TRANSFER AGENCY AND SERVICE AGREEMENT
between
XXXXXXXXX XXXXXX EQUITY SERIES
and
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
1. Terms of Appointment; Duties of the Bank....................... 1
2. Fees and Expenses.............................................. 3
3. Representations and Warranties of the Bank..................... 4
4. Representations and Warranties of the Fund..................... 4
5. Data Access and Proprietary Information........................ 4
6. Indemnification................................................ 5
7. Covenants of the Fund and the Bank............................. 7
8. Termination of Agreement....................................... 7
9. Additional Funds................................................ 8
10. Assignment...................................................... 8
11. Amendment....................................................... 8
12. Massachusetts Law to Apply...................................... 8
13. Force Majeure................................................... 8
14. Consequential Damages........................................... 9
15. Merger of Agreement............................................. 9
16. Limitations of Liability of the Trustees and Shareholders,
Officers,Employees and Agent.................................... 9
17. Counterparts.................................................... 9
18. Notices......................................................... 9
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TRANSFER AGENCY AND SERVICE AGREEMENT
AGREEMENT made as of the ____ day of December, 1998, by and between XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXX EQUITY SERIES, a Delaware business trust, having its principal office and
place of business at 000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 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 one series, Xxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxx Socially Responsive Assets (such series, together with all other series
subsequently established by the Fund and made subject to this Agreement in
accordance with Article 9, being herein referred to as a "Portfolio", and
collectively as the "Portfolios");
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
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 of the Fund
representing interests in each of the respective Portfolios ("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 Trust Instrument 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) 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;
(v) Effect transfers of Shares by the registered owners
thereof upon receipt of appropriate instructions;
(vi) Prepare and transmit (or credit the appropriate
shareholder account) payments for dividends and
distributions declared by the Fund on behalf of the
applicable Portfolio;
(vii) 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;
(viii) Maintain records of account for and advise the Fund and
its Shareholders as to the foregoing; and
(ix) 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 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, receiving and tabulating proxies, mailing
Shareholder reports and prospectuses to current Shareholders,
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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 1 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
2.1 For the performance by the Bank pursuant to this Agreement, the Fund, on
behalf of each Portfolio agrees 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 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, on behalf
of the applicable Portfolio, agrees 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, on behalf of the applicable Portfolio, agrees to pay all fees
and reimbursable expenses within five days following the mailing 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.
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3. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES OF THE BANK
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
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 Delaware.
4.2 It is empowered under applicable laws and by its Trust Instrument and
By-Laws to enter into and perform this Agreement.
4.3 All corporate proceedings required by said Trust Instrument and By-Laws
have been taken to authorize it to enter into and perform this Agreement.
4.4 It is an open-end 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
5.1 The Fund acknowledges that the computer programs, screen formats, report
formats (except such screen formats and report formats as may be necessary
to respond to shareholder problems or inquiries), 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 or other third party ("Data Access Services")
constitute copyrighted, trade secret, or other proprietary information
(collectively, "Proprietary Information") of substantial value to the Bank
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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 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.
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 (such transactions constituting a "COEFI"), 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
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
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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.
(d) The reasonable 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.
6.2 The Bank shall indemnify and hold the Fund and each Portfolio thereof
harmless from and against any and all losses, damages, costs, charges,
counsel fees, payments, expenses and liability arising out of or
attributed to any action or failure or omission to act by the Bank as a
result of the Bank's lack of good faith, negligence or willful misconduct.
6.3 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 reasonable
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.
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6.4 In order that the indemnification provisions contained in this Section 6
shall apply, upon the assertion of a claim for which either party may be
required to indemnify the other, the party seeking indemnification shall
promptly notify the Fund of such assertion, and shall keep the other party
advised with respect to all developments concerning such claim. The party
who may be required to indemnify shall have the option to participate with
the party seeking indemnification in the defense of such claim or to
defend against said claim in its own name or in the name of the other
party. The party seeking indemnification shall in no case confess any
claim or make any compromise in any case in which the other party may be
required to indemnify it except with the other party's prior written
consent.
7. COVENANTS OF THE FUND AND THE BANK
7.1 The Fund shall on behalf of each Portfolio promptly furnish to the Bank
the following:
(a) A certified copy of the resolution of the Trustees of the Fund
authorizing the appointment of the Bank and the execution and
delivery of this Agreement.
(b) A copy of the Trust Instrument and By-Laws of the Fund and all
amendments thereto.
7.2 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.
7.3 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.
7.4 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.
7.5 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.
7.6 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the parties agree
that the assets and liabilities of each Portfolio of the Fund are separate
and distinct from the assets and liabilities of each other Portfolio and
that no Portfolio shall be liable or shall be charged for any debt,
obligation or liability of any other Portfolio, whether arising under the
Agreement or otherwise.
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8. TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT
8.1 This Agreement may be terminated by either party upon one hundred twenty
(120) days written notice to the other.
8.2 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.
9. ADDITIONAL FUNDS
In the event that the Fund establishes one or more series of Shares in
addition to Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx Socially Responsive Assets, 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.
10. ASSIGNMENT
10.1 Except as provided in Section 10.3 below, neither this Agreement nor any
rights or obligations hereunder may be assigned by either party without
the written consent of the other party.
10.2 This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the
parties and their respective permitted successors and assigns.
10.3 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)(l) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended ("Section 17A(c)(1)"), (ii) a BFDS subsidiary duly
registered as a transfer agent pursuant to Section 17A(c)(l) 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.
11. AMENDMENT
This Agreement may be amended or modified by a written agreement executed
by both parties and authorized or approved by a resolution of the Trustees
of the Fund.
12. MASSACHUSETTS LAW TO APPLY
This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted
under and in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts.
13. 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 be liable for
damages to the other for any damages resulting from such failure to
perform or otherwise from such causes.
14. CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
Neither party to this Agreement shall be liable to the other party for
consequential damages under any provision of this Agreement.
15. MERGER OF AGREEMENT
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.
16. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY OF THE TRUSTEES AND SHAREHOLDERS, OFFICERS,
EMPLOYEES AND AGENT
A copy of the Trust Instrument of the Fund is on file with the Secretary
of the State Of Delaware. The parties agree that neither the Shareholders,
Trustees, officers, employees nor any agent of the Fund shall be liable
hereunder and that the parties to this Agreement other than the Fund shall
look solely to the Fund property for the performance of this Agreement or
payment of any claim under this Agreement.
17. COUNTERPARTS
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.
18. NOTICES
All notices, requests, consents and other communications hereunder
(collectively "communications") shall be in writing and shall be
personally delivered or mailed, first class postage prepaid,
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(a) if to the Fund, to
Xxxxxxxxx Xxxxxx Equity Series
000 Xxxxx Xxxxxx
Xxx Xxxx, XX 00000
Attention: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Vice President
(b) if to the Bank, to
Boston Financial Data Services, Inc.
Xxx Xxxxxxxx Xxxxx
Xxxxx Xxxxxx, XX 00000
Attn: Xxxx Xxxxxx
or such other address as either party shall have furnished to the other in
writing; provided that any communication may be sent by "tested" telex or
any other form of electronic transmission capable of producing a permanent
record and agreed upon by the parties in writing.
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.
XXXXXXXXX XXXXXX EQUITY SERIES
BY:
--------------------------------
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
ATTEST:
------------------
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
BY:
--------------------------------
Executive Vice President
ATTEST:
------------------
00
XXXXX XXXXXX BANK & TRUST COMPANY
FUND SERVICE RESPONSIBILITIES*
Service Performed Responsibility
Bank Fund
---- ----
1. Receives orders X X
for the purchase (if in (if by
of Shares. writing) phone)
2. Issue Shares and X
hold Shares in
Shareholders
accounts.
3. Receive X X
redemption (if in (if by
requests. writing) phone)
4. Effect X
transactions 1-3 (2 is
above directly always
with BFDS)
broker-dealers.
5. Pay over monies X
to redeeming
Shareholders.
6. Effect transfers X
of Shares.
7. Prepare and X
transmit
dividends and
distributions.
8. Issue X
Replacement
Certificates.
9. Reporting of X
abandoned
property.
10. Maintain records X
of account.
11. Maintain and keep X
a current and
accurate control
book for each
issue of securities.
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Service Performed Responsibility
12. Mail proxies. X
13. Mail Shareholder X
reports.
14. Mail X
prospectuses to
current
Shareholders.
15. Withhold taxes X
on U.S. resident
and non-resident
alien accounts.
16. Prepare and file X
U.S. Treasury
Department forms.
17. Prepare and mail X
account and
confirmation
statements for
Shareholders.
18. Provide X
Shareholder
account
information.
19. Blue Sky X
reporting.
o Such services are more fully described in Section 1.2 (a), (b) and (c) of the
Agreement.
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XXXXXXXXX XXXXXX EQUITY SERIES
BY:
--------------------------------
Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx
ATTEST:
------------------
STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY
BY:
--------------------------------
Executive Vice President
ATTEST:
------------------
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