EXHIBIT 10.02
ML FUTURESACCESS(SM) ADVISORY AGREEMENT
among
ML CORNERSTONE FUTURESACCESS(SM) LLC
ML CORNERSTONE FUTURESACCESS(SM) LTD.
XXXXXXX XXXXX ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS LLC
and
CORNERSTONE TRADING COMPANY, INC.
Dated as of May 26, 2004
ML FUTURESACCESS(SM) ADVISORY AGREEMENT
Table of Contents
Section Page
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1. Undertakings of the Trading Advisor in Connection with Offering..........................................2
2. Duties of the Trading Advisor............................................................................3
3. Trading Advisor Independent..............................................................................5
4. Commodity Broker; Floor Brokers..........................................................................6
5. Management Fee...........................................................................................7
6. Incentive Fee............................................................................................7
7. Term and Termination.....................................................................................8
8. Right to Advise Others; Uniformity of Acts and Practices.................................................9
9. Additional Undertakings by the Trading Advisor...........................................................9
10. Representations and Warranties...........................................................................9
11. Entire Agreement........................................................................................12
12. Indemnification.........................................................................................12
13. Assignment..............................................................................................14
14. Amendment; Waiver.......................................................................................14
15. Severability............................................................................................14
16. Notices.................................................................................................14
17. Governing Law...........................................................................................15
18. Consent to Jurisdiction.................................................................................15
19. Remedies................................................................................................15
20. Survival................................................................................................15
21. Counterparts............................................................................................15
22. No Waiver...............................................................................................16
23. Rules of Interpretation.................................................................................16
24. Binding Effect; Benefit; Third-Party Beneficiary........................................................17
25. Confidentiality.........................................................................................17
26. Advisers Act Compliance.................................................................................18
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Appendix A -- List of Commodity Interests Traded by
Trading Advisor.........................................................................A-1
Appendix B -- Commodity Trading Authority....................................................................B-1
ML FUTURESACCESS(SM) ADVISORY AGREEMENT
THIS ADVISORY AGREEMENT (the "Agreement"), made as of this ___ day
of May, 2004, among ML CORNERSTONE FuturesAccess(SM) LLC, a Delaware limited
liability company, ML CORNERSTONE FuturesAccess(SM) Ltd., a Cayman Islands
exempted company (the "Onshore Fund" and the "Offshore Fund," respectively,
and collectively, the "Fund"), Xxxxxxx Xxxxx Alternative Investments LLC, a
Delaware limited liability company (the "Manager"), and CORNERSTONE TRADING
COMPANY, INC. (the "Trading Advisor");
W I T N E S S E T H:
- - - - - - - - - -
WHEREAS, the Fund is one of the "family" of privately-offered
managed futures funds sponsored by the Manager as part of the "ML
FuturesAccess(SM) Program," which provides for investors to invest in, and
exchange their investments among, different funds in the ML FuturesAccess(SM)
Program (each of which is currently a single-advisor fund), as well as among
the various "hedge funds" in the ML HedgeAccess(SM) Program (the ML
FuturesAccess(SM) Program and the ML HedgeAccess(SM) Program being
collectively referred to as the "Program");
WHEREAS, the Fund has been formed in order to trade, buy, sell or
otherwise acquire, hold or dispose of forward contracts, futures contracts
for commodities, financial instruments and currencies, rights pertaining
thereto and options thereon or on physical commodities and engage in all
activities incident thereto (the foregoing forms of investment being
collectively referred to herein as "commodity interests") under the direction
of the Trading Advisor;
WHEREAS, the Onshore Fund intends, subject to the terms and
conditions set forth herein, to offer units of limited partnership interest
in the Fund ("Units") for sale to investors in an offering exempt from
registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"),
as described in the Onshore Fund's Confidential Private Placement Offering
Memorandum, as amended from time to time (the "Onshore Memorandum"), which
has been filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC") and
the National Futures Association (the "NFA") pursuant to the Commodity
Exchange Act, as amended (the "CEA"), the commodity pool operator and
commodity trading advisor regulations promulgated under the CEA by the CFTC
(the "Commodity Regulations"), and NFA rules promulgated under the CEA (the
"NFA Rules");
WHEREAS the Offshore Fund intends, subject to the terms and
conditions set forth herein, to offer redeemable participating shares
("Shares"; and collectively with the Units, "Interests") for sale exclusively
to Non-"United States persons," pursuant to Regulation S under the 1933 Act,
as described in the Offshore Fund's Confidential Offering Memorandum, as
amended from time to time (the "Offshore Memorandum," and collectively, with
the Onshore Memorandum, the "Memorandum"). The Manager has filed a Form 18-96
Notice with the NFA exempting the Offshore Fund from filing the Offshore
Memorandum with the CFTC or NFA;
WHEREAS, the Manager acts as manager of the Fund;
WHEREAS, the Trading Advisor is engaged in the business of, among
other things, making trading decisions on behalf of investors in the purchase
and sale of certain commodity interests;
WHEREAS, the Manager has sponsored the Fund in order that the
Trading Advisor, upon the terms and conditions set forth herein, act as the
trading advisor for the Fund, making commodity interests investment decisions
for the Fund on a discretionary basis; and
WHEREAS, the Trading Advisor is willing to manage the Fund's
commodity interests trading.
NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto do hereby agree as follows, for
good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are
hereby acknowledged, and in entering into this Agreement the parties intend
to be legally bound:
1. Undertakings of the Trading Advisor in Connection with Offering.
(a) Trading Advisor to Provide Current Information. The Trading
Advisor agrees to use its reasonable best efforts to cooperate with the Fund
and the Manager in preparing the Memorandum, including without limitation by
providing, as promptly as may be reasonably practicable, all information (if
any) regarding the Trading Advisor, its "principals," "trading principals,"
and "trading program" (each of the foregoing as defined in Section 4.10 of
the Commodity Regulations) and "affiliates" (as defined in the Securities
Act) which the Manager reasonably believes to be necessary or advisable to
include in the Memorandum; provided that the parties hereto agree that the
Trading Advisor shall not be required to disclose to the Manager the Trading
Advisor's proprietary trading methodology which will be implemented on behalf
of the Fund.
(b) Solicitation Material; "Roadshow" Participation. None of the
Trading Advisor and its affiliates, and their respective owners, principals,
directors, officers, employees, representatives or controlling persons
("Trading Advisor Parties") shall use, publish, circulate or distribute the
Memorandum or any related solicitation material nor shall any Trading Advisor
Party engage in any marketing, sales or promotional activities in connection
with the offering of Interests, except as may be requested by the Manager.
(c) The Trading Advisor Parties will, to the extent reasonably
regulated by the Manager, participate in "road shows," seminars,
presentations and other marketing activities relating to the Fund as
reasonably requested by the Manager, such participation to be at the expense
of the Trading Advisor.
(d) Performance Information.
(i) At all times while any of the Interests continue to be offered,
the Trading Advisor, at its own expense, shall promptly provide the Fund
and the Manager with complete and accurate performance information (in
form and substance consistent with Sections 4.25 and 4.35 of the
Commodity Regulations and with the NFA Rules) reflecting the actual
performance of the accounts directed by the Trading Advisor up to the
latest practicable date (consistent with Sections 4.25 and 4.35 of the
Commodity
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Regulations), together with any reports or letters relating to such
performance data received from accountants and in the possession of the
Trading Advisor.
(ii) The Manager acknowledges receipt, on behalf of both itself and
the Fund, of all disclosure documents required to be delivered by the
Trading Advisor Parties pursuant to applicable Commodity Regulations or
NFA Rules.
(e) Access to Books and Records. Upon reasonable notice to the
Trading Advisor, Xxxxxxx Xxxxx shall have the right to have access to the
Trading Advisor's offices in order to inspect and copy such books and records
during normal business hours as Xxxxxxx Xxxxx may reasonably deem necessary
in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby (in each case,
subject to such restrictions as the Trading Advisor may reasonably deem
necessary or advisable so as to preserve the confidentiality of proprietary
information).
(f) General Assistance.
(i) The Trading Advisor acknowledges and agrees that Xxxxxxx Xxxxx
will be expending substantial resources in preparing the Fund for
marketing as well as in marketing the Interests. The Trading Advisor
agrees to cooperate with Xxxxxxx Xxxxx in doing so to the fullest extent
reasonably practicable.
(ii) In consideration of Xxxxxxx Xxxxx'x reliance on the Trading
Advisor's availability and ability to manage the Fund, the Trading
Advisor agrees promptly to notify the Manager in the event that the
Trading Advisor has any reason to believe that the Trading Advisor may
not be able or willing to do so to the full extent set forth herein.
(iii) The Trading Advisor agrees not to accept other client capital
or accounts, if doing so could reasonably be expected to impair the
Trading Advisor's ability to manage the Fund as contemplated by the
Memorandum, assuming that the Fund has a minimum capitalization of $500
million.
(iv) The Trading Advisor will assist the Manager, at the Manager's
reasonable request, with the Manager's "anti-money laundering" and all
related obligations.
(v) The Trading Advisor acknowledges that the Manager is registered
as an "investment adviser" with the Securities and Exchange Commission
and agrees to take such steps as the Manager may reasonably request to
ensure that the Fund is operated in full compliance with the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940 (the "Advisers Act").
2. Duties of the Trading Advisor.
(a) Trading for the Fund. The Trading Advisor shall act as a
trading advisor for the Fund. The Trading Advisor, the Manager and the Fund
agree that in managing the Fund, the Trading Advisor shall implement the
trading program and strategies (the "Trading Program") described in the
Memorandum. The Trading Advisor shall have sole and exclusive authority and
responsibility for directing the Fund's trading, subject to the Manager's
fiduciary authority to intervene to overrule or unwind trades if the Manager
deems that doing so is necessary or advisable for the protection of the Fund.
The Fund or the Manager may also override the trading
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instructions of the Trading Advisor to the extent necessary: (i) to fund any
distributions or redemptions of Interests to be made by the Fund; (ii) to pay
the Fund's expenses; and/or (iii) to comply with speculative position limits;
provided that the Fund and the Manager shall permit the Trading Advisor three
days in which to liquidate positions for the purposes set forth in clauses
(i)-(ii) prior to exercising its override authority. The Trading Advisor will
have no liability for the results of any of the Manager's interventions in
(i)-(ii), above.
The Trading Advisor will provide written notice of material changes
to the Trading Program 30 calendar days prior to implementation. The Trading
Advisor dedicates substantial ongoing resources to improving the Trading
Program and changes that the Trading Advisor considers improvements to its
existing methodology will not be deemed material. The addition or deletion of
an entire asset class will be deemed material, while the addition or deletion
of a member of an asset class will not be deemed material.
(b) List of Commodity Interests Traded by the Trading Advisor.
(i) The Trading Advisor shall provide the Fund and the Manager with
a complete list of commodity interests which it intends to trade on the
Fund's behalf. All commodity interests other than regulated futures
contracts and options on regulated futures contracts traded on a
qualified board or exchange in the United States shall be listed on
Appendix A to this Agreement. The addition of commodity interests (other
than forward contracts on foreign currencies) to the Fund's portfolio
managed by the Trading Advisor as set forth in Appendix A to this
Agreement shall require prior written notice to the Fund or the Manager
and an amendment to Appendix A.
(ii) The Trading Advisor acknowledges and agrees that U.S.
investors are prohibited from trading in certain instruments -- for
example, certain "contracts for differences," and certain non-U.S. stock
index futures and related options. The Trading Advisor agrees not to
trade any such instruments for the Onshore Fund, as well as for the
Offshore Fund, should the Manager so request.
(c) Speculative Position Limits.
(i) To the extent that the Trading Advisor's trading is subject to
speculative position limits or other comparable capacity limitations,
the Trading Advisor agrees that it will reserve for the Fund sufficient
trading capacity that the Fund's trading would be unrestricted by such
limits were the Fund's capital to total $500 million. The Trading
Advisor also agrees to consult with the Manager in the event that,
notwithstanding the undertaking in the preceding sentence, the Manager
believes that speculative position limits or comparable capacity
restrictions may affect the Trading Advisor's strategy on behalf of the
Fund.
(ii) If the Trading Advisor (either alone or aggregated with the
positions of any other person, if such aggregation shall be required by
the CEA, the CFTC or any other regulatory authority having jurisdiction)
shall exceed or be about to exceed applicable limits in any commodity
interest traded for the Fund, the Trading Advisor shall immediately take
such action as the Trading Advisor may deem fair and equitable to
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comply with the limits, and shall immediately deliver to the Fund a
written explanation of the action taken to comply with such limits. If
such limits are exceeded by the Fund, the Manager may require the
Trading Advisor to liquidate positions as required.
(d) No Authority to Invest Assets Held in Securities and Cash. The
Fund and the Manager, and not the Trading Advisor, shall have the sole and
exclusive authority and responsibility with regard to the investment,
maintenance and management of the Fund's assets other than in respect of the
Trading Advisor's trading of the Fund's assets in commodity interests.
(e) Trading Authorization. Prior to the Fund commencing operations,
the Fund shall deliver to the Trading Advisor a trading authorization in the
form of Appendix B hereto appointing the Trading Advisor as an agent of the
Fund and attorney-in-fact for such purpose.
(f) Delivery of Disclosure Documents and Reports. The Trading
Advisor shall, during the term of this Agreement, deliver to the Fund copies
of all disclosure documents and reports to investors prepared by the Trading
Advisor promptly following preparation of such disclosure documents or
reports.
(g) Trade Reconciliations. The Trading Advisor acknowledges its
obligation to review its commodity interest positions on a daily basis and to
notify the Fund and the Manager promptly of any errors committed by the
Trading Advisor or any trade which the Trading Advisor believes was not
executed in accordance with its instructions and which cannot be promptly
resolved.
(h) Onshore and Offshore Fund Trading Accounts. At the request of
the Manager, the Trading Advisor agrees to trade separate accounts for each
of the Onshore and the Offshore Funds, a single account for both or any
combination of the two, as the case may be.
(i) Trade Information. The Trading Advisor shall use reasonable
efforts to provide trade information to OMR Systems by electronic file by
4:30 p.m. on the date of any trade made on behalf of the Fund.
(j) Letter Agreement. As of the date hereof, the Manager, Xxxxxxx
Lynch, Pierce, Xxxxxx & Xxxxx Incorporated ("Xxxxxxx Xxxxx") and the Trading
Advisors are entering into a Letter Agreement (the "Letter Agreement")
setting forth the legally binding agreements with respect to certain matters
relating to the organization and marketing of the Fund. This Agreement, which
deals primarily with the Trading Advisor's management of the Fund's trading,
is to be read and interpreted in conjunction with the Letter Agreement, and
vice versa.
(k) No Guarantee of Profits. The Fund and the Manager both
specifically acknowledge that in agreeing to manage the Fund, the Trading
Advisor is in no respects making any guarantee of profits or of protections
against loss, but it is undertaking to use reasonable best efforts to trade
profitably on behalf of the Fund.
3. Trading Advisor Independent. For all purposes of this Agreement,
the Trading Advisor shall be deemed to be an independent contractor and shall
have no authority to
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act for or represent the Fund in any way and shall not otherwise be deemed to
be an agent of the Fund. Nothing contained herein shall create or constitute
the Trading Advisor and any other trading advisor for the Fund, the Fund or
the Manager as a member of any partnership, joint venture, association,
syndicate, unincorporated business or other separate entity, nor shall be
deemed to confer on any of them any express, implied, or apparent authority
to incur any obligation or liability on behalf of any other. The parties
acknowledge that the Trading Advisor has not been an organizer or promoter of
the Fund.
4. Commodity Broker; Floor Brokers
(a) (i) Clearing of All Trades. The Trading Advisor shall clear
orders for all commodity interest transactions for the Fund through such
commodity broker or brokers as the Fund shall designate from time to
time in its sole discretion (the Fund currently so designating Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx). The Trading Advisor may trade on a give-up basis. The current
list of executing brokers has been provided to the Manager and approved
by the Manager. The Trading Advisor may alter execution relationships
from time to time and approval will not be unreasonably withheld by the
Manager. The Trading Advisor may engage in electronic trading using a
platform of its choice, subject to the approval (not to be unreasonably
withheld) of the Manager. If an executing broker is approved, the Fund
will not hold the Trading Advisor liable for any error or breach of
contract by any such executing broker, barring negligence, misconduct or
bad faith on the part of the Trading Advisor. Irrespective of whether
floor brokers unaffiliated with Xxxxxxx Xxxxx receive the Manager's
consent to execute trades on behalf of the Fund, all such trades will be
"given-up" to be carried by Xxxxxxx Xxxxx. The Trading Advisor shall
receive copies of all daily and monthly brokerage statements for the
Fund directly from Xxxxxxx Xxxxx.
(ii) The Fund will be subject to round-turn commission rates as
determined from time to time by Xxxxxxx Xxxxx and consistent with
disclosures made to investors and to the Trading Advisor.
(b) Forward Trading.
(i) All forward trades for the Fund shall be executed through the
forward dealer(s) (which may be affiliates of the Manager) designated by
the Manager, provided that at the request of the Trading Advisor, the
Manager may consent to other forward trading arrangements, which consent
shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(ii) If necessary for the Trading Advisor to trade pursuant to the
Trading Program, the Fund shall provide adequate dealing lines of credit
for the Trading Advisor to place orders for spot and forward currency
contracts on behalf of the Fund.
(iii) Any "F/X prime brokerage" arrangements which the Trading
Advisor may wish to establish for the Fund shall be subject to the
approval of the Manager.
(c) The Trading Advisor acknowledges that the Fund shall be subject
to the brokerage commissions and administrative fees specified in the
Memorandum.
6
(d) Floor Brokerage Costs. The "floor brokerage," "give-up" fees
and other transaction costs charged by any floor broker, other xxxx Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx, to effect Fund transactions shall be subject to the approval of
Xxxxxxx Xxxxx, which shall pay such costs, such approval not to be
unreasonably withheld provided that such fees and transaction costs are
competitive with Xxxxxxx Xxxxx'x standard rates.
5. Management Fee. As of the last Business Day of each calendar
month, the Fund shall pay the Trading Advisor a Management Fee equal to 1/12
of 2.0% (a 2.0% annual rate) of the aggregate gross asset value (for the
avoidance of doubt, prior to reduction for any accrued Incentive Fees or for
the Management Fee being calculated) of the Fund. Such Management Fee shall
be pro rated in the case of partial calendar months, but shall not be subject
to rebate once paid.
6. Incentive Fee.
(a) The Fund will pay to the Trading Advisor, as of each December 31
("Incentive Fee Calculation Date"), an Incentive Fee equal to 20% of any New
Trading Profit recognized by the Fund as of such Incentive Fee Calculation
Date.
(b) "Trading Profits" equals any profits earned from the futures
trading of the Onshore Fund and the Offshore Fund, determined separately, in
each case after deduction for all fees and expenses incurred by the Onshore
Fund and the Offshore Fund, respectively, other than the Incentive Fee
itself.
(c) "New Trading Profit" equals any increase in the Net Asset Value
of the Fund as of the current Incentive Fee Calculation Date over the High
Water Xxxx attributable to each of the Onshore Fund and the Offshore Fund,
respectively.
(d) (i) The High Water Xxxx attributable to each of the Onshore
Fund and the Offshore Fund, respectively, shall be equal to the highest
Net Asset Value attributable to each of the Onshore Fund and the
Offshore Fund, respectively, after reduction for the Incentive Fee then
paid, as of any preceding Incentive Fee Calculation Date. The High Water
Xxxx shall be increased dollar-for-dollar by new subscriptions and
decreased proportionately when Capital Withdrawals are made by the Fund
(other than to pay expenses). The proportionate High Water Xxxx
reduction made as a result of Capital Withdrawals shall be calculated by
multiplying the High Water Xxxx in effect immediately prior to such
Capital Withdrawal by the fraction the numerator of which is the Net
Asset Value of the Onshore Fund and the Offshore Fund, as the case may
be, immediately following such reallocation and the denominator of which
is the Net Asset Value of the Onshore Fund and the Offshore Fund, as the
case may be, immediately before such Capital Withdrawal, in each case
prior to reduction for any accrued Incentive Fee.
(ii) If an Incentive Fee is paid as of an Incentive Fee Calculation
Date, the High Water Xxxx is reset to the Net Asset Value of the
Offshore Fund or the Offshore Fund, as the case may be, immediately
following such payment.
7
(iii) For the avoidance of doubt, the High Water Xxxx shall be
determined on the basis of the Onshore Fund or the Offshore Fund, as the
case may be, not on the basis of any individual investors or group of
investors in either.
(e) When there is an accrued Incentive Fee at the time any Capital
Withdrawal is made, the Incentive Fee attributable to such reallocation will
be paid. Such Incentive Fee shall be determined by multiplying the Incentive
Fee that would have been paid had the date of the Capital Withdrawal been an
Incentive Fee Calculation Date by the fraction the numerator of which is the
amount of the Capital Withdrawal and the denominator of which is the Net
Asset Value of the Fund immediately prior to the Capital Withdrawal, in each
case prior to reduction for the accrued Incentive Fee. Such Incentive Fee
will be paid from and reduce the amount of the Capital Withdrawal.
(f) Net Asset Value for purposes of calculating the Incentive Fee
shall not include any interest income earned by the Fund (although such
interest income shall increase Net Asset Value for purposes of determining
the value of the Interests). For the avoidance of doubt, no Incentive Fee
shall be payable on any interest income earned by the Fund.
(g) Termination of this Agreement shall be treated as an Incentive
Fee Calculation Date.
(h) The Trading Advisor will, at the request of the Manager, receive
the Incentive Fee either as a fee or as a profit allocation.
7. Term and Termination.
(a) Term and Renewal. This Agreement shall continue in effect until
December 31, 2007. Thereafter, this Agreement shall be automatically renewed
for successive three-year terms, under the same terms, but may be terminated
by either party at one year's notice. After December 2014, this Agreement may
be terminated by either party on 90 days' notice. For the avoidance of doubt,
the Trading Advisor recognizes that the resources which the Manager has and
will commit to the sponsorship and marketing of the Fund are only
economically justifiable for Xxxxxxx Xxxxx if Xxxxxxx Xxxxx can rely on a
long-term commitment from the Trading Advisor to manage the Fund, and the
Trading Advisor hereby commits to do so (subject to the terms and conditions
set forth herein.)
(b) Termination.
(i) Notwithstanding Section 7(a) hereof, this Agreement shall
terminate immediately if the Fund shall terminate and be dissolved as
determined by the Manager;
(ii) Either the Manager or the Trading Advisor may terminate this
Agreement upon 30 days' notice as of the end of the first full calendar
quarter subsequent to the twelfth month-end after the date of this
Agreement if, as of such twelfth month-end, the Fund does not have an
aggregate capitalization of at least $25 million.
8
(iii) The Fund and/or the Manager, on the one hand, or the Trading
Advisor, on the other, may terminate this Agreement as a result of a
material breach hereof by the other party, after due notice and an
opportunity to cure.
(iv) The Trading Advisor may terminate this Agreement upon 30 days
notice to the Fund and the Manager if the Trading Advisor stops trading
the International Value Program for all the Trading Advisor's clients.
8. Right to Advise Others; Uniformity of Acts and Practices. During
the term of this Agreement, the Trading Advisor Parties shall, subject to the
capacity undertaking set forth herein and the exclusivity undertaking of the
Letter Agreement, be free to advise other investors as to the purchase and
sale of commodity interests, to manage and trade other investors' commodity
interests accounts and to trade for and on behalf of their own proprietary
commodity interests accounts. However, under no circumstances shall any
Trading Advisor Party favor any commodity interests account directed by any
of them (regardless of the date on which they began or shall begin to direct
such account) over the Fund's account, giving due consideration to the
trading program which the Manager has requested the Trading Advisor to trade
on behalf of the Fund.
At the request of the Fund, the Trading Advisor shall promptly
deliver to the Fund a satisfactory written explanation, in the judgment of
the Fund, of the differences, if any, in the performance between the Fund's
account and such other commodity interest accounts traded utilizing the same
program or portfolio (subject to the need to preserve the confidentiality of
proprietary information concerning the Trading Advisor's trading systems,
methods, models, strategies and formulas and the identity of the Trading
Advisor's clients).
9. Additional Undertakings by the Trading Advisor. No Trading
Advisor Party or its respective successors or assigns shall: (i) use or
distribute for any purpose the names and/or any other information about any
of the investors in the Fund; (ii) solicit any investor for any business
purpose whatsoever (unless such investor is already a client of the Trading
Advisor); or (iii) knowingly accept as a client, other than through Xxxxxxx
Xxxxx, any person who has been an investor at any time during the twenty-four
full calendar months prior to such acceptance.
10. Representations and Warranties.
(a) The Trading Advisor hereby represents and warrants to the other
parties as follows:
(i) The Trading Advisor is an entity duly organized and validly
existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its
organization and in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which
the nature or conduct of its business requires such qualification and
the failure to be duly qualified would materially affect the Trading
Advisor's ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement. The
Trading Advisor has full corporate, partnership or limited liability
company (as the case may be) power and authority to perform its
obligations under this Agreement.
9
(ii) This Agreement has been duly and validly authorized, executed
and delivered on behalf of the Trading Advisor and constitutes a valid,
binding and enforceable agreement of the Trading Advisor in accordance
with its terms.
(iii) The Trading Advisor has all Federal and state governmental,
regulatory and commodity exchange licenses and approvals and has
effected all filings and registrations with Federal and state
governmental and regulatory agencies required to conduct its business
and to act as described herein or required to perform its obligations
hereunder (including, without limitation, registration of the Trading
Advisor as a commodity trading advisor under the CEA, and membership of
the Trading Advisor as a commodity trading advisor in NFA), and the
performance of such obligation will not violate or result in a breach of
any provision of the Trading Advisor's certificate of incorporation,
by-laws or any agreement, instrument, order, law or regulation binding
on the Trading Advisor. The principals of the Trading Advisor are duly
listed as such on its commodity trading advisor Form 7-R registration.
(iv) Assuming the accuracy of the Manager's representation in
subsection 11(b)(vii) below, management by the Trading Advisor of an
account for the Fund in accordance with the terms hereof will not
require any registration under, or violate any of the provisions of, the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (assuming that the Fund is not an
"investment company" within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of
1940).
(v) The Trading Advisor's implementation of the its trading program
will not infringe any other person's copyrights, trademark or other
property rights.
(vi) The execution and delivery of this Agreement, the incurrence
of the obligations herein set forth and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated herein will not constitute a breach of, or
default under, any instrument by which the Trading Advisor is bound or
any order, rule or regulation application to the Trading Advisor of any
court or any governmental body or administrative agency having
jurisdiction over the Trading Advisor.
(vii) Other than as may have been disclosed in writing to the
Manager by the Trading Advisor, there is not pending, or to the best of
the Trading Advisor's knowledge threatened, any action, suit or
proceeding before or by any court or other governmental body to which
the Trading Advisor is a party, or to which any of the assets of the
Trading Advisor is subject, which might reasonably be expected to result
in any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise,
business or prospects of the Trading Advisor. The Trading Advisor has
not received any notice of an investigation or warning letter from NFA
or CFTC regarding non-compliance by the Trading Advisor with the CEA or
the regulations thereunder.
(b) The Manager hereby represents and warrants to the other parties
as follows:
(i) The Manager is duly organized and validly existing and in good
standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of formation and in good
standing under the laws of
10
each other jurisdiction in which the nature or conduct of its business
requires such qualification and the failure to so qualify would
materially adversely affect the Manager's ability to perform its
obligations hereunder.
(ii) The Manager has the corporate power and authority under
applicable law to perform its obligations hereunder.
(iii) This Agreement has been duly and validly authorized, executed
and delivered by the Manager and constitutes a legal, valid and binding
agreement of the Manager enforceable in accordance with its terms.
(iv) The execution and delivery of this Agreement, the incurrence
of the obligations set forth herein and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated herein will not constitute a breach of, or
default under, any instrument by which the Manager is bound or any
order, rule or regulation applicable to the Manager of any court or any
governmental body or administrative agency having jurisdiction over the
Manager.
(v) There is not pending, or, to the best of the Manager's
knowledge threatened, any action, suit or proceeding before or by any
court or other governmental body to which the Manager is a party, or to
which any of the assets of the Manager is subject, which might
reasonably be expected to result in any material adverse change in the
condition (financial or otherwise), business or prospects of the Manager
or is required to be disclosed pursuant to applicable CFTC regulations.
The Manager has not received any notice of an investigation or warning
letter from NFA or CFTC regarding non-compliance by the Manager with the
CEA or the regulations thereunder.
(vi) The Manager has all federal and state governmental, regulatory
and commodity exchange approvals and licenses, and have effected all
filings and registrations with federal and state governmental agencies
required to conduct its business and to act as described herein or
required to perform its obligations hereunder (including, without
limitation, registration as a commodity pool operator under the CEA and
membership in NFA as a commodity pool operator), and the performance of
such obligations will not contravene or result in a breach of any
provision of its certificate of incorporation, by-laws or any agreement,
order, law or regulation binding upon it. The principals of the Manager
are duly registered as such on the Manager's commodity pool operator
Form 7-R registration.
(c) The Fund represents and warrants as of the date of its formation
to the other parties as follows:
(i) The Fund is duly organized and validly existing and in good
standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its formation and in each
other jurisdiction in which the nature or conduct of its business
requires such qualification and the failure to so qualify would
materially adversely affect the Fund's ability to perform its
obligations hereunder.
(ii) The Fund has the power and authority under applicable law to
perform its obligations hereunder.
11
(iii) This Agreement has been duly and validly authorized, executed
and delivered by the Fund and constitutes a legal, valid and binding
agreement of the Fund enforceable in accordance with its terms.
(iv) The execution and delivery of this Agreement, the incurrence
of the obligations set forth herein and the consummation of the
transactions contemplated herein will not constitute a breach of, or
default under, any instrument by which the Fund is bound or any order,
rule or regulation applicable to the Fund of any court or any
governmental body or administrative agency having jurisdiction over the
Fund.
(v) There is not pending, or, to the best of the Fund's knowledge
threatened, any action, suit or proceeding before or by any court or
other governmental body to which the Fund is a party, or to which any of
the assets of the Fund is subject, which might reasonably be expected to
result in any material adverse change in the condition (financial or
otherwise), business or prospects of the Fund or is required to be
disclosed pursuant to applicable CFTC regulations. The Fund has not
received any notice of an investigation or warning letter from NFA or
CFTC regarding non-compliance by the Fund with the CEA or the
regulations thereunder.
(vi) The Fund has all federal and state governmental, regulatory
and commodity exchange approvals and licenses, and has effected all
filings and registrations with federal and state governmental agencies
required to conduct its business and to act as described herein or
required to perform its obligations hereunder and the performance of
such obligations will not contravene or result in a breach of any
provision of its certificate of formation, organization agreement or any
agreement, order, law or regulation binding upon it.
(d) The foregoing representations and warranties shall be
continuing during the entire term of this Agreement and, if at any time, any
event shall occur which would make any of the foregoing representations and
warranties of any party no longer true and accurate, such party shall
promptly notify the other parties.
General
11. Entire Agreement. This Agreement and the Letter Agreement
constitutes the entire agreement between the parties hereto with respect to
the matters referred to herein, and no other agreement, verbal or otherwise,
shall be binding as between the parties unless it shall be in writing and
signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought.
12. Indemnification. The Fund shall indemnify, defend and hold
harmless the Trading Advisor Parties and controlling persons from and against
any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities (joint and several), costs
and expenses (including any investigatory, legal and other expenses incurred
in connection with, and any amounts paid in, any settlement; provided that
the Fund shall have approved such settlement) resulting from a demand, claim,
lawsuit, action or proceeding relating to any of such person's actions or
capacities relating to the business or activities of the Fund pursuant to
this Agreement; provided that the conduct of such person which was the
subject of the demand, claim, lawsuit, action or proceeding did not
constitute
12
negligence, misconduct or a breach of this Agreement or of any fiduciary
obligation to the Fund and was done in good faith and in a manner such person
reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the
Fund. The termination of any demand, claim, lawsuit, action or proceeding by
settlement shall not, in itself, create a presumption that the conduct in
question was not undertaken in good faith and in a manner reasonably believed
to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Fund.
The Trading Advisor shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless the
Fund, the Manager, their respective affiliates and their respective
directors, officers, employees, representatives and controlling persons
("Xxxxxxx Xxxxx Parties") from and against any and all losses, claims,
damages, liabilities (joint and several), costs and expenses (including any
reasonable investigatory, legal and other expenses incurred in connection
with, and any amounts paid in, any settlement resulting from a demand, claim,
lawsuit, action or proceeding relating to any action or omission of the
Trading Advisor or any of its respective officers, directors or employees
relating to the business or activities of such person under this Agreement or
relating to the management of the Fund; provided the conduct of such person
which was the subject of the demand, claim, lawsuit, action or proceeding
constituted negligence or misconduct or a breach of this Agreement or was an
action or omission taken otherwise than in good faith and in a manner
reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the
Fund.
The foregoing agreements of indemnity shall be in addition to, and
shall in no respect limit or restrict, any other remedies which may be
available to an indemnified party.
Any indemnification required by this Section 12, unless ordered or
expressly permitted by a court, shall be made by the indemnifying party only
upon a determination by independent legal counsel mutually agreeable to the
parties hereto in a written opinion that the conduct which is the subject of
the claim, demand, lawsuit, action or proceeding with respect to which
indemnification is sought meets the applicable standard set forth in this
Section 12.
In the event that a person entitled to indemnification under this
Section 12, is made a party to an action, suit or proceeding alleging both
matters for which indemnification may be due hereunder and matters for which
indemnification may not be due hereunder, such person shall be indemnified
only in respect of the former matters.
Promptly after receipt by any of the indemnified parties under this
Agreement of notice of any demand, claim, lawsuit, action or proceeding, the
indemnified party shall notify the indemnifying party in writing of the
commencement thereof if a claim in respect thereof is to be made under this
Agreement. Except to the extent that the indemnifying party is not materially
prejudiced thereby, the omission so to notify shall relieve the indemnifying
party from any obligation or liability which it may have to any such
indemnified party under this section. In the event that such demand, claim,
lawsuit, action or proceeding is brought against a person indemnified under
this Agreement, and the indemnified party is notified of the commencement
thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and,
to the extent that the indemnifying party may wish, to assume the defense
thereof, with counsel selected by the indemnifying party and approved by the
indemnified person (provided that approval may not be unreasonably withheld),
and after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified person of
the indemnifying party's election so as to assume the defense thereof, the
indemnifying party
13
shall not be liable to such person under this section for any legal or other
expenses subsequently incurred by such person in connection with the defense
thereof, unless the indemnifying party approves the employment of separate
counsel by such person (it being understood, however, that the indemnifying
party shall not be liable for legal or other expenses of more than one
separate firm of attorneys for all such persons indemnified hereunder, which
firm shall be designated in writing by the Trading Advisor or the Manager, as
the case may be).
13. Assignment. This Agreement shall not be assigned by any of the
parties hereto without the prior express written consent of the other parties
hereto.
14. Amendment; Waiver. This Agreement shall not be amended except
by a writing signed by the parties hereto. No waiver of any provision of this
Agreement shall be implied from any course of dealing between the parties
hereto or from any failure by either party hereto to assert its rights
hereunder on any occasion or series of occasions.
15. Severability. If any provision of this Agreement, or the
application of any provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held to
be inconsistent with any present or future law, ruling, rule or regulation of
any court or governmental or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over
the subject matter hereof, such provision shall be deemed to be rescinded or
modified in accordance with such law, ruling, rule or regulation, and the
remainder of this Agreement, or the application of such provision to persons
or circumstances other than those as to which it shall be held inconsistent,
shall not be affected thereby.
16. Notices. Any notice required or desired to be delivered under
this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be delivered by courier service,
facsimile, e-mail, any form of electronic file transfer, mail, postage
prepaid mail or other similar means and shall be effective upon actual
receipt by the party to which such notice shall be directed, addressed as
follows (or to such other address as the party entitled to notice shall
hereafter designate in accordance with the terms hereof):
if to the Fund:
ML CORNERSTONE FUTURES ACCESS, LLC
ML CORNERSTONE FUTURES ACCESS LTD.
c/o Merrill Xxxxx Alternative Investments LLC
Manager
Princeton Corporate Campus
000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxx Xxxx
Xxxxxxx 0X
Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxx Xxxxxx 00000
Attn: Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
14
if to the Manager:
XXXXXXX XXXXX ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS LLC
Princeton Corporate Campus
000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxx Xxxx
Xxxxxxx 0X
Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxx Xxxxxx 00000
Attn: Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxx
if to the Trading Advisor:
CORNERSTONE TRADING COMPANY, INC.
000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attn: [TO COME]
17. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without regard
to principles of conflicts of law.
18. Consent to Jurisdiction. The parties hereto agree that any
action or proceeding arising directly, indirectly or otherwise in connection
with, out of, related to or from this Agreement, any breach hereof or any
transaction covered hereby, shall be resolved, whether by arbitration or
otherwise, within the County of New York, City of New York, and State of New
York. Accordingly, the parties consent and submit to the jurisdiction of the
federal and state courts and any applicable arbitral body located within the
County of New York, City of New York, and State of New York. The parties
further agree that any such action or proceeding brought by either party to
enforce any right, assert any claim, or obtain any relief whatsoever in
connection with this Agreement shall be brought by such party exclusively in
federal or state courts, or if appropriate before any applicable arbitral
body, located within the County of New York, City of New York, and State of
New York.
19. Remedies. In any action or proceeding arising out of any of the
provisions of this Agreement, the Trading Advisor, the Manager and the Fund
agree that they shall not seek any prejudgment equitable or ancillary relief.
Such parties also agree that their sole remedy in any such action or
proceeding shall be to seek actual monetary damages for any breach of this
Agreement; provided, however, that the Fund agrees that the Trading Advisor
and the Manager may seek declaratory judgment with respect to the
indemnification provisions of this Agreement.
20. Survival. The provisions of this Agreement shall survive the
termination hereof with respect to any matter arising while this Agreement
shall be in effect.
21. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more
counterparts, each of which shall, however, together constitute one and the
same document. Facsimile signature pages shall have the same binding force
and effect as original copies.
15
22. No Waiver.
(a) No failure or delay on the part of the Manager in exercising any
right, power or remedy hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall
any single or partial exercise of any such right, power or remedy preclude
any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right,
power or remedy. Failure on the part of the Fund or the Manager to complain
of any act of the other or to declare the other in default under this
Agreement, irrespective of how long such failure continues, shall not
constitute a waiver by the Fund or the Manager of its rights with respect to
such default until the applicable statute-of-limitations period has run.
(b) Any waiver granted hereunder must be in writing and shall be
valid only in the specific instance in which given.
23. Rules of Interpretation. In this Agreement, unless inconsistent
with the context or the contrary intention appears, a reference to:
(a) "May" shall be construed as permissive;
(b) A "notice" means written notice unless otherwise stated;
(c) "Shall" shall be construed as imperative;
(d) The singular includes the plural and vice versa;
(e) The masculine includes the feminine and neuter respectively;
(f) Writing includes typewriting, printing, lithography,
photography and other modes of representing or reproducing words in a legible
and non-transitory form;
(g) Any reference to a law, agreement or a document shall be deemed
also to refer to any amendment, supplement or replacement thereof;
(h) Whenever this Agreement refers to a number of days, such number
shall refer to calendar days unless such reference specifies Business Days;
(i) The term "and/or" is used herein to mean both "and" as well as
"or." The use of "and/or" in certain contexts in no respects qualifies or
modifies the use of the terms "and" or "or" in others. "Or" shall not be
interpreted to be exclusive, and "and" shall not be interpreted to require
the conjunctive -- in each case, unless the context otherwise requires;
(j) The terms "include" and "including" are to be construed as
non-exclusive (so that, by way of example and for the avoidance of doubt,
"including" shall mean "including without limitation");
(k) Whenever it is provided or contemplated herein that the Manager
is to determine or decide any matter, the Manager (on its own behalf as well
as on behalf of the Fund) shall do so in its sole and absolute discretion,
unless otherwise expressly provided herein;
16
(l) In addition to the authority granted to the Manager pursuant
to this Agreement, the Manager may, but shall have no obligation to, take any
action that the Manager deems necessary or advisable to ensure that the Fund
is not in violation of law or in breach of any contractual provisions;
(m) The table of contents to and the headings in this Agreement are
for convenience of reference only and are to be ignored in construing this
Agreement;
(n) Any reference to "payable" or "paid" or any derivative thereof
shall mean credited to the deferred compensation account, as the context may
require;
(o) No provision of this Agreement shall be construed in favor of
or against any person by reason of the extent to which any such person, its
affiliates, or their respective employees or counsel participated in the
drafting thereof; and
(p) In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions of
this Agreement and of the constituent documents, the Manager shall determine
which provisions shall control.
24. Binding Effect; Benefit; Third-Party Beneficiary. This
Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefit of the parties
hereto, all persons indemnified hereunder and their respective estates,
permitted successors, transferees, custodians, executors, administrators,
legal representatives, heirs and permitted assigns.
(a) To the fullest extent permitted by law (and, for the avoidance
of doubt, whether or not such law is currently in effect), the Manager shall
be a third-party beneficiary of the Articles.
25. Confidentiality.
(a) The parties hereto each acknowledge that the business and
assets of the Xxxxxxx Xxxxx Parties and of the Trading Advisor Parties are
confidential and involve a wide range of proprietary information, including
trade secrets and financial or commercial information.
(b) All information with respect to the Fund (including investment
and trading) activities and assets shall be presumed confidential and
proprietary unless the Manager otherwise so indicates in writing. Each party
covenants that it has and it shall at all times keep confidential and not,
directly or indirectly, disclose, divulge, furnish or make accessible to
anyone, or use in any manner that would be adverse to the interests any other
party, any confidential or proprietary information to which the former party
has been or shall become privy relating to the business or assets of any of
such other parties except with the prior written approval of such other party
or except for information that is otherwise publicly available (other than
information made publicly available by breach of this contract) or required
to be disclosed by law. Each party may, however, share such information with
such party's service providers, accountants and attorneys ("Permitted
Confidants"); provided, that the Fund's Permitted Confidants undertake to
hold such information strictly confidential to the same extent set forth
herein, and not in any manner or respect to use any of such information for
their personal gain.
17
26. Advisers Act Compliance. Any provisions of this Agreement
which are construed to violate the Advisers Act shall be deemed null and void
ab initio. For the avoidance of doubt, no provision of this Agreement shall
be deemed to constitute a waiver of any person's rights or claims under any
federal or state securities laws.
18
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Agreement has been executed for and on
behalf of the undersigned on the day and year first written above.
ML CORNERSTONE FUTURESACCESS(SM) LLC
By: Xxxxxxx Xxxxx Alternative
Investments, LLC,
Manager
By: /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
--------------------------------------
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
Title: Chief Operating Officer
ML CORNERSTONE FUTURESACCESS(SM) LTD.
By: /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
--------------------------------------
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
Title: Director
XXXXXXX XXXXX ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS LLC
By: /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
--------------------------------------
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
Title: Chief Operating Officer
CORNERSTONE TRADING COMPANY, INC.
By: /s/ Xxxx Xxxxxx
--------------------------------------
Name: Xxxx Xxxxxx
Title: Principal
19
APPENDIX A
COMMODITY INTERESTS TRADED BY
CORNERSTONE TRADING COMPANY, INC.
The undersigned represents that the following is a complete list of
all commodity interests which the undersigned intends to trade on behalf of
ML CORNERSTONE FUTURESACCESS(SM) LLC/ML CORNERSTONE FUTURESACCESS(SM) LTD.
other than regulated futures contracts and options on regulated futures
contracts traded on a qualified board of trade or exchange:
Contract Type
(futures, forward,
option on futures) Exchange Contract
----------------- -------- --------
CORNERSTONE TRADING COMPANY, INC.
By: /s/ Xxxx Xxxxxx
--------------------------------------
Name: Xxxx Xxxxxx
Title: Principal
Dated as of May 26, 0000
X-0
XXXXXXXX X
COMMODITY TRADING AUTHORITY
CORNERSTONE TRADING COMPANY, INC.
000 Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000
Dear Advisor:
ML CORNERSTONE FUTURESACCESS(SM) LLC/ML CORNERSTONE
FUTURESACCESS(SM) LTD. (collectively, the "Fund") does hereby make,
constitute and appoint you as its attorney-in-fact to buy and sell commodity
futures and forward contracts (including foreign futures and options
contracts) in accordance with the ML FuturesAccess(SM) Advisory Agreement
among us and certain others.
Very truly yours,
ML CORNERSTONE FUTURESACCESS(SM) LLC
ML CORNERSTONE FUTURESACCESS(SM) LTD.
By: Xxxxxxx Xxxxx Alternative
Investments LLC,
Manager
By: /s/ Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
----------------------------------
Name: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxx
Title: Chief Operating Officer
Dated as of May 26, 2004
B-1
