EXHIBIT (H)(5)
[FORM OF]
TRANSFER AGENCY AND SERVICE AGREEMENT
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AGREEMENT made as of the __ day of __________, 1999, by and between BRAZOS
MUTUAL FUNDS, a business trust organized and existing under the laws of the
State of Delaware, having its principal place of business at 0000 Xxxxxx Xxxx,
Xxxxx 0000, Xxxxxx, Xxxxx 00000 (the "Fund"), and STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST
COMPANY, a Massachusetts trust company having its principal office and place of
business at 000 Xxxxxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxxxxxx 00000 (the "Bank").
WHEREAS, the Fund is authorized to issue shares in separate series, with
each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities
and other assets; and
WHEREAS, the Fund intends to initially offer shares in four series, Brazos
Micro Cap Growth Portfolio, Brazos Small Cap Growth Portfolio, Brazos Real
Estate Securities Portfolio and Brazos Growth Portfolio (such series together
with all other series subsequently established by the Fund and made subject to
this Contract in accordance with paragraph 17, being herein referred to as the
"Portfolio(s)");
WHEREAS, the Fund on behalf of the Portfolios desires to appoint the Bank
as its transfer agent, dividend disbursing agent, custodian of certain
retirement plans and agent in connection with certain other activities, and the
Bank desires to accept such appointment;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained,
the parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Terms of Appointment; Duties of the Bank
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1.1 Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, the
Fund, on behalf of the Portfolios, hereby employs and appoints the Bank to act
as, and the Bank agrees to act as its transfer agent for the Fund's authorized
and issued shares of beneficial interest, ("Shares"), dividend disbursing agent,
custodian of certain retirement plans and agent in connection with any
accumulation, open-account or similar plans provided to the shareholders of each
of the respective Portfolios of the Fund ("Shareholders") and set out in the
currently effective prospectus and statement of additional information
("prospectus") of the Fund on behalf of the applicable Portfolio, including
without limitation any periodic investment plan or periodic withdrawal program.
1.2 The Bank agrees that it will perform the following services:
(a) In accordance with procedures established from time to time by
agreement between the Fund on behalf of each of the Portfolios,
as applicable and the Bank, the Bank shall:
(i) Receive for acceptance, orders for the purchase of Shares, and
promptly deliver payment and appropriate documentation thereof
to the Custodian of the Fund authorized pursuant to the
Declaration of Trust of the Fund (the "Custodian");
(ii) Pursuant to purchase orders, issue the appropriate number of
Shares and hold such Shares in the appropriate Shareholder
account;
(iii) Receive for acceptance redemption requests and redemption
directions and deliver the appropriate documentation thereof
to the Custodian;
(iv) In respect to the transactions in items (i), (ii) and (iii)
above, the Bank shall execute transactions directly with
broker-dealers authorized by the Fund who shall thereby be
deemed to be acting on behalf of the Fund;
(v) At the appropriate time as and when it receives monies paid to
it by the Custodian with respect to any redemption, pay over
or cause to be paid over in the appropriate manner such monies
as instructed by the redeeming Shareholders;
(vi) Effect transfers of Shares by the registered owners thereof
upon receipt of appropriate instructions;
(vii) Prepare and transmit payments for dividends and distributions
declared by the Fund on behalf of the applicable Portfolio;
(viii) Issue replacement certificates for those certificates alleged
to have been lost, stolen or destroyed upon receipt by the
Bank of indemnification satisfactory to the Bank and
protecting the Bank and the Fund, and the Bank at its option,
may issue replacement certificates in place of mutilated stock
certificates upon presentation thereof and without such
indemnity;
(ix) Maintain records of account for and advise the Fund and its
Shareholders as to the foregoing; and
(x) Record the issuance of shares of the Fund and maintain
pursuant to SEC Rule 17Ad-10(e) a record of the total number
of shares of the Fund which are authorized, based upon data
provided to it by the Fund, and issued and outstanding. The
Bank shall also provide the Fund on a regular basis with the
total number of shares which are authorized and issued and
outstanding and shall have no obligation, when recording the
issuance of shares, to monitor the issuance of such shares or
to take cognizance of any laws relating
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to the issue or sale of such shares, which functions shall be
the sole responsibility of the Fund.
(b) In addition to and neither in lieu nor in contravention of the
services set forth in the above paragraph (a), the Bank shall:
(i) perform the customary services of a transfer agent, dividend
disbursing agent, custodian of certain retirement plans and, as
relevant, agent in connection with accumulation, open-account or
similar plans (including without limitation any periodic
investment plan or periodic withdrawal program), including but
not limited to: maintaining all Shareholder accounts, preparing
Shareholder meeting lists, mailing proxies, mailing Shareholder
reports and prospectuses to current Shareholders, withholding
taxes on U.S. resident and non-resident alien accounts,
preparing and filing U.S. Treasury Department Forms 1099 and
other appropriate forms required with respect to dividends and
distributions by federal authorities for all Shareholders,
preparing and mailing confirmation forms and statements of
account to Shareholders for all purchases and redemptions of
Shares and other confirmable transactions in Shareholder
accounts, preparing and mailing activity statements for
Shareholders, and providing Shareholder account information and
(ii) provide a system which will enable the Fund to monitor the
total number of Shares sold in each State.
(c) In addition, the Fund shall (i) identify to the Bank in writing
those transactions and assets to be treated as exempt from blue
sky reporting for each State and (ii) verify the establishment of
transactions for each State on the system prior to activation and
thereafter monitor the daily activity for each State. The
responsibility of the Bank for the Fund's blue sky State
registration status is solely limited to the initial
establishment of transactions subject to blue sky compliance by
the Fund and the reporting of such transactions to the Fund as
provided above.
(d) Procedures as to who shall provide certain of these services in
Section I may be established from time to time by agreement
between the Fund on behalf of each Portfolio and the Bank per the
attached service responsibility schedule. The Bank may at times
perform only a portion of these services and the Fund or its
agent may perform these services on the Fund's behalf.
(e) The Bank shall provide additional services on behalf of the Fund
(i.e., escheatment services) which may be agreed upon in writing
between the Fund and the Bank.
2. Fees and Expenses
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2.1 For the performance by the Bank pursuant to this Agreement, the Fund
agrees on behalf of each of the Portfolios to pay the Bank an annual maintenance
fee for each Shareholder account as set out in the initial fee schedule attached
hereto. Such fees and out-of-pocket
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expenses and advances identified under Section 2.2 below may be changed from
time to time subject to mutual written agreement between the Fund and the Bank.
2.2 In addition to the fee paid under Section 2.1 above, the Fund agrees
on behalf of each of the Portfolios to reimburse the Bank for out-of-pocket
expenses, including but not limited to confirmation production, postage, forms,
telephone, microfilm, microfiche, tabulating proxies, records storage, or
advances incurred by the Bank for the items set out in the fee schedule attached
hereto. In addition, any other expenses incurred by the Bank at the request or
with the consent of the Fund, will be reimbursed by the Fund on behalf of the
applicable Portfolio.
2.3 The Fund agrees on behalf of each of the Portfolios to pay all fees
and reimbursable expenses within five days following the receipt of the
respective billing notice. Postage for mailing of dividends, proxies, Fund
reports and other mailings to all shareholder accounts shall be advanced to the
Bank by the Fund at least seven (7) days prior to the mailing date of such
materials.
3. Representations and Warranties of the Bank
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The Bank represents and warrants to the Fund that:
3.1 It is a trust company duly organized and existing and in good standing
under the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
3.2 It is duly qualified to carry on its business in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts.
3.3 It is empowered under applicable laws and by its Charter and By-Laws
to enter into and perform this Agreement.
3.4 All requisite corporate proceedings have been taken to authorize it to
enter into and perform this Agreement.
3.5 It has and will continue to have access to the necessary facilities,
equipment and personnel to perform its duties and obligations under this
Agreement.
4. Representations and Warranties of the Fund
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The Fund represents and warrants to the Bank that:
4.1 It is a business trust duly organized and existing and in good
standing under the laws of the State of Delaware.
4.2 It is empowered under applicable laws and by its Declaration of Trust
and By-Laws to enter into and perform this Agreement.
4.3 All corporate proceedings required by said Declaration of Trust and
By-Laws have been taken to authorize it to enter into and perform this
Agreement.
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4.4 It is an open-end and diversified management investment company
registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
4.5 A registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended
on behalf of each of the Portfolios is currently effective and will remain
effective, and appropriate state securities law filings have been made and will
continue to be made, with respect to all Shares of the Fund being offered for
sale.
5. Data Access and Proprietary Information
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5.1 The Fund acknowledges that the data bases, computer programs, screen
formats, report formats, interactive design techniques, and documentation
manuals furnished to the Fund by the Bank as part of the Fund's ability to
access certain Fund-related data ("Customer Data") maintained by the Bank on
data bases under the control and ownership of the Bank ("Data Access Services")
constitute copyrighted, trade secret, or other proprietary information
(collectively, "Proprietary Information") of substantial value to the Bank or
other third party. In no event shall Proprietary Information be deemed Customer
Data. The Fund agrees to treat all Proprietary Information as proprietary to the
Bank and further agrees that it shall not divulge any Proprietary Information to
any person or organization except as may be provided hereunder. Without limiting
the foregoing, the Fund agrees for itself and its employees and agents:
(a) to access Customer Data solely from locations as may be
designated in writing by the Bank and solely in accordance with
the Bank's applicable user documentation;
(b) to refrain from copying or duplicating in any way the Proprietary
Information;
(c) to refrain from obtaining unauthorized access to any portion of
the Proprietary Information, and if such access is inadvertently
obtained, to inform in a timely manner of such fact and dispose
of such information in accordance with the Bank's instructions;
(d) to refrain from causing or allowing the data acquired hereunder
from being retransmitted to any other computer facility or other
location, except with the prior written consent of the Bank;
(e) that the Fund shall have access only to those authorized
transactions agreed upon by the parties;
(f) to honor all reasonable written requests made by the Bank to
protect at the Bank's expense the rights of the Bank in
Proprietary Information at common law, under federal copyright
law and under other federal or state law.
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Each party shall take reasonable efforts to advise its employees of their
obligations pursuant to this Section 5. The obligations of this Section shall
survive any earlier termination of this Agreement.
5.2 If the Fund notifies the Bank that any of the Data Access Services do
not operate in material compliance with the most recently issued user
documentation for such services, the Bank shall endeavor in a timely manner to
correct such failure. Organizations from which the Bank may obtain certain data
included in the Data Access Services are solely responsible for the contents of
such data and the Fund agrees to make no claim against the Bank arising out of
the contents of such third-party data, including, but not limited to, the
accuracy thereof. DATA ACCESS SERVICES AND ALL COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND SOFTWARE
SPECIFICATIONS USED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH ARE PROVIDED ON AN AS IS, AS
AVAILABLE BASIS. THE BANK EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES EXCEPT THOSE
EXPRESSLY STATED HEREIN INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
5.3 If the transactions available to the Fund include the ability to
originate electronic instructions to the Bank in order to (i) effect the
transfer or movement of cash or Shares or (ii) transmit Shareholder information
or other information, then in such event the Bank shall be entitled to rely on
the validity and authenticity of such instruction without undertaking any
further inquiry as long as such instruction is undertaken in conformity with
security procedures established by the Bank from time to time.
6. Indemnification
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6.1 The Bank shall not be responsible for, and the Fund shall on behalf of
the applicable Portfolio indemnify and hold the Bank harmless from and against,
any and all losses, damages, costs, charges, counsel fees, payments, expenses
and liability arising out of or attributable to:
(a) All actions of the Bank or its agents or subcontractors required
to be taken pursuant to this Agreement, provided that such
actions are taken in good faith and without negligence or willful
misconduct.
(b) The Fund's lack of good faith, negligence or willful misconduct
which arise out of the breach of any representation or warranty
of the Fund hereunder.
(c) The reliance on or use by the Bank or its agents or
subcontractors of information, records, documents or services
which (i) are received by the Bank or its agents or
subcontractors, and (ii) have been prepared, maintained or
performed by the Fund or any other person or firm on behalf of
the Fund including but not limited to any previous transfer agent
or registrar.
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(d) The reliance on, or the carrying out by the Bank or its agents or
subcontractors of any instructions or requests of the Fund on
behalf of the applicable Portfolio.
(e) The offer or sale of Shares in violation of any requirement under
the federal securities laws or regulations or the securities laws
or regulations of any state that such Shares be registered in
such state or in violation of any stop order or other
determination or ruling by any federal agency or any state with
respect to the offer or sale of such Shares in such state.
(f) The negotiation and processing by the Bank of checks not made
payable to the order of the Bank, the Fund, the Fund's management
company, transfer agent or distributor or the retirement account
custodian or trustee for a plan account investing in Shares,
which checks are tendered to the Bank for the purchase of Shares
(i.e., checks made payable to prospective or existing
Shareholders, such checks are commonly known as "third party
checks").
6.2 At any time the Bank may apply to any officer of the Fund for
instructions, and may consult with legal counsel with respect to any matter
arising in connection with the services to be performed by the Bank under this
Agreement, and the Bank and its agents or subcontractors shall not be liable and
shall be indemnified by the Fund on behalf of the applicable Portfolio for any
action taken or omitted by it in reliance upon such instructions or upon the
opinion of such counsel. The Bank, its agents and subcontractors shall be
protected and indemnified in acting upon any paper or document furnished by or
on behalf of the Fund, reasonably believed to be genuine and to have been signed
by the proper person or persons, or upon any instruction, information, data,
records or documents provided the Bank or its agents or subcontractors by
machine readable input, telex, CRT data entry or other similar means authorized
by the Fund, and shall not be held to have notice of any change of authority of
any person, until receipt of written notice thereof from the Fund. The Bank, its
agents and subcontractors shall also be protected and indemnified in recognizing
stock certificates which are reasonably believed to bear the proper manual or
facsimile signatures of the officers of the Fund, and the proper
countersignature of any former transfer agent or former registrar, or of a co-
transfer agent or co-registrar.
6.3 In order that the indemnification provisions contained in this Section
6 shall apply, upon the assertion of a claim for which the Fund may be required
to indemnify the Bank, the Bank shall promptly notify the Fund of such
assertion, and shall keep the Fund advised with respect to all developments
concerning such claim. The Fund shall have the option to participate with the
Bank in the defense of such claim or to defend against said claim in its own
name or in the name of the Bank. The Bank shall in no case confess any claim or
make any compromise in any case in which the Fund may be required to indemnify
the Bank except with the Fund's prior written consent.
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7. Standard of Care
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The Bank shall at all times act in good faith and agrees to use its best
efforts within reasonable limits to insure the accuracy of all services
performed under this Agreement, but assumes no responsibility and shall not be
liable for loss or damage due to errors unless said errors are caused by its
negligence, bad faith, or willful misconduct or that of its employees.
8. Covenants of the Fund and the Bank
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8.1 The Fund shall on behalf of each of the Portfolios promptly furnish to
the Bank the following:
(a) A certified copy of the resolution of the Board of Trustees of
the Fund authorizing the appointment of the Bank and the
execution and delivery of this Agreement.
(b) A copy of the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws of the Fund and
all amendments thereto.
8.2 The Bank hereby agrees to establish and maintain facilities and
procedures reasonably acceptable to the Fund for safekeeping of stock
certificates, check forms and facsimile signature imprinting devices, if any;
and for the preparation or use, and for keeping account of, such certificates,
forms and devices.
8.3 The Bank shall keep records relating to the services to be performed
hereunder, in the form and manner as it may deem advisable. To the extent
required by Section 31 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and
the Rules thereunder, the Bank agrees that all such records prepared or
maintained by the Bank relating to the services to be performed by the Bank
hereunder are the property of the Fund and will be preserved, maintained and
made available in accordance with such Section and Rules, and will be
surrendered promptly to the Fund on and in accordance with its request.
8.4 The Bank and the Fund agree that all books, records, information and
data pertaining to the business of the other party which are exchanged or
received pursuant to the negotiation or the carrying out of this Agreement shall
remain confidential, and shall not be voluntarily disclosed to any other person,
except as may be required by law.
8.5 In case of any requests or demands for the inspection of the
Shareholder records of the Fund, the Bank will endeavor to notify the Fund and
to secure instructions from an authorized officer of the Fund as to such
inspection. The Bank reserves the right, however, to exhibit the Shareholder
records to any person whenever it is advised by its counsel that it may be held
liable for the failure to exhibit the Shareholder records to such person.
9. Termination of Agreement
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9.1 This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon one hundred
twenty (120) days written notice to the other.
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9.2 Should the Fund exercise its right to terminate, all out-of-pocket
expenses associated with the movement of records and material will be borne by
the Fund on behalf of the applicable Portfolio(s). Additionally, the Bank
reserves the right to charge for any other reasonable expenses associated with
such termination and/or a charge equivalent to the average of three (3) months'
fees.
10. Additional Funds
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In the event that the Fund establishes one or more series of Shares in
addition to the Brazos Micro Cap Growth Portfolio, Brazos Small Cap Growth
Portfolio, Brazos Real Estate Securities Portfolio and Brazos Growth Portfolio
with respect to which it desires to have the Bank render services as transfer
agent under the terms hereof, it shall so notify the Bank in writing, and if the
Bank agrees in writing to provide such services, such series of Shares shall
become a Portfolio hereunder.
11. Assignment
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11.1 Except as provided in Section 11.3 below, neither this Agreement nor
any rights or obligations hereunder may be assigned by either party without the
written consent of the other party.
11.2 This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the
parties and their respective permitted successors and assigns.
11.3 The Bank may, without further consent on the part of the Fund,
subcontract for the performance hereof with (i) Boston Financial Data Services,
Inc., a Massachusetts corporation ("BFDS") which is duly registered as a
transfer agent pursuant to Section 17A(c)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended ("Section 17A(c)(2)"), (ii) a BFDS subsidiary duly registered
as a transfer agent pursuant to Section 17A(c)(2) or (iii) a BFDS affiliate;
provided, however, that the Bank shall be as fully responsible to the Fund for
the acts and omissions of any subcontractor as it is for its own acts and
omissions.
12. Amendment
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This Agreement may be amended or modified by a written agreement executed
by both parties and authorized or approved by a resolution of the Board of
Trustees of the Fund.
13. Massachusetts Law to Apply
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This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted
under and in accordance with the laws of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
14. Force Majeure
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In the event either party is unable to perform its obligations under the
terms of this Agreement because of acts of God, strikes, equipment or
transmission failure or damage reasonably beyond its control, or other causes
reasonably beyond its control, such party shall not
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be liable for damages to the other for any damages resulting from such failure
to perform or otherwise from such causes.
15. Consequential Damages
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Neither party to this Agreement shall be liable to the other party for
consequential damages under any provision of this Agreement or for any
consequential damages arising out of any act or failure to act hereunder.
16. Merger of Agreement
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This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties hereto
and supersedes any prior agreement with respect to the subject matter hereof
whether oral or written.
17. Limitations of Liability of the Trustees and Shareholders
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A copy of the Declaration of Trust of the Trust is on file with the
Secretary of the State of Delaware, and notice is hereby given that this
instrument is executed on behalf of the Trustees of the Trust as Trustees and
not individually and that the obligations of this instrument are not binding
upon any of the Trustees or Shareholders individually but are binding only upon
the assets and property of the Fund.
18. Counterparts
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This Agreement may be executed by the parties hereto on any number of
counterparts, and all of said counterparts taken together shall be deemed to
constitute one and the same instrument.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
executed in their names and on their behalf by and through their duly authorized
officers, as of the day and year first above written.
BRAZOS MUTUAL FUNDS
BY: _________________________________
Title:
ATTEST:
____________________________
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
BY: _________________________________
Vice Chairman
ATTEST:
____________________________
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XXXXX XXXXXX XXXX & TRUST COMPANY
FUND SERVICE RESPONSIBILITIES*
Service Performed Responsibility
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Bank Fund
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1. Receives orders for the purchase
of Shares.
2. Issue Shares and hold Shares in
Shareholders accounts.
3. Receive redemption requests.
4. Effect transactions 1-3 above
directly with broker-dealers.
5. Pay over monies to redeeming
Shareholders.
6. Effect transfers of Shares.
7. Prepare and transmit dividends
and distributions.
8. Issue Replacement Certificates.
9. Reporting of abandoned property.
10. Maintain records of account.
11. Maintain and keep a current and
accurate control book for each
issue of securities.
12. Mail proxies.
13. Mail Shareholder reports.
14. Mail prospectuses to current
Shareholders.
15. Withhold taxes on U.S. resident
and non-resident alien accounts.
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Service Performed Responsibility
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Bank Fund
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16. Prepare and file U.S. Treasury
Department forms.
17. Prepare and mail account and
confirmation statements for
Shareholders.
18. Provide Shareholder account
information.
19. Blue sky reporting.
* Such services are more fully described in Sections 1.2(a), (b) and (c) of
the Agreement.
BRAZOS MUTUAL FUNDS
BY: __________________________________
ATTEST:
-----------------------------
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
By: _________________________________
Vice Chairman
ATTEST:
____________________________
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