EXHIBIT 5.1
INVESTMENT ADVISORY AGREEMENT
Agreement made this 21st day of February, 1990, between The
Primary Trend Fund, Inc., a Wisconsin corporation (the "Fund"), and Xxxxxx
Investment Counsel Incorporated, a Wisconsin corporation (the "Adviser").
W I T N E S S E T H:
WHEREAS, the Fund is in the process of registering with the
Securities and Exchange Commission as as open-end management investment
company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act");
WHEREAS, upon so registering with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, the Fund will be a registered investment company; and
WHEREAS, the Fund desires to retain the Adviser, which is an
investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940
and which is engaged principally in the business of rendering investment
supervisory services within the meaning of Section 202(a)(13) of the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as its investment adviser.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Fund and the Adviser do mutually promise and
agree as follows:
1. Employment. The Fund hereby employs the Adviser to manage
the investment and reinvestment of the assets of the Fund for the period
and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Adviser hereby accepts
such employment for the compensation herein provided and agrees during
such period to render the services and to assume the obligations herein
set forth.
2. Authority of the Adviser. The Adviser shall supervise and
manage the investment portfolio of the Fund, and, subject to such policies
as the board of directors of the Fund may determine, direct the purchase
and sale of investment securities in the day to day management of the
Fund. The Adviser shall for all purposes herein be deemed to be an
independent contractor and shall, unless otherwise expressly provided or
authorized, have no authority to act for or represent the Fund in any way
or otherwise be deemed an agent of the Fund. However, one or more
shareholders, officers, directors or employees of the Adviser may serve as
directors and/or officers of the Fund, but without compensation or
reimbursement of expenses for such services from the Fund. Nothing herein
contained shall be deemed to require the Fund to take any action contrary
to its Articles of Incorporation or any applicable statute or regulation,
or to relieve or deprive the board of directors of the Fund of its
responsibility for and control of the affairs of the Fund.
3. Expenses. The Adviser, at its own expense and without
reimbursement from the Fund, shall furnish office space, and all necessary
office facilities, equipment and executive personnel for managing the
investments of the Fund and maintaining its organization. The Adviser, at
its own expense and without reimbursement from the Fund, shall twice
monthly provide each shareholder of the Fund a copy of The Primary Trend,
an investment letter published by the Adviser. The Adviser shall pay the
salaries and fees of all officers and directors of the Fund (except the
fees paid to those directors who are not interested persons of the
Adviser, as defined in the Act, and who are not officers or employees of
the Fund). The Adviser shall also bear all sales and promotional expenses
of the Fund, except for expenses incurred in complying with laws
regulating the issue or sale of securities. The Adviser shall not be
required to pay any other expenses of the Fund except as provided herein
if the total expenses borne by the Fund, including the Adviser's fee, but
excluding all federal, state and local taxes, interest, brokerage
commissions and extraordinary items, in any year exceed that percentage of
the average net asset value of the Fund for such year, as determined by
valuations made as of the close of each business day, which is the most
restrictive percentage provided by the state laws of the various states in
which the Fund's common stock is qualified for sale or, if the states in
which the Fund's common stock is qualified for sale impose no such
restrictions, 2%. The expenses of the Fund's operations borne by the Fund
include by way of illustration and not limitation, directors fees paid to
those directors who are not interested persons of the Fund, as defined in
the Act, the costs of preparing and printing its registration statements
required under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Act (and amendments
thereto), the expense of registering its shares with the Securities and
Exchange Commission and in the various states, the printing and
distribution cost of prospectuses mailed to existing shareholders, the
cost of stock certificates, director and officer liability insurance,
reports to shareholders, reports to government authorities and proxy
statements, interest charges, taxes, legal expenses, salaries of
administrative and clerical personnel, association membership dues,
auditing and accounting services, insurance premiums, brokerage and other
expenses connected with the execution of portfolio securities
transactions, fees and expenses of the custodian of the Fund's assets,
expenses of calculating the net asset value and repurchasing and redeeming
shares, printing and mailing expenses, charges and expenses of dividend
disbursing agents, registrars and stock transfer agents and the cost of
keeping all necessary shareholder records and accounts.
The Fund shall monitor its expense ratio on a monthly basis. If
the accrued amount of the expenses of the Fund exceeds the expense
limitation established herein, the Fund shall create an account receivable
from the Adviser in the amount of such excess. In such a situation the
monthly payment of the Adviser's fee will be reduced by the amount of such
excess, subject to adjustment month by month during the balance of the
Fund's fiscal year if accrued expenses thereafter fall below the expense
limitation.
4. Compensation of the Adviser. For the services to be
rendered by the Adviser hereunder, the Fund shall pay to the Adviser an
advisory fee, paid monthly, based on the average net asset value of the
Fund, as determined by valuations made as of the close of each business
day of the month. The annual advisory fee shall be 0.74 of 1% of such net
asset value. For any month in which this Agreement is not in effect for
the entire month, such fee shall be reduced proportionately on the basis
of the number of calendar days during which it is in effect and the fee
computed upon the average net asset value of the business days during
which it is so in effect.
5. Ownership of Shares of the Fund. The Adviser shall not
take an ownership position in the Fund, and shall not permit any of its
shareholders, officers, directors or employees to take a long or short
position in the shares of the Fund, except for the purchase of shares of
the Fund for investment purposes at the same price as that available to
the public at the time of purchase or in connection with the initial
capitalization of the Fund.
6. Exclusivity. The services of the Adviser to the Fund
hereunder are not to be deemed exclusive and the Adviser shall be free to
furnish similar services to others as long as the services hereunder are
not impaired thereby. Although the Adviser has permitted and is permitting
the Fund to use the name "The Primary Trend," it is understood and agreed
that the Adviser reserves the right to use and to permit other persons,
firms or corporations, including investment companies, to use such name,
and that the Fund will not use such name if the Adviser ceases to be the
Fund's sole investment adviser. During the period that this Agreement is
in effect, the Adviser shall be the Fund's sole investment adviser.
7. Liability. In the absence of willful misfeasance, bad
faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of obligations or duties
hereunder on the part of the Adviser, the Adviser shall not be subject to
liability to the Fund or to any shareholder of the Fund for any act or
omission in the course of, or connected with, rendering services
hereunder, or for any losses that may be sustained in the purchase,
holding or sale of any security.
8. Brokerage Commissions. The Adviser may cause the Fund to
pay a broker-dealer which provides brokerage and research services, as
such services are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), to the Adviser a commission for effecting a
security transaction in excess of the amount another broker-dealer would
have charged for effecting such transaction, if the Adviser determines in
good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the
value of brokerage and research services provided by the executing
broker-dealer viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or his
overall responsibilities with respect to the accounts as to which he
exercises investment discretion (as defined in Section 3(a)(35) of the
Exchange Act).
9. Amendments. This Agreement may be amended by the mutual
consent of the parties; provided, however, that in no event may it be
amended without the approval of the board of directors of the Fund in the
manner required by the Act, and by the vote of the majority of the
outstanding voting securities of the Fund, as defined in the Act.
10. Termination. This Agreement may be terminated at any time,
without the payment of any penalty, by the board of directors of the Fund
or by a vote of the majority of the outstanding voting securities of the
Fund, as defined in the Act, upon giving sixty (60) days' written notice
to the Adviser. This Agreement may be terminated by the Adviser at any
time upon the giving of sixty (60) days' written notice to the Fund. This
Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment (as
defined in Section 2(a)(4) of the Act). Subject to prior termination as
hereinbefore provided, this Agreement shall continue in effect for two (2)
years from the date hereof and indefinitely thereafter, but only so long
as the continuance after such two (2) year period is specifically approved
annually by (i) the board of directors of the Fund or by the vote of the
majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, as defined in
the Act, and (ii) the board of directors of the Fund in the manner
required by the Act, provided that any such approval may be made effective
not more than sixty (60) days thereafter.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this
Agreement to be executed on the day first above written.
XXXXXX INVESTMENT COUNSEL INCORPORATED
By: By:
Secretary President
THE PRIMARY TREND FUND, INC.
By: By:
Secretary President
