agents under applicable laws and agree to pay all employer taxes relating
thereto.
10. No Liability. As distributor of the Shares, we shall have full
authority to take such action as we may deem advisable in respect of all matters
pertaining to the distribution of such Shares. We shall not be under any
liability to you, except for lack of good faith and for obligations expressly
assumed by us in this Agreement; provided, however, that nothing in this
sentence shall be deemed to relieve any of us from any liability imposed by the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
11. Term of Contract; Amendment; Termination. This Agreement shall
become effective on the date hereof. We and each Fund reserve the right, in our
discretion upon notice to you, to amend, modify or terminate this Agreement at
any time, to change any sales charges, commissions, concessions and other fees
described in the applicable Prospectus or to suspend sales or withdraw the
offering of Shares of any Fund or class of Shares thereof entirely. You agree
that any order to purchase Shares placed by you after notice of any amendment to
this Agreement has been sent to you shall constitute your agreement to such
amendment.
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12. Miscellaneous. This Agreement supersedes any and all prior
agreements between us. All communications to us should be sent to the above
address. Any notice to you shall be duly given if mailed or telefacsimiled to
you at the address specified by you above. This Agreement shall be effective
when accepted by you below and shall be construed under the laws of the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The following provision, as marked, applies to this agreement.
[ ] This document constitutes an amendment to and restatement of the Selected
Dealer Agreement currently in effect between you and us.
[ ] Please confirm your agreement hereto by signing and returning the
enclosed counterpart of this Agreement at once to: State Street Research
Investment Services, Inc., Xxx Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx
00000, Attention: President. Upon receipt thereof, this Agreement and
such signed duplicate copy will evidence the agreement between us as of
the date indicated.
State Street Research
Investment Services, Inc.
(Distributor)
By: _______________________________________
ACCEPTED:
[ ]
(Selected Dealer)
By: _______________________________________
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SUPPLEMENT NO. 1 TO
SELECTED DEALER AGREEMENT
Boston, Massachusetts
Effective Date: _________________
Dealer Name: _____________________________________
Address: _____________________________________
_____________________________________
Attn: _____________________________________
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This Agreement amends and supplements the Selected Dealer Agreement
between you and us, as in effect from time to time (the "Selected Dealer
Agreement"). All of the terms and provisions of the Selected Dealer Agreement
remain in full force and effect, and this Agreement and the Selected Dealer
Agreement shall be construed and interpreted as one Agreement, provided that in
the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and the Selected Dealer
Agreement, the terms and provisions of this Agreement shall control. Capitalized
terms used in this Agreement and not defined herein are used as defined in the
Selected Dealer Agreement.
We understand that you wish to use Shares of the Funds in managed
fee-based programs in which you participate (the "Fee-Based Program"), and that
you wish to afford investors participating in such programs the opportunity to
qualify for the ability to purchase shares of the Funds at net asset value. We
are willing to allow you to purchase Shares of the Funds for sale to investors
participating in the Fee-Based Program on such basis, subject to the terms and
conditions of this Agreement and the Selected Dealer Agreement.
1. Sale of Shares through Fee-Based Program
You may, in connection with the Fee-Based Program, sell shares of any
Funds made available by us, from time to time, at net asset value to investors
participating in a bona fide Fee-Based Program. You will receive no discount,
commission or other concession with respect to any such sale, but will be
entitled to receive any service fees otherwise payable with respect thereto to
the extent provided from time to time in the applicable Funds' Prospectuses and
in the Dealer Agreement. We will, after consulting with you, determine, from
time to time, which Funds we will make available to you for use in the Fee-Based
Program. You agree that Shares will not be made available through the Fee-Based
Program for the sole purpose of enabling evasion of sales charges.
2. Eligibility of Fee-Based Program
We reserve the right to establish basic eligibility requirements from
time to time for the sale of Fund shares under your programs, relating to the
minimum aggregate amount of your clients' assets invested in the Funds,
management fees you charge on such assets, regulatory requirements, and/or
similar matters. You shall send to us upon request from time to time the
then-current standard fee schedule for the applicable Fee-Based Program and a
copy of the applicable Schedule H to the Form ADV containing the required
disclosures relating to the Fee-Based Program, or any successor required
disclosures. Any brochures, written materials or advertising relating to the
Fee-Based Program may refer to the Funds as available at net asset value if the
fees and expenses of the Fee-Based Program are given at least equal prominence.
In connection with explaining the fees and expenses of the Fee-Based Program,
your representatives may describe to customers the option of purchasing Fund
shares through such Program at net asset value.
3. Undertakings
You will (i) provide us with continuous reasonable access to your
offices, representatives and mutual fund and Fee-Based Program sales support
personnel, (ii) include descriptions of all Funds offered through the Fee-Based
Program in internal sales materials and electronic information displays used in
conjunction with the Fee-Based Program, (iii) use reasonable efforts to motivate
your representatives to recommend suitable Funds for clients of the Fee-Based
Program, and (iv) include the Funds on any approved, preferred or other similar
list of mutual fund products offered through the Fee-Based Program.
4. Customer Accounts
You may maintain with the Funds' shareholder servicing agent either (i)
one or more omnibus accounts solely for the participants in the applicable
Fee-Based Program or (ii) separate accounts for each participant in the
applicable Fee-Based Program. If one or more omnibus accounts are maintained,
you shall, among other things, be responsible for forwarding proxies, annual and
semi-annual reports and other materials to each beneficial owner in a timely
manner.
5. Applicable Law
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed and interpreted in
accordance with the internal laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
6. Disclaimer and Indemnity
We are not endorsing, recommending and are not otherwise involved in
providing any investment product of yours, including but not limited to any
Fee-Based Program. We are merely affording you the opportunity to use shares of
the Funds as an investment medium for the applicable Fee-Based Program. You
acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for any such Fee-Based
Program and you agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless us, the Funds and
our and their affiliates, directors, trustees, officers, employees and agents
from and against any claims, losses, damages or costs (including attorneys'
fees) arising from or related to such Fee-Based Program, including without
limitation any brochures, written materials or advertising in any form that
refers to the Funds or the Fee-Based Program.
7. Miscellaneous
This Agreement is not exclusive and shall terminate automatically upon
termination of the Selected Dealer Agreement. We reserve the right, in our
discretion upon notice to you, to amend, modify or terminate this Agreement at
any time. You agree that any order to purchase Shares placed by you after notice
of any amendment to this Agreement has been sent to you shall constitute your
agreement to such amendment.
STATE STREET RESEARCH
INVESTMENT SERVICES, INC.
By: _______________________________
Name:
Title:
Accepted:
__________________________________
Name of Dealer
By: __________________________________
Name:
Title:
