Exhibit 5(b)
FORM OF DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT, dated as of ________ __, 199_, by and between CitiFunds Trust
III (formerly, Landmark Funds III), a Massachusetts trust (the "Trust"), and
CFBDS, Inc., a Massachusetts corporation ("Distributor"). This Agreement
relates solely to Shares of Beneficial Interest designated "Class A."
WHEREAS, the Trust engages in business as an openend management investment
company and is registered as such under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as
amended (the "1940 Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust's shares of beneficial interest ("Shares") are divided
into separate series representing interests in separate funds of securities and
other assets;
WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the services of a distributor for
Class A Shares of each of the Trust's series listed on Exhibit A hereto (the
"Funds") and has registered the Shares of the Funds under the Securities Act of
1933, as amended (the "1933 Act");
WHEREAS, the Trust has adopted a Distribution Plan pursuant to Rule 12b1
under the 1940 Act (the "Distribution Plan") and may enter into related
agreements providing for the distribution and servicing of Shares of the Funds;
WHEREAS, Distributor has agreed to act as distributor of the Class A
Shares of the Funds for the period of this Agreement;
NOW, THEREFORE, it is hereby agreed between the parties hereto as follows:
1. Appointment of Distributor.
(a) The Trust hereby appoints Distributor its exclusive agent for the
distribution of Class A Shares of the Funds in jurisdictions wherein such
Shares may be legally offered for sale; provided, however, that the Trust in
its absolute discretion may issue Shares of the Funds in connection with (i)
the payment or reinvestment of dividends or distributions; (ii) any merger or
consolidation of the Trust or of the Funds with any other investment company or
trust or any personal holding company, or the acquisition of the assets of any
such entity or another Fund of the Trust; or (iii) any offer of exchange
permitted by Section 11 of the 0000 Xxx.
(b) Distributor hereby accepts such appointment as exclusive agent for the
distribution of Class A Shares of the Funds and agrees that it will sell the
Shares as agent for the Trust at prices determined as hereinafter provided and
on the terms hereinafter set forth, all according to the then-current
prospectus and statement of additional information of each Fund (collectively,
the "Prospectus" and the "Statement of Additional Information"), applicable
laws, rules and regulations and the Declaration of Trust of the Trust.
Distributor agrees to use its best efforts to solicit orders for the sale of
Shares of the Funds, and agrees to transmit promptly to the Trust (or to the
transfer agent of the Funds, if so instructed in writing by the Trust) any
orders received by it for purchase or redemption of Shares.
(c) Distributor may sell Shares of the Funds to or through qualified
securities dealers, financial institutions or others. Distributor will require
each dealer or other such party to conform to the provisions of this Agreement,
the Prospectus, the Statement of Additional Information and applicable law; and
neither Distributor nor any such dealers or others shall withhold the placing
of purchase orders for Shares so as to make a profit thereby.
(d) Distributor shall order Shares of the Funds from the Trust only to the
extent that it shall have received unconditional purchase orders therefor.
Distributor will not make, or authorize any dealers or others to make: (i) any
short sales of Shares; or (ii) any sales of Shares to any Trustee or officer of
the Trust, any officer or director of Distributor or any corporation or
association furnishing investment advisory, managerial or supervisory services
to the Trust, or to any such corporation or association, unless such sales are
made in accordance with the Prospectus and the Statement of Additional
Information.
(e) Distributor is not authorized by the Trust to give any information or
make any representations regarding Shares of the Funds, except such information
or representations as are contained in the Prospectus, the Statement of
Additional Information or advertisements and sales literature prepared by or on
behalf of the Trust for Distributor's use.
(f) The Trust agrees to execute any and all documents, to furnish any and
all information and otherwise to take all actions which may be reasonably
necessary in the discretion of the Trust's officers in connection with the
qualification of Shares of each Fund for sale in such states as Distributor and
the Trust agree.
(g) No Shares of any Fund shall be offered by either Distributor or the
Trust under this Agreement, and no orders for the purchase or sale of such
Shares hereunder shall be accepted by the Trust, if and so long as the
effectiveness of the Trust's then current registration statement as to Shares
of that Fund or any necessary amendments thereto shall be suspended under any
of the provisions of the 1933 Act, or if and so long as a current prospectus
for Shares of that Fund as required by Section 10 of the 1933 Act is not on
file with the Securities and Exchange Commission; provided, however, that
nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall in any way restrict the Trust's
obligation to repurchase any Shares from any shareholder in accordance with the
provisions of the applicable Fund's Prospectus or charter documents.
(h) Notwithstanding any provision hereof, the Trust may terminate, suspend
or withdraw the offering of Shares of any Fund whenever, in its sole
discretion, it deems such action to be desirable.
2. Offering Price of Shares. All Fund Shares sold under this Agreement
shall be sold at the public offering price per Share in effect at the time of
the sale, as described in the Prospectus. The public offering price of the
Class A Shares of each Fund shall be the net asset value of such Shares plus
the amount of any applicable sales charge, as provided in the Prospectus. The
excess, if any, of the public offering price of the Shares over the net asset
value of the Shares, and any contingent deferred sales charge applicable to
Class A Shares of any Fund as set forth in the applicable Fund's Prospectus,
may be paid to securities dealers, financial institutions (including banks) and
others, or may be retained by the Distributor as partial compensation for their
services in connection with the sale of Class A Shares. At no time shall the
Trust receive less than the full net asset value of the Shares of each Fund,
determined in the manner set forth in the Prospectus and the Statement of
Additional Information. Distributor also may receive such compensation under
the Trust's Distribution Plan for Class A Shares as may be authorized by the
Trustees of the Trust from time to time.
3. Furnishing of Information.
(a) The Trust shall furnish to Distributor copies of any information,
financial statements and other documents that Distributor may reasonably
request for use in connection with the sale of Shares of the Funds under this
Agreement. The Trust shall also make available a sufficient number of copies of
the Funds' Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information for use by the
Distributor.
(b) The Trust agrees to advise Distributor immediately in writing:
(i) of any request by the Securities and Exchange Commission for
amendments to any registration statement concerning a Fund or to a
Prospectus or for additional information;
(ii) in the event of the issuance by the Securities and Exchange
Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of any such
registration statement or Prospectus or the initiation of any proceeding
for that purpose;
(iii) of the happening of any event which makes untrue any statement
of a material fact made in any such registration statement or Prospectus
or which requires the making of a change in such registration statement or
Prospectus in order to make the statements therein not misleading; and
(iv) of all actions of the Securities and Exchange Commission with
respect to any amendments to any such registration statement or Prospectus
which may from time to time be filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
4. Expenses.
(a) The Trust will pay or cause to be paid the following expenses:
organization costs of the Funds; compensation of Trustees who are not
"affiliated persons" of the Distributor; governmental fees; interest charges;
loan commitment fees; taxes; membership dues in industry associations allocable
to the Trust; fees and expenses of independent auditors, legal counsel and any
transfer agent, distributor, shareholder servicing agent, registrar or dividend
disbursing agent of the Trust; expenses of issuing and redeeming shares of
beneficial interest and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of preparing,
typesetting, printing and mailing prospectuses, statements of additional
information, shareholder reports, notices, proxy statements and reports to
governmental officers and commissions and to existing shareholders of the
Funds; expenses connected with the execution, recording and settlement of
security transactions; insurance premiums; fees and expenses of the custodian
for all services to the Funds, including safekeeping of funds and securities
and maintaining required books and accounts; expenses of calculating the net
asset value of the Funds (including but not limited to the fees of independent
pricing services); expenses of meetings of shareholders; expenses relating to
the issuance, registration and qualification of shares; and such non-recurring
or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including those relating to actions,
suits or proceedings to which the Trust may be a party and the legal obligation
which the Trust may have to indemnify its Trustees and officers with respect
thereto.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement and except to the
extent such expenses are borne by the Trust pursuant to the Distribution Plan,
Distributor will pay or cause to be paid all expenses connected with its own
qualification as a dealer under state and federal laws and all other expenses
incurred by Distributor in connection with the sale of Shares of each Fund as
contemplated by this Agreement.
(c) Distributor shall prepare and deliver reports to the Trustees of the
Trust on a regular basis, at least quarterly, showing the expenditures with
respect to each Fund pursuant to the Distribution Plan and the purposes
therefor, as well as any supplemental reports that the Trustees of the Trust,
from time to time, may reasonably request.
5. Repurchase of Shares. Distributor as agent and for the account of the
Trust may repurchase Shares of the Funds offered for resale to it and redeem
such Shares at their net asset value, subject to the imposition of any deferred
sales charge. Each Fund or the Distributor may impose certain deferred sales
charges in connection with the repurchase of Class A Shares of such Fund, and
the Fund may pay to securities dealers, financial institutions (including
banks) and others, or the Fund may permit the Distributor to retain, as the
case may be, all or any portion of such deferred sales charges.
6. Indemnification by the Trust. In the absence of willful misfeasance,
bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of obligations or duties
hereunder on the part of Distributor, the Trust agrees to indemnify
Distributor, its officers and directors, and any person which controls
Distributor within the meaning of the 1933 Act against any and all claims,
demands, liabilities and expenses that any such indemnified party may incur
under the 1933 Act, or common law or otherwise, arising out of or based upon
any alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the registration
statement for any Fund, any Prospectus or Statement of Additional Information,
or any advertisements or sales literature prepared by or on behalf of the Trust
for Distributor's use, or any omission to state a material fact therein, the
omission of which makes any statement contained therein misleading, unless such
statement or omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with
information furnished to the Trust in connection therewith by or on behalf of
Distributor. Nothing herein contained shall require the Trust to take any
action contrary to any provision of its Declaration of Trust or any applicable
statute or regulation.
7. Indemnification by Distributor. Distributor agrees to indemnify the
Trust, its officers and Trustees and any person which controls the Trust within
the meaning of the 1933 Act against any and all claims, demands, liabilities
and expenses that any such indemnified party may incur under the 1933 Act, or
common law or otherwise, arising out of or based upon (i) any alleged untrue
statement of a material fact contained in the registration statement for any
Fund, any Prospectus or Statement of Additional Information, or any
advertisements or sales literature prepared by or on behalf of the Trust for
Distributor's use, or any omission to state a material fact therein, the
omission of which makes any statement contained therein misleading, if such
statement or omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with
information furnished to the Trust in connection therewith by or on behalf of
Distributor; and (ii) any act or deed of Distributor or its sales
representatives that has not been authorized by the Trust in any Prospectus or
Statement of Additional Information or by this Agreement.
8. Term and Termination.
(a) Unless terminated as herein provided, this Agreement shall continue in
effect as to each Fund until November 13, 1999 and shall continue in effect for
successive periods of one year thereafter, but only so long as each such
continuance is specifically approved by votes of a majority of both the
Trustees of the Trust and the Trustees of the Trust who are not parties to this
Agreement or interested persons (as defined in the 0000 Xxx) of any such party
and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in this Agreement or in
the operation of the Distribution Plan or in any agreement related thereto
("Independent Trustees"), cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of
voting on such approval.
(b) This Agreement may be terminated as to any Fund on not less than
thirty days' nor more than sixty days' written notice to the other party.
(c) This Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of its
assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).
9. Limitation of Liability. The obligations of the Trust hereunder shall
not be binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust
personally, but shall bind only the assets and property of the particular Fund
or Funds in question, and not any other Fund or series of the Trust. The term
"CitiFunds Trust III" means and refers to the Trustees from time to time
serving under the Declaration of Trust of the Trust, a copy of which is on file
with the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The execution and
delivery of this Agreement has been authorized by the Trustees, and this
Agreement has been signed on behalf of the Trust by an authorized officer of
the Trust, acting as such and not individually, and neither such authorization
by such Trustees nor such execution and delivery by such officer shall be
deemed to have been made by any of them individually or to impose any liability
on any of them personally, but shall bind only the assets and property of the
Trust as provided in the Declaration of Trust.
10. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in
accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the
provisions of the 1940 Act.
IN WITNESS THEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
executed as of the date first written above.
CitiFunds Trust III
By:_______________________________
CFBDS, Inc.
By:_______________________________
Exhibit A
Funds
CitiFunds Cash Reserves
