Exhibit (e)
PROVIDENT INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS
Distribution Agreement
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Agreement dated January 2, 2001, between PROVIDENT INSTITUTIONAL
FUNDS, a Delaware business trust, (the "Company"), and BLACKROCK DISTRIBUTORS,
INC., a Delaware corporation (the "Distributor").
WHEREAS, the Company is an open-end, diversified management investment
company and is so registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended (the "1940 Act"); and
WHEREAS, the Company desires to retain the Distributor as its
distributor to provide for the sale and distribution of each class and series of
shares ("shares") in each of the Company's investment portfolios (individually,
a "Fund," collectively, the "Funds") as listed on Appendix A (as such Appendix
may, from time to time, be supplemented (or amended)), and the Distributor is
willing to render such services;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual covenants
set forth and intending to be legally bound, the parties hereto agree as
follows:
1. Appointment of Distributor. The Company hereby appoints the
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Distributor as distributor of each class and series of shares in each of the
Company's Funds on the terms and for the period set forth in this Agreement.
The Distributor hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to render the
services and duties set forth in Section 2 below. In the event that the Company
establishes additional classes or investment portfolios other than the Funds
listed on Appendix A with respect to which it desires to retain the Distributor
to act as distributor hereunder, the Company shall notify the Distributor,
whereupon such Appendix A shall be supplemented (or amended) and such portfolio
shall become a Fund hereunder and shall be subject to the provisions of this
Agreement to the same extent as the Funds (except to the extent that said
provisions may be modified in writing by the Company and Distributor at the
time).
2. Services and Duties. The Distributor enters into the following
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covenants with respect to its services and duties:
a. The Distributor agrees to sell, as agent, from time to time
during the term of this Agreement, shares upon the terms and at the current
offering price as described in the Prospectuses. The Distributor will act only
in its own behalf as principal in making agreements with selected dealers. No
broker-dealer or other person which enters into a selling or servicing agreement
with the Distributor shall be authorized to act as agent for the Company or its
Funds in connection with the offering or sale of shares to the public or
otherwise. The Distributor shall use its best efforts to sell shares of each
class or series of each of the Funds but shall not be obligated to sell any
certain number of shares.
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b. The Distributor shall prepare or review, provide advice with
respect to, and file with the federal and state agencies or other organization
as required by federal, state, or other applicable laws and regulations, all
sales literature (advertisements, brochures and shareholder communications) for
each of the Funds and any class or series thereof.
c. In performing all of its services and duties as Distributor,
the Distributor will act in conformity with the Declaration of Trust, By-Laws,
Prospectuses and resolutions and other instructions of the Company's Board of
Trustees and will comply with the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the "1933 Act"), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the 1940 Act and
all other applicable federal or state law.
d. The Distributor will bear the cost of (i) printing and
distributing any Prospectus (including any supplement thereto) to persons who
are not shareholders, and (ii) preparing, printing and distributing any
literature, advertisement or material which is primarily intended to result in
the sale of shares; provided, however, that the Distributor shall not be
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obligated to bear the expenses incurred by the Company in connection with the
preparation and printing of any amendment to any Registration Statement or
Prospectus necessary for the continued effective registration of the shares
under the 1933 Act and state securities laws and the distribution of any such
document to existing shareholders of the Company's Funds.
e. The Company shall have the right to suspend the sale of
shares at any time in response to conditions in the securities markets or
otherwise, and to suspend the redemption of shares of any Fund at any time
permitted by the 1940 Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission
("Rules").
f. The Company reserves the right to reject any order for
shares but will not do so arbitrarily, or without reasonable cause.
3. Limitations of Liability. The Distributor shall not be liable
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for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by the
Company in connection with the matters to which this Agreement relates, except a
loss resulting from willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence on its
part in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard by it of its
obligations and duties under this Agreement.
4. Proprietary and Confidential Information. The Distributor agrees
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on behalf of itself and its employees to treat confidentially and as proprietary
information of the Company all records and other information relative to the
Company and its Funds and prior, present or potential shareholders, and not to
use such records and information for any purpose other than performance of its
responsibilities and duties hereunder, except after prior notification to and
approval in writing by the Company, which approval shall not be unreasonably
withheld and may not be withheld where the Distributor may be exposed to civil
or criminal contempt proceedings for failure to comply, when requested to
divulge such information by duly constituted authorities, or when so requested
by the Company.
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5. Indemnification.
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a. The Company represents and warrants to the Distributor that
the Registration Statement contains, and that the Prospectuses at all times will
contain, all statements required by the 1933 Act and the Rules of the
Commission, will in all material respects conform to the applicable requirements
of the 1933 Act and the Rules and will not include any untrue statement of a
material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein
or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under
which they were made, not misleading, except that no representation or warranty
in this Section 5 shall apply to statements or omissions made in reliance upon
and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by or on
behalf of the Distributor or either of the Company's co-administrators expressly
for use in the Registration Statement or Prospectuses.
b. The Company on behalf of each Fund agrees that each Fund
will indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Distributor, its several officers,
and directors, and any person who controls the Distributor within the meaning of
Section 15 of the 1933 Act, from and against any losses, claims, damages or
liabilities, joint or several, to which the Distributor, its several officers,
and directors, and any person who controls the Distributor within the meaning of
Section 15 of the 1933 Act, may become subject under the 1933 Act or otherwise,
insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions or
proceedings in respect thereof) arise out of, or are based upon any untrue
statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the
Registration Statement, the Prospectuses or in any application or other document
executed by or on behalf of the Company with respect to such Fund or are based
upon information furnished by or on behalf of the Company with respect to such
Fund filed in any state in order to qualify the shares under the securities or
blue sky laws thereof ("Blue Sky application") or arise out of, or are based
upon, 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,
and will reimburse the Distributor, its several officers, and directors, and any
person who controls the Distributor within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933
Act, for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by the Distributor, its
several officers, and directors, and any person who controls the Distributor
within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act, in investigating, defending or
preparing to defend any such action, proceeding or claim; provided, however,
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that the Company shall not be liable in any case to the extent that such loss,
claim, damage or liability arises out of, or is based upon, any untrue
statement, alleged untrue statement, or omission or alleged omission made in the
Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any Blue Sky application with respect
to such Fund in reliance upon and in conformity with written information
furnished to the Company by or on behalf of the Distributor or either of the
Company's co-administrators specifically for inclusion therein or arising out of
the failure of the Distributor to deliver a current Prospectus.
c. The Company on behalf of each Fund shall not indemnify any
person pursuant to this Section 5 unless the court or other body before which
the proceeding was brought has rendered a final decision on the merits that such
person was not liable by reason of his or her willful misfeasance, bad faith or
gross negligence in the performance of his or her duties, or his or her reckless
disregard of any obligations and duties, under this Agreement ("disabling
conduct") or, in the absence of such a decision, a reasonable determination
(based
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upon a review of the facts) that such person was not liable by reason of
disabling conduct has been made by the vote of a majority of a quorum of the
trustees of the Company who are neither "interested parties" (as defined in the
0000 Xxx) nor parties to the proceeding, or by independent legal counsel in a
written opinion.
d. The Distributor will indemnify and hold harmless the Company
and each of its Funds and its several officers and trustees, and any person who
controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act, from and
against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which
any of them may become subject under the 1933 Act or otherwise, insofar as such
losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions or proceedings in respect
thereof) arise out of, or are based upon, any untrue statement or alleged untrue
statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, the
Prospectus or any Blue Sky application, or arise out of, or are based upon, 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, which
statement or omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with
information furnished in writing to the Company or any of its several officers
and trustees by or on behalf of the Distributor or either of the Company's co-
administrators specifically for inclusion therein, and will reimburse the
Company and its several officers, trustees and such controlling persons for any
legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by any of them in investigating,
defending or preparing to defend any such action, proceeding or claim.
e. The obligations of each Fund under this Section 5 shall be
the several (and not the joint or joint and several) obligation of each Fund.
6. Duration and Termination. This Agreement shall become effective
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upon its execution as of the date first written above and, unless sooner
terminated as provided herein, shall continue until March 31, 2001. Thereafter,
if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue automatically for successive
terms of one year, provided that such continuance is specifically approved at
least annually (a) by a vote of a majority of those members of the Company's
Board of Trustees who are not parties to this Agreement or "interested persons"
of any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting
on such approval, and (b) by the Company's Board of Trustees or by vote of a
"majority of the outstanding voting securities" of the Company; provided,
however, that this Agreement may be terminated by the Company at any time,
without the payment of any penalty, by vote of a majority of the entire Board of
Trustees or by a vote of a "majority of the outstanding voting securities" of
the Company on 60-days' written notice to the Distributor, or by the Distributor
at any time, without the payment of any penalty, on 90-days' written notice to
the Company. This Agreement will automatically and immediately terminate in the
event of its "assignment." (As used in this Agreement, the terms "majority of
the outstanding voting securities," "interested person" and "assignment" shall
have the same meanings as such terms have in the 1940 Act.)
7. Amendment of this Agreement. No provision of this Agreement may
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be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument
in writing signed by the xxxxx against which an enforcement of the change,
waiver, discharge or termination is sought.
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8. Notices. Notices of any kind to be given to the Company
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hereunder by the Distributor shall be in writing and shall be duly given if
mailed or delivered to the Company at Bellevue Park Corporate Center, 000
Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000, Attention: Xxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx,
President, with a copy to One Xxxxx Square, 18th and Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx,
Xxxxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxx 00000, Attention: W. Xxxxx XxXxxxxx, III,
Secretary, or at such other address or to such individual as shall be so
specified by the Company to the Distributor. Notices of any kind to be given to
the Distributor hereunder by the Company shall be in writing and shall be duly
given if mailed or delivered to BlackRock Distributors, Inc., 000 Xxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxx 00000, Attention: Xxxx X. Xxxxxxx, President, or
at such other address or to such other individual as shall be so specified by
the Distributor to the Company.
9. Miscellaneous. The captions in this Agreement are included for
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convenience of reference only and in no way define or delimit any of the
provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect. If any
provision of this Agreement shall be held or made invalid by a court decision,
statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be
affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the
benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.
10. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts,
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all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this instrument to
be executed by their officers designated below as of the day and year first
above written.
PROVIDENT INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS
/s/ Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx
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By: Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx
Title: Chairman
BLACKROCK DISTRIBUTORS, INC.
/s/Xxxx X. Xxxxxxx
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By: Xxxx X. Xxxxxxx
Title: President
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APPENDIX A
to the
DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
between
Provident Institutional Funds
And
BlackRock Distributors, Inc.
_____________________________________________________________________________
TempFund
TempCash
FedFund
T-Fund
Federal Trust Fund
Treasury Trust Fund
MuniFund
MuniCash
California Money Fund
New York Money Fund
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